Re: Wigan v Sts discussion - THIS THREAD ONLY PLEASE : Fri Dec 20, 2024 4:02 pm  

Stu M wrote:

The coaching situation needs sorting. Briers has a year longer on his contract than Wellens. Is that so if Wellens starts badly next season, Briers steps in? Who knows.

The big issue though is the Recruitment for 2026. There could be a lot of players leaving in 2025 and a lot of cap space available. Hurrell, Paasi, Mbye, Sironen maybe Bell. Then there's the likes of Davies, Ritson, Bennison. That's not even the worst case scenario of Lees or Knowles leaving. Or both.

However the coach for 2026 will want input and if its not Wellens then they will need to know who it is early in 2025. If it is Wellens again then they are putting faith in him but again it may only be another 1 year deal depending how we go this season. If they offer him 2 or 3 years and we flop spectacularly then we are in dire straits.

The decision as to who the coach is for 2026 needs to be a good one.

Thinking of recruiting players is pretty scary stuff at the minute and gets scarier by the year. The quality just isn't coming over from the NRL anymore and as it gets bigger, the more we're going to be left with the likes of Waqa Blake. You'll get the odd diamond, who is on the edge of the NRL coming in but it seems to becoming the case now where imports with any sort of profile are older than we've ever seen (JWH and Rapana) , are unknown or there isn't much about them. I look at Saints signing Sironen 3 years ago and that signing won't happen anymore IMO. He'd played 130 NRL games, County Origin etc and there will be enough teams in the comp to offer that profile of player a good deal. You look to lesser profile players like Ellis and Field, who were fringe NRL players and even they will be tough to get and if you do, it may just be for a year or so (if they do well) before they head back.

Saints and Wigan with their academies will be in the best place to ride that but you wouldn't want to be having to do too much recruitment each year.

Re: Wigan v Sts discussion - THIS THREAD ONLY PLEASE : Fri Dec 20, 2024 6:35 pm  

tyr wrote:

The thing that struck me about Robertson was how positively he reacted when he did make mistakes. It never seemed to drive him into his shell, and I get the impression his mental attitude is great, so i have high hopes for him as a future international. But I agree, a sensible amount of game time for his development will be crucial.

Regarding Knowles, I think the difference in the team's performance when he was available and when he was out was really noticeable, so I can see why Wellens would do everything he can to keep him. Lees may be harder to keep and would be a loss, as I rate him very highly as well, but I think he is more replaceable. He's a real coaches' player. I can recall lots of fans questioning how much he really brings, but you can see that Wellens and Wane both really rate him. He's just really consistent and has a fantastic engine.

This will be a huge season for Wellens, but I still think he can make a success of things. I'm not sure what represents a minimum acceptable season for Saints this year? Do they have to win a trophy, or would making a final playing better rugby and showing progress be enough? Not sure. I don't personally see them as challenging for the absolute top this coming year, but equally, I don't see them doing a Leeds and dropping out of the play-offs altogether. As with almost everyone, a lot will depend on fitness and form of key players and new signings.

Saints need to retain Knowles and Lees because finding federation trained players will no be easy however, they will need to pay them handsomely and that will restrict what can be spent elsewhere.