Re: Wardle : Wed Apr 05, 2023 1:57 pm  

NickyKiss wrote:

He’s put a bit of timber back on looking at him this season and niggly injuries have crept in across the squad this past 12 months.

Have there been changes in personnel in that S and C department?

No. I think its just a culmination of ageing players and players that have played a lot of rugby. Percival and Walmsley for example. Makinson missed a few last season too. Batchelor was more or less an ever present the past few seasons bar his ankle injury the week before the WCC. Dodd was a freak type of injury.

Hopoate has been constantly injured. The Tongan medical staff said that they'd sort him during the WC and he got injured with them so not sure Saints can be entirely blamed for him.

We've probably had more bans than injuries

Re: Wardle : Wed Apr 05, 2023 4:47 pm  

nathan_rugby wrote:

Was Leeds not a highly professional setup? Interested to know where theirs and Saints setups differ.

i'd start with they lost their golden generation of peacock, burrow, sinfield, mcguire, JJB etc and that was the start of it

Brian McDermott left, replaced by Furner (i think) who was quickly replaced by Agar (along with a spell of Sinfield in some form of capacity), and now Smith

whether the setup was as professional or not, no doubt massive changes in personnel after having those guys around for seemingly umpteen years, and a steady coach who was there for about 8-9 years i think and i am pretty sure you can see that in the results on the pitch too, as they have been dire at times over the last few seasons.

Saints, however have changed coaches successfully after the Cunningham era, and that has reaped rewards for them. They have had a core of players there for a considerable number of years, Lomax, Makinson, Roby, Walmsley, LMS etc who have set the standards and culture, whereas Leeds lost virtually all of that.
Saints have seemingly recruited well, especially from an overseas perspective and that has complimented the home grown players that have come through too. The likes of Coote, Paasi, Sironen, Naiqama, Peyroux, Barba have all worked in the Saints system and fit in well.