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.

I was definitely on the fence with that one - whether its 3 or 4 players it demonstrates the tough spot the St Helens squad is in. 

Agree with you there, he is on the downward curve although to be fair was superb last night. He has been used as a battering ram for years and is most certainly injury prone. 

Also agree with our set up. We have very few 22-28 aged players, Welsby and Lees being the only ones of note. We either have ageing players past their best- Lomax, Walmsley, Paasi, Clark, Sironen, Percival etc or ones who are very young with potential- Whitby, Robertson, Dagnall, Stephens. 


It's the 22-28 age range we desperately need.

They're where we found ourselves under Lam, with guys like Smithies, Havard, Partington, Shorrocks, Byrne etc being asked to do a seasoned pros job, guys like Clubb and Lockers being pretty much done and a number of players who just weren't up to standard. We compounded the issue trying to sign somebody like George Burgess to sit in that in between age group as well. A few Saints fans liked to revel in telling us none of our players were good enough and just as then, there are players in this Saints side that can take them forward and things can turn quickly but they've some rebuild job on in this next year or two. 

7 straight defeats to Wire, 3 each to us and Rovers, 2 straight to Leigh. Saints this season are mostly winning the games that they should win but not the games that they need to win if they expect to be thereabouts for trophies. I don't like to dump on coaches but I don't see how Wellens stays beyond this season without an absolute miracle. But, as others have said, this isn't a situation a change of coach will easily fix. It needs a squad rebuild as well.

I almost feel guilty questioning his inclusion Stu, as I think he probably would be in that group were it not for his wholehearted playing style. Even last night he was still throwing himself at the defence harder than most of your forwards! He's still a talent when fit but, unfortunately for him and Saints, he's not at his best often enough.