: Wed Mar 11, 2009 1:42 pm  

Have I missed 10 defeats whilst I was away on holiday or just one?

: Wed Mar 11, 2009 1:54 pm  

St pete is Francis Meli and I claim my £5.

: Wed Mar 11, 2009 1:56 pm  

Stirlingshire Saint wrote:

I am not going to get chuffed over some decent angled dummy runs, these are areas of the game where they could shove anybody there and tell them to run in a certain way.

If you think running consistently good lines both with and without the ball is that simple and that unimportant then you're well wide of the mark.

Stirlingshire Saint wrote:

Defensively he obviously makes more tackles than it appears however how many of these are third man in tackles ? How often does he make an impact and win the collision in defence ? I would suggest it isn't very often.

Wilkin hits hard. He is a presence in defence. It sounds to me like you're clutching at straws here, largely because of some undisclosed personal grievance. 39 tackles per game over four games is an outstanding feat (furthermore, the number of tackles he's made indicates the extent to which the side has been under pressure - a situation in which he is being accused of hiding) and should be recognised as such.

: Wed Mar 11, 2009 2:42 pm  

I agree with earlier posts on the thread, he's suffering as he was compared to Scully early on and he hasn't developed into that.

It was always going to be a choice for him IMO, he had the potential to be a decent stand off or a decent pack man, Saints have turned him into a pack man and concentrated their efforts accordingly. However he suffers from a similar problem to Sinfield IMO, he's not really big enough to be a great loose forward, nor is he fast or skilful enough to be a great stand off.

He's turned into a solid pro playing for us, and with these new rules in regard to slow ptbs hopefully his skillset will come to the fore to help us break down ever increasingly better defences.

His form has dipped over the last year or so, but then name me a player who that's never happened to?

: Wed Mar 11, 2009 4:31 pm  

Billinge_Lump wrote:

His form has dipped over the last year or so, but then name me a player who that's never happened to?

Mal Meninga

: Wed Mar 11, 2009 4:48 pm  

Supreme Sydney2002 wrote:

Mal Meninga

No no no no no...you mean Steve peters...his bar skills are still top notch too...

Jon Wilkin has never been the same since he got his nose flatted at twickers....

: Wed Mar 11, 2009 5:24 pm  

saints35 bulls0 wrote:

i'm a bit torn on the Wilkin issue.

I think he suffers massively from when he broke into the team and people expecting him to be the next Sculthorpe - which in 2006 he looked like he was shaping up to be. However, he isnt Sculthorpe - he lacks the class in his ball handling amongst other things. However, he works hard, and like others in the team he does a lot of work that goes unnoticed by the average viewer.

He also suffers because he is probably the biggest personality in the team, with all his media work - so people expect him to be the best player in the team and play at the top level every week.

I thought last year, he wasnt great - and I was massively disappointed with his non-performance in the Grand Final, and his petulant outburst afterwards didnt exactly put him in the best light. If he can get back to 2006 form, he will be is a massively valuable player this year, in a year when we will need experienced players to dig in and go the extra mile.

Pretty much agree with that. Wilkin is a talented player, but he's one of my frustrations at Saints (along with Maurie). He's living off a great year in 2006 and whilst he's done OK in patches since, he's been inconsistent.

I'd like him to kick on a bit now and offer more with the ball.

You can't question his effort and commitment to the cause though. An average of 39 tackles per game is phenomenal.

: Wed Mar 11, 2009 5:32 pm  

Dux wrote:

If you think running consistently good lines both with and without the ball is that simple and that unimportant then you're well wide of the mark.

Running good angles can be trained relatively quickly into any player. For a professional rugby league player, it should be second nature and not seen as an exceptional characteristic of their play.

Dux wrote:

Wilkin hits hard. He is a presence in defence. It sounds to me like you're clutching at straws here, largely because of some undisclosed personal grievance. 39 tackles per game over four games is an outstanding feat (furthermore, the number of tackles he's made indicates the extent to which the side has been under pressure - a situation in which he is being accused of hiding) and should be recognised as such.

I'm not convinced by your assertions that Wilkin 'hits hard'. Based on what evidence? Through my own eyes I have seen him make many tackles and I dont recall seeing him make a huge hit, definitely not consistently.

I do not have a personal grievance with the guy at all. This incident happened years ago and didn't involve myself. I do however know that for the want of a better word, the bloke is an a-hole. However, that doesn't dispute the fact that he can play the game to a good level. I just think he should be performing better.

I do not dispute his tackling count so far this season, those are good stats. Lies, damned lies and statistics as they say. He needs to do more IMO to warrant playing for Saints.

: Wed Mar 11, 2009 6:05 pm  

[quote="Mr. Phil"

]St pete is Francis Meli and I claim my £5.[/quote]

At no point in my posts did I say wilkin was rubbish. I think he has everything to be a top class player but IMO he is getting worse by the year.

Since 2006 he has not kicked on. I thought he would be the ideal replacement for scully but I don't think he is anywhere good enough.

I do agree he should be played at 13 and see how it goes.

: Wed Mar 11, 2009 6:17 pm  

I agree with what has been said.

Personally Wilkin frustrates/annoys me alot of the time. He has the skill to be a top, top quality player and dominate a game. At present though he, to me, does the unselfish work like Gilmour often did/does. He tackles like a machine, he might not hit hard but he completes the tackles. His line and running are great also. He's very often there with a key pass and he is on the shoulder or supporting on virtually all breaks.

I'd like to see him go on and start to dominate games more. I think it is abit of too many chiefs and not enough indians at the minute. What with Cunningham, Long, Pryce and Robes when he is on i think he has to take a step back. I think in the future he will step up and start to dominate.