They do have all that but its the first 2 carries from the likes of Grace and Makinson that provide that momentum for Walmsley and Roby etc.

What’s he done off the field? Are you referring to diet?

Yes mate, much as I like him I've never been happy with modern-day professional players presenting out of condition. For me if it's a job you're getting paid £200k-300k a year for you owe it to your employer and fans to be in the best possible condition. (Even if you're being paid 1/10th that it's still up to you to have a committed and professional attitude).

I wasn't delighted about Merrin either, which I know is contentious here. Absolutely sank without trace on his return to the NRL after us.

Never questioned his effort on the field but it's not just about 2 hours in a week is it?

You also have to think about the message that sends across the whole squad. I'm sure that's why his renewal contract wasn't offered at anything like the same level.

Anyway it's done now and I hope he goes well because he's a great entertainer and the sport needs those.

Yeah I agree on conditioning. Is such an important part of the equation. Should be one professional sportsmen have no problems with too.
I agree Merrin was not in good shape either and I wasn’t actually disappointed when he left.
Konnie was a tricky one, as could still be devastating on a good day. But as you said we are moving forwards and so is he….

Whatever we may think of the positives and negatives of Hurrell, what bothers me is that he's probably going to end up scoring a few when we come up against Saints this season. That's what happens to players we let go, as the likes of Cas and HKR like to prove on a regular basis.

Probably, but while he was with us he struggled for fitness and was prone to errors too - if you only got "good Konnie" he'd still be in the NRL as one of the best centres in the world.

It would have been nice to keep him but we always have to balance players' value. Not just for the salary cap but for team morale too I think.

i know fitness and muscle tone are two different things, but having seen him as an opposition fan, i always thought he was chunky, like dean widders was, a bit soft round the middle,

i saw some pics on insta after the season ended at a bbq, he was shredded, didn't seem like the same person at all.

Definitely a bit chunky during his time at Leeds - to be honest I didn't see that as a problem as such. Whether the extra 5-10kg added to his injury susceptibility - maybe. I can't say I noticed a massive fitness problem as such, and the way we used him as a battering ram often in bad ball would knacker anyone out.

So yeah maybe a little more prone to injury because of the weight but the bigger problem with him is always reading the game and the odd brain fart. I guess the other problem with a marquee being out of peak shape is the message that sends to all the younger lads you're insisting have professional habits and look after themselves as well as possible - it's not a good look.

Deffo this. Sometimes it was so obvious to anyone in the ground we were just going to lazily lob him a horrendous hospital ball and expect him to magic a barnstorming run from a standing start with 4 defenders coming at him, then we'd wonder why he was gassed and breaking down in matches.

With him not being first choice at Saints I suppose this gives them a little leeway to "rest" him and make sure hes in tip top condition before putting him in, whereas because of the wedge he was on at Leeds hed have been starting with one leg hanging off. Throw in the fact he's playing under Woolf who knows him inside out and backwards then its a great move for Konnie and unless its against us he has only my best wishes to get back to the rampaging bull we know he can be.

Regan Grace has picked up a bicep injury and will miss the first month of the season, so he may find himself in the first choice backline quicker than he might have envisaged.

Will be interesting to see where he plays Friday night.

Konnie will absolutely rip it up at Saint’s and could be MoS shout…..

Another classic Shabs! Keep em coming for the season ahead.....

I have no doubt he’ll be good in attack, as he was at Leeds and throughout his career. But he’ll still make too many errors and be a liability in defence at times.
I enjoyed watching him at Leeds but think it was the right decision to let him go,

I think Saints will only be paying him a fraction of what he was on at Leeds and see him as a good value decent 3rd centre. Hopoate and Percival will certainly be first choice, although Hopoate could be moved to play elsewhere and Konrad come into the centre if they pick up injuries.

Definitely an interesting situation. Part of me wonders whether the loss of that excess weight will actually work against him, certainly in terms of blockbusting carries.

Yikes, thats a bad do for Regan.

That lad is box office.

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Is losing mass taking away his main assets? Ie barrelling through a tired line.

Not going to help him catch or handle better

I'm still amazed Saints picked him up

What's your best guess at what he is on?

Whatever it is, it's still more than Leeds were offering.

Nope, it wasn’t.

Mixed bag for koni in their friendly with Leigh it seems. Red wee posters saying good go forward, missed 3 or 4 one on ones first half and slow for a threequarter. Early days though.

Quote ="Clearwing"Mixed bag for koni in their friendly with Leigh it seems. Red wee posters saying good go forward, missed 3 or 4 one on ones first half and slow for a threequarter. Early days though.'" Created a try and cost us a try. I think saying he missed 3 or 4 though is harsh, his opposite, Nene Macdonald was easily their standout and would have caused anyone trouble. Was strong going forward and was a thorn in Leigh’s defence. It’ll be really interesting to see how it plays out, with Hopoate likely to start on the wing with Grace out, it’s a three way battle for the centre position for Hurrell, Simm and Davies. You can watch the highlights here if your interested; https://tv.saintsrlfc.com/2022/01/22/hi ... -vs-leigh/

Quote ="Clearwing"Mixed bag for koni in their friendly with Leigh it seems. Red wee posters saying good go forward, missed 3 or 4 one on ones first half and slow for a threequarter. Early days though.'" Created a try and cost us a try. I think saying he missed 3 or 4 though is harsh, his opposite, Nene Macdonald was easily their standout and would have caused anyone trouble. Was strong going forward and was a thorn in Leigh’s defence. It’ll be really interesting to see how it plays out, with Hopoate likely to start on the wing with Grace out, it’s a three way battle for the centre position for Hurrell, Simm and Davies. You can watch the highlights here if your interested; https://tv.saintsrlfc.com/2022/01/22/hi ... -vs-leigh/

Bloody mile forward

Quote ="Magic Superbeetle"Created a try and cost us a try. I think saying he missed 3 or 4 though is harsh, his opposite, Nene Macdonald was easily their standout and would have caused anyone trouble. Was strong going forward and was a thorn in Leigh’s defence. It’ll be really interesting to see how it plays out, with Hopoate likely to start on the wing with Grace out, it’s a three way battle for the centre position for Hurrell, Simm and Davies. You can watch the highlights here if your interested; https://tv.saintsrlfc.com/2022/01/22/hi ... -vs-leigh/'" We've watched Konnie for 3 years and what you get from him is exactly this: diamonds and rocks - most games. He's also injury-prone and you wince when he goes into contact at times. Devastating in the right conditions though. He is pure box office though and certainly an entertainer.

Quote ="Magic Superbeetle"Created a try and cost us a try. I think saying he missed 3 or 4 though is harsh, his opposite, Nene Macdonald was easily their standout and would have caused anyone trouble. Was strong going forward and was a thorn in Leigh’s defence. It’ll be really interesting to see how it plays out, with Hopoate likely to start on the wing with Grace out, it’s a three way battle for the centre position for Hurrell, Simm and Davies. You can watch the highlights here if your interested; https://tv.saintsrlfc.com/2022/01/22/hi ... -vs-leigh/'" We've watched Konnie for 3 years and what you get from him is exactly this: diamonds and rocks - most games. He's also injury-prone and you wince when he goes into contact at times. Devastating in the right conditions though. He is pure box office though and certainly an entertainer.

Sounds about right - he's not going to suddenly fix all his deficiencies in one off season.

Fit, hungry, devastating for Saint’s. Different player with better tactics and players around him…..