Magic Superbeetle

You must of missed Saints missing their first choice half backs as well then? I think I saw Leeds were missing 8? Saints were missing 5, so it’s hardly like they were worlds apparent from a missing players perspective. Was disappointed not to see Dan Norman tonight. Would have been a good chance to see what he’s about whilst we had 2 props out.

If you dont think Woolf has improved Saints, I dont think you have been paying attention. Under Holbrook we played a lot of nice, attacking rugby but we were prone to an epic choke in almost every major game we played. We barely scraped by Halifax in a semi, completely lost it against Warrington at Wembley, and whilst we got the duck off our back against Salford in the 2019 GF, I think we still struggled to see the game off. I would go so far as to say a Holbrook team would have lost last years Grand Final. Had we lost that game, we could have ended up with the flat track bullies tag. Woolf has added a serious amount of steel and fortitude to our game. Its not the pretty side of the game, but Saints fans can go into big games confident because of it. I also think our supposed "boring" attack is somewhat overblown, it may not have been as slick as it was under Holbrook, but we have had the same backs pretty consistently for 5 years now, most teams have learned how to defend against us (though stopping the tries is another thing altogether). Over the last couple of weeks we have been alot more unpredictable with Welsby and Dodd and have looked a lot slicker for it - its a good time for us to have a shake up this year. As for Hurrell - he has a decision, put the effort in, be the game changer everyone knows he can be, and impress his international coach in the process, or Mata'utia, Sironen (as has just been announced), and Batchelor all start in front of him, with Wingfield and Forster not far behind. Thats not a bad position to be in.

This. Hurrell has signed for Saints next year, with the intention of him playing in the second row. He either gets fit and gets in the team, or Batchelor keeps his place, and we convince a Koukash rich Leigh he would be a great signing for 2023. 4 senior second rowers in the team, good for competition with Wingfield and Forster putting more pressure on below. Oh, and I think Baxter will come through as a prop eventually.

Hopoate and Percival will be our starting centres next year so it’s either that or we have signed him to play reserves. we’re losing 2 back rowers (Bentley and Thompson) and only signing 1 (BMM/Sironen/Martin/JSL/Bell depending on which rumours you believe) so it adds up, and quite a few journos on Twitter (such as John Davidson) have said it as well. I can only guess Woolf has a plan…

Edit: double post

You do realise he won Bulldogs player of the year in 2019? https://www.bulldogs.com.au/news/2019/09/12/hopoate-claims-dr-george-peponis-bulldogs-player-of-the-year/ there’s no denying he’s not performed this year but there are 100s of reasons why that might be. It feels like a classic things have just gone stale for him and a new environment will do him the world of good - especially as he’s worked with Woolf before (something he emphasised in his Saints interview). If Woolf can get the best out of him, he’s going to be very good for us and probably somewhere between Naiqama 2018 and Naiqama 2021 (and closer to the former). It’s just not seen as “exciting” as it’s an incremental improvement compared to the revolution Naiqama was for us. Saints also need a bit of utility in our signings this year as a safety net for Welsby and Simm, and in Hopoate and Lussick we seem to have done that whilst still adding to the team, which is great recruitment all round. Just a prop and a backrower to go after that!

I think Saints have concerns over Smiths long term health with head injuries. He’s started wearing a head guard this year but still rarely featured. Can see him leaving in the next year or so as he’s struggled to develop with constant head knocks. Similarly I’d be surprised if Eaves signs a new contract, he’s just not had the opportunity and Pemberton (our current 19s hooker) will be the next one off the bus… If Roby continues next year we will probably see; 2022: 9 Roby, 14 Lussick 2023: 9 Lussick, 14 Pemberton

Dufty has been linked with Saints to replace Coote who is rumoured to be home sick but not sure how much is in it … https://www.seriousaboutrl.com/nrl-livewire-offered-to-super-league-with-one-club-in-pole-position-40045/

I got bored, so looked up the 2018, 2019 and 2020 table and tabulated - I can only be bothered to do Saints and Wigan since they both finished 1 and 2 all three seasons. <!DOCTYPE html> <html> <body> <table style="width:100%"> <tr> <th></th> <th>Year</th> <th>Team</th> <th>Played</th> <th>Won</th> <th>Drawn</th> <th>Lost</th> <th>Points For</th> <th>Points Against</th> <th>Points Difference</th> <th>Points</th> </tr> <tr> <td>Before 2017</td> <td>Saints</td> <td>599</td> <td>416</td> <td>15</td> <td>168</td> <td>18329</td> <td>11795</td> <td>6534</td> <td>845</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Before 2017</td> <td>Wigan</td> <td>599</td> <td>398</td> <td>24</td> <td>177</td> <td>17348</td> <td>10928</td> <td>6420</td> <td>814</td> </tr> <tr> <td>2018</td> <td>Saints</td> <td>23</td> <td>21</td> <td>0</td> <td>2</td> <td>713</td> <td>298</td> <td>415</td> <td>42</td> </tr> <tr> <td>2018</td> <td>Wigan</td> <td>23</td> <td>16</td> <td>0</td> <td>7</td> <td>573</td> <td>345</td> <td>228</td> <td>32</td> </tr> <tr> <td>2019</td> <td>Saints</td> <td>29</td> <td>26</td> <td>0</td> <td>3</td> <td>916</td> <td>395</td> <td>521</td> <td>52</td> </tr> <tr> <td>2019</td> <td>Wigan</td> <td>29</td> <td>18</td> <td>0</td> <td>11</td> <td>699</td> <td>539</td> <td>160</td> <td>36</td> </tr> <tr> <td>2020</td> <td>Saints</td> <td>18</td> <td>13</td> <td>0</td> <td>5</td> <td>477</td> <td>199</td> <td>278</td> <td>26</td> </tr> <tr> <td>2020</td> <td>Wigan</td> <td>18</td> <td>13</td> <td>0</td> <td>5</td> <td>412</td> <td>286</td> <td>126</td> <td>26</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Overall</td> <td>Saints</td> <td>669</td> <td>476</td> <td>15</td> <td>178</td> <td>20435</td> <td>12687</td> <td>7748</td> <td>965</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Overall</td> <td>Wigan</td> <td>669</td> <td>445</td> <td>24</td> <td>200</td> <td>19032</td> <td>12098</td> <td>6934</td> <td>908</td> </tr> </table> </body> </html>

At Saints we probably have 3 categories youngsters: Welsby, Dodd and Simm are all with an outside chance of making a name for themselves, but depends on when and where injuries occur really make or break: Eaves, Bentley and Costello are either going to fall in the pecking order or take the shirt in the first team (think Bentley in particular will be the breakout for Saints next year) established looking for honours: Knowles and Lees (don’t really think these guys are breaking through?)