half backs! : Sun Sep 14, 2014 2:21 pm  

is there no good half backs in our academy side then?...all we ever seem to get is forwards??...what about a stand off or scrum half etc!..people go on about saints have got a good squad of young reserves (does this only apply to the forwards then?).....or is it brown who doesn't think there's any one good enough in there?..........just thought i'd ask instead of twiddling me thumbs!

Re: half backs! : Sun Sep 14, 2014 2:26 pm  

RIGSBY wrote:

is there no good half backs in our academy side then?...all we ever seem to get is forwards??...what about a stand off or scrum half etc!..people go on about saints have got a good squad of young reserves (does this only apply to the forwards then?).....or is it brown who doesn't think there's any one good enough in there?..........just thought i'd ask instead of twiddling me thumbs!

No we are crap at producing Scrum halfs

We've only had Ellis, Matty Smith, Wheeler, Lomax, Gaskell and Eastmond. (Swift was a half too if I recall)

Nothing happening there.

The club is not a bottomless pit, from what we have produced it looks like only Lomax will end up being a club held asset.

But seriously how many half had we produced in the years before 2010?? I would be tempted to say Murphy was the last one before that but he may have been a lether I can't recall correctly.

Re: half backs! : Sun Sep 14, 2014 2:30 pm  

I'm waiting for the "why we not playing Charnock" post.

Re: half backs! : Sun Sep 14, 2014 2:32 pm  

Charnock looked fine in the snow years ago against Salford. He can't be any worse than Wellens surely.

Re: half backs! : Sun Sep 14, 2014 2:32 pm  

Charnock looked fine in the snow years ago against Salford. He can't be any worse than Wellens surely.

Re: half backs! : Sun Sep 14, 2014 2:41 pm  

Hewitt is the next half back lined up, judging by the comments of Brown a few weeks ago, and will probably be reserve halfback next year, after he has a first team preseason under his belt.

Re: half backs! : Sun Sep 14, 2014 2:54 pm  

St pete wrote:

I'm waiting for the "why we not playing Charnock" post.

I'm just sad that Wheeler is not able to take this chance.

Re: half backs! : Sun Sep 14, 2014 2:58 pm  

Magic Superbeetle wrote:

Hewitt is the next half back lined up, judging by the comments of Brown a few weeks ago, and will probably be reserve halfback next year, after he has a first team preseason under his belt.

ive heard a few good reports about this lad too....surley he could have been given a chance this season..(not in the playoffs)...because in some games which we have performed he couldn't have been any worse.

Re: half backs! : Sun Sep 14, 2014 3:22 pm  

The best way to bring a young half through is to put him with an "experienced head" hopefully that will be Walsh and Burns.
Saints Fan's favourite coach tried to bring two inexperienced halves together, it worked for a bit then Gaskell was made the sacrificial lamb the rest is history.
If we are going with Hewitt then we have to stick with it and not put him onto the wing or a standby hooker.
The first club to get some decent halves will mop up this poor quality superleague.

Re: half backs! : Sun Sep 14, 2014 3:34 pm  

Throwing a young halfback who isn't ready into a team is probably the worst thing you could do for their development.

Just because 'they couldn't do any worse' doesn't mean that they're ready to play. Look at how successfully Brown has brought through a number of players, whilst I sometimes question his tactics this is one area he is exceptional in.