Re: Jon Wilkin - Contract Extension : Tue Mar 17, 2015 9:18 am  

Carlos Alberto wrote:

Luke Walsh's replacement next year.

that was my 1st thought as soon as i heard

Re: Jon Wilkin - Contract Extension : Tue Mar 17, 2015 10:38 am  

theblondebomber wrote:

that was my 1st thought as soon as i heard

Now that would be a disaster .

Re: Jon Wilkin - Contract Extension : Tue Mar 17, 2015 10:45 am  

It's the right move, very experienced player now and we would lose a lot were he and Wellens both leave.

Re: Jon Wilkin - Contract Extension : Tue Mar 17, 2015 1:13 pm  

It's the right thing to do. Everyone hates Jon Wilkin at the moment, but that's because he's spent the majority of the last three seasons pretending to be a scrum half. He does that job reasonably well and without him we certainly wouldn't have been champions last season. We'd have dropped down the table and wouldn't have been afforded the stroll to OT that we were. If we get Walsh back and fit and he moves back to the second row, he's then got a challenge on his hands with Greenwood and Vea certainly ahead of him in my eyes. But a very useful player to have around and we certainly won't be seeing him play in the back row anytime soon given our continued run of luck with keeping halves on the field. Another month at least at 7 I'd suspect.

Re: Jon Wilkin - Contract Extension : Tue Mar 17, 2015 1:56 pm  

Saddened! wrote:

It's the right thing to do. Everyone hates Jon Wilkin at the moment, but that's because he's spent the majority of the last three seasons pretending to be a scrum half. He does that job reasonably well and without him we certainly wouldn't have been champions last season. We'd have dropped down the table and wouldn't have been afforded the stroll to OT that we were. If we get Walsh back and fit and he moves back to the second row, he's then got a challenge on his hands with Greenwood and Vea certainly ahead of him in my eyes. But a very useful player to have around and we certainly won't be seeing him play in the back row anytime soon given our continued run of luck with keeping halves on the field. Another month at least at 7 I'd suspect.

+1

Whilst I'm not sure he's genuinely worth a spot in our back row, he'll hit 40+ tackles a game which should help the big lads save their energy for going forward. I reckon Flash and Jones are better back rows, but the difference is negligible, especially when you consider Wilkin's our captain and bring a few more less tangible qualities to the squad.

Re: Jon Wilkin - Contract Extension : Tue Mar 17, 2015 10:37 pm  

Without Wilkin's kicking in the last third of last season we wouldn't have won the title. I've had plenty of criticism for the lad over the years. But during the last twelve months he's played very well.

The argument is pretty simple, really.

With an inferior pack Jon is often surplus to requirements.
With a dominant pack Jon is worth his weight in gold.

He deserves an extension. Never gives anything less than his best.

Re: Jon Wilkin - Contract Extension : Wed Mar 18, 2015 6:13 am  

He might not have been born in St Helens, but he is as much a Saint as Roby and Wellens, and will play anywhere for the team. He's never really quite fulfilled his potential as a top 13, but has never really been given that opportunity. The fact that he is generally injury free is also important in our squad of biscuit backs

Re: Jon Wilkin - Contract Extension : Wed Mar 18, 2015 7:33 am  

Its a no brainer really, you always need a couple of experienced players who can adapt to different roles and who the young players can look up to.
I always thought he was going to replace Scully, but he could never reach that type of performance that was consistently needed.
Very adaptable player having played back row, hooker and half back which will always attract criticism because of his "Jack of all Trades but Master of None" badge.
We will need someone to step up to the plate next season in the leadership department ready for 2017.

Re: Jon Wilkin - Contract Extension : Wed Mar 18, 2015 9:40 pm  

Fans need to get out of this "If you're not Sculthorpe you're nothing" mentality. Talk about setting a player up to fail!

Paul Sculthorpe is a once-in-a-generation player. Given that Jon Wilkin is probably four inches shorter and two stones lighter he's done remarkably well achieving all he has.

And yes. It is possible to not be of the same calibre as a future legend of the sport and yet still be a very good player.

Re: Jon Wilkin - Contract Extension : Wed Mar 18, 2015 10:46 pm  

Mugwump wrote:

Fans need to get out of this "If you're not Sculthorpe you're nothing" mentality. Talk about setting a player up to fail!

Paul Sculthorpe is a once-in-a-generation player. Given that Jon Wilkin is probably four inches shorter and two stones lighter he's done remarkably well achieving all he has.

And yes. It is possible to not be of the same calibre as a future legend of the sport and yet still be a very good player.

Spot on.