Re: Saints sign Laffranchi : Mon May 02, 2011 11:27 am  

Rogues Gallery wrote:

Do you think it was a mistake in letting Emmitt go?

I don't know whether we let him go or he wanted to go. We can't force players to stay so if he wanted to be a permanent fixture in a first team this season, as opposed to a cover for injuries or whatever, then he might have seen Cas as the answer. However, we might have let him go, along with Hargreaves and Johnson. Or they might have wanted a greater presence in a first team. Who knows?

Re: Saints sign Laffranchi : Mon May 02, 2011 11:42 am  

shillington to you or wire...if you get him then wire get puletua
waterhouse is being lined up by us (bulls)
leon is also coming back to us on a 2 year deal which is being finalised

Re: Saints sign Laffranchi : Mon May 02, 2011 11:44 am  

Craig Fitzgibbon is 33 and the league's top tackler. If the player can still do it, their age shouldn't matter.

Re: Saints sign Laffranchi : Mon May 02, 2011 11:45 am  

Rogues Gallery wrote:

I think for the overseas older players the latter is probably the case. Wigan had to give Lima a three year, but Hoffman only signed for one and will almost certainly return at the end of this season.

Do you think it was a mistake in letting Emmitt go? Wigan persevered with Prescott and O'Carroll (although he's been out for over 12 months). It's always difficult with props as they generally tend to mature later.

With the quota situation and losing jammer it may prove a mistake. If the quota rules are as I'm being told then we only have 1 quota spot and may need two props if TP goes.

Maybe thas why we are looking at leighs hill at the moment. The aunt many good English props available at the moment.

It's possible we may have to go for Keith Mason as he's the only decent off contract prop avaiable.

Re: Saints sign Laffranchi : Mon May 02, 2011 11:46 am  

SaintsFan wrote:

Saints seem to be offering fairly long term deals at the moment. Maybe they are trying to stabilise the team a bit? We've had a lot of change over the last few seasons. Or maybe we can't get these guys on anything shorter?

It think it a bit of both, stability for the squad and having to offer the going length.

As you say we have had fairly dramatic turnover and bloded a lot of youth in the last 3 years and we are rumoured to be seeing around 4/5 established first teamers go out again (Graham, Eastmond, Pryce, Puletua, Flannery) and it is hard to keep producing with turnover like this, it is a credit to all at Saints that we have been so competitive over the last 6/7 years.

Its also been well documented the chairman wants to have a squad worthy of the new stadium, I would imagine that he will want to have that experience and stability for as long as he can. Giving the over 30's an extra year is probably a risk worth taking this time, giving a more settled squad and allowing the juniors an extra year to develop around seasoned international players.

Saying that Contracts ending in 2012: Paul Wellens, Sia Soliola, Francis Meli, Scott Moore, Paul Clough, Gary Wheeler, Matty Ashurst, Andrew Dixon, Jamie Foster.... we could be doing this all again in 12 months time!!!!!!!!!!

As for Rogues I don't think we had much choice last year after Cas offered him a much improved 2 year deal and promise of first team action, had we got a full team out this year he wouldn't figure too often and there is only so much you can do to keep a player desperate to play.

Re: Saints sign Laffranchi : Mon May 02, 2011 12:34 pm  

Why not sign Nate Myles instead?

Re: Saints sign Laffranchi : Mon May 02, 2011 5:08 pm  

sir steve menzies wrote:

shillington to you or wire...if you get him then wire get puletua
waterhouse is being lined up by us (bulls)
leon is also coming back to us on a 2 year deal which is being finalised

I believe the situation with TP is that the only thing stopping him from re-signing with Saints is family reasons back home, and if Warrington have spoken to him it will be whilst he is still in contract which I believe constitutes an illegal approach without consent from Saints (which I couldn't see us giving).

Re: Saints sign Laffranchi : Tue May 03, 2011 7:21 am  

St pete wrote:

With the quota situation and losing jammer it may prove a mistake. If the quota rules are as I'm being told then we only have 1 quota spot and may need two props if TP goes.

Maybe thas why we are looking at leighs hill at the moment. The aunt many good English props available at the moment.

It's possible we may have to go for Keith Mason as he's the only decent off contract prop avaiable.

I would say Emmitt is perfectly replaceable, especially after watching Cas's defeeat to Leeds. I'd ssay clough is as as good and, if what the leythers say about Chris Hill is true, that he could also do as good a job.

That's not to say that by the time he's 28 he won't have kicked on and be a much better player, but I'm not losing sleep about letting him go.

Re: Saints sign Laffranchi : Tue May 03, 2011 11:41 am  

Dixon will be capable of achieving - at the very least - the same performance as Emmitt once he fills out so we needn't cry over spilt milk.

Re: Saints sign Laffranchi : Tue May 03, 2011 12:34 pm  

The Chief wrote:

http://www.foxsports.com.au/league/nrl-premiership/anthony-laffranchi-poised-to-sign-a-with-st-helens-as-titans-close-in-on-nate-myless-signature/story-fn2mcuj6-1226048305873

had to read this acouple of times to be sure about which club he was signing for, as it mentioned "super league giants", of which there are only two,



Wigan and Huddersfield