www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-league/17428568

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-league/17428568

Rather annoying. Why couldn't he wait till after we'd played them? New coaches often bring a bump in form.

At the start of the season you would have got some nice odds on Uncle Roy being the first coach casualty of the season.

Think they have made a mistake myself.

Saints are struggling to cope with their main asset (Graham) going, and not replacing him. He was the main goto in that side, and players who have been consistently playing with him are struggling to adjust.

I don't think the coach was to blame for that.

Seems a bit premature to me, but meh.

To be honest, I still think Saints away looks like a tough game next week, I still think Saints will make the top 4 (5 if Dragons and Giants keep up their level) at the end of the season.

I would have thought this with Simmons in charge, I still think it now he's not. They're a decent side having a bad run. It won't last much longer if you ask me.

Losing at Bradford can cost you your job it seems!

Paid the price for some poor recruitment IMO.

Perry looks like he's here for a holiday. Hohaia is hugely overrated, Meli has somehow ended up starting the season as a first choice centre. They've not even got remotely close to replacing Graham and as soon as Roby got hurt they became a mediocre side overnight.

That performance against Bradford was about as poor as I've seen a Saints side play any time in the last five years. They were clueless against a pretty ordinary but hard working Bulls side.

My thinking too. Without Graham and with Roby injured they seem to have no go-forward in amongst the forwards, and no zip from dummy half to get the backs going.

St Helens next three games are against Leeds, Warrington and Wigan so I think and hope it lasts a bit longer.

Spot on.



When Wellens is doing all the running in your team you know your onto a loser. That lad ran his blood to water Vs Bratfud and for what? Team mates standing around doing nowt with or without the ball. Something very rotten has occured that we are not privvy to but swapping FGB for Perry is on a par with our signing of Cross, not that they had a choice.

Indeed.


Remember when Millward went and Anderson's 1st game was in charge against us? All the Saints fans were saying it was a matter of how many we would beat them by and low and behold, they did us in the cup.

Good job GH has never subscribed to that philosophy over the course of the Superleague period.
I predicted Simmons demise a few weeks ago but I thought it would not be till the end of the season.
Although I then posited Smith as his replacement maybe the smart money now will be on Nathan Brown sooner rather than later.

Surprised that Anderson has ruled himself out TBH.

Doubt he'll want it as the team he previously inherited were miles better than they are now and its a big job to do. Saints now remind me of Bradford in 2006. Losing the last of there very best players, never replacing them and declining into a poor team!

Wellans was my MoM TBH, he put more work in than the rest of the Saints squad put together - the poor lad looked gutted in the post match interview.

I remember Leeds this time last year were being compared with the Bradford of 2006

Graham was not swapped for Perry, both were in the same side last season. Laffranchi seems more likely to be classed as Graham's replacement, and he's still arguably finding his feet.

IMO this is a knee-jerk reaction from Saints, assuming there aren't any other complicating factors behind the scenes. That said it is a sobering thought that most of us wanted the same to happen to McDermott last year, admittedly after a few more rounds had been played.

hopefully we dont get caught cold next week, hopefully roby isnt back

I think it proves that ST's have relied far too much on Graham and Roby for their go forward and that work-rate and class hasn't been matched amongst the other players.
I still think when Roby comes back and they get Lomax and Gaskell firing they'll be a threat but they need to get the pack sharing and giving the work=rate and impact they miss with Grahams departure.
They may even replicate our 06 season and go through a bit of a transition it also highlights imo that Foster ,Meli and the likes of Dixon aren't as good as maybe some of the locals think they are.

Hopefully Roby will be back, will make for a much better game.

True. And this could be a very telling 3 weeks. If they were to lose all 3 of those, then their route back to the top 4 or 5 could look very hard indeed.

If they win a couple of them, they're well in touch and it's "Crisis? What crisis?" time.

I still don't think any of those 3 sides are quite firing on all cylinders yet, so I while they won't be favourites for any of them, I wouldn't write Saints off in any of those games either, so winning a couple of them isn't beyond the bounds of possibility.

I can't see them losing all 3. But if they do, yes, they are heading up a certain creek without a certain instrument.

Graham gone, Roby injured. Given Wilkin's outspokenness on many issues, one would have thought he was a leader around which a struggling pack would rally. But no.

Simmons's sacking will already be in the Wilkins Big Book of Excuses, ready to be used when the need arises.

Does Wilkin play rugby? I thought he just issued press releases and wore fancy suits.

Premature decision so early. We were no better than they are in July last year! To do this in March is a bit daft.

That said, Royce was "dead man walking" with it being knowledge he was gone at the end of this year so maybe he would have been unable to turn them around the way McDermott did us.

Saints are in massive transition, having lost Long, Cunningham and Graham. They still have some cracking youngsters in pivotal positions (Gaskell and Lomax) that might take a bit of time to mature. Mind, I also think they have some distinctly average youngsters like Wheeler and Foster.