After looking through Fish's superb Heritage site - a poser.



Which players from this team would you select over those in a fully fit 2010 team and - most importantly - why?

(I don't mind if you switch positions - provided they are the same position i.e. Ropati to right centre.



1. Veivers

2. Hunte.

3. Ropati

4. Loughlin

5. Quirk

6. Griffiths

7. Bishop

8. Neill

9. Dwyer

10. Ward

11. Harrison

12. Mann

13. Cooper



14. Connolly

15. Groves

Positions two through to five are genreally better than what we have today, with perhaps possible exception of Gidley. It would be a hard choice to pick two from Loughlin Ropati and Gidley.



I would also have Ward as one of the props.

Other than that i can only think of Dwyer as making it as a squad player.

No Connolly or Mann?

I think Hunte was massively underrated, one of the best wingers i've ever seen, he'd walk into any SL side now

Players that would be in the current set up:



2. Hunte.

3. Ropati

4. Loughlin

5. Quirk

9. Dwyer

10. Ward

12. Mann

14. Connolly

Vievers, Ropati, Loughlin,Ward, Connolly and Mann would walk into our first choice 17 now I feel.

Hunte was the best Saints winger in 25 years. Quick. Physically gifted. Athletic. Great hands. Great leap. Solid in defence and a BORN tryscorer. The mistake people made was thinking he was something other than a natural winger. And only a bug-eyed maniac would put him at full-back and make him captain.

Quirk was right up there with Darren Albert. A bit slower (only a bit) - but he had other attributes e.g. a motherphucker of a fend and the freakish ability to take the ball to the corners (with seemingly the entire opposition closing in on him) and still score.



In 1991 Veivers was on the slide so - no.

Ropati was a world class player and thus a gimme.

I'm undecided about Dobbin.

Griffiths was a highly underrated running stand-off whose career was wrecked by injuries. But Pryce is the better player.

Bishop was another underrated player. If I could transplant his kicking game into Eastmond he'd be unstoppable.

Neill - another player who was killed by injuries. One of the toughest men I've seen at Saints.

Dwyer - Can't top Keiron, but at his best he was a more complete player than Roby.

Ward walks into the current team.

Harrison - no.

Mann - he was close to his best in 1991 and better than any attacking second-row we have now.

Cooper - Very borderline.

Connolly - walks in.

Groves - his back was shot by 1991 and it left him a fraction of the player he was when Murphy signed him.

Dwyer would be an excellent addition to our squad. Could play anywhere in the pack and would give us a bit of "yard dog" that we haven't seen since hooper left.



Mann would also give us a bit more "impact" in the forward, whereas our lads lean mostly toward hard yards and high tackle counts.



Agreed on the backs though - how useful would Huntey be to us these days!?

1. Connolly

2. Hunte

3. Ropati

4. Gidley

5. Quirk

6. Pryce

7. Eastmond

8. Graham

9. Cunningham

10. Ward

11. Puletua

12. Mann

13. Wilkin



14. Roby

15. Fa'asavalu

16. Fozzard

17. Clough



Would win Super League by 12 points and stroll to the double.

1. Veivers

2. Hunte.

3. Ropati

4. Loughlin

5. Quirk

8. Neill

10. Ward

12. Mann

13. Cooper

14. Connolly



Would all walk into the current saints side with ease.

Now that's a side I'd enjoy watching. If you could just bend the rules a bit and chuck Tommy Martyn in there it would be obscene.

Some decent assesments there but Lockers was a class centre at his best so I think he would warrant a place certainly in front of soliola (who would either start in the second row or come off the bench).



Not 100% sure on your assesment of Jon Neill either - some of my lasting memories of him were his crazy pointless offloads that undid pretty much all of the good work he did going forward.



For me I'd blend the team as below



1.Connolly

2.Hunte

3.Gidley

4.Loughlin

5.Pryce

6.Ropati

7.Eastmond

8.Graham

9.Cunningham

10.Ward

11.Soliola

12.Mann

13.Wilkin

14.Roby

15.Puletua

16.Faasavalu

17.Vievers

Kevin Ward was an awesome player - probably in the top 5 props I have ever seen in 35 years of watching the game.



Kurt Sorensen, Andy Platt, Shane Webke, Trevor Skerrett and Kevin Ward!



Now that would be a fine roster of props!

Pryce instead of Quirk? You've taken leave of your senses.

Connolly in 1991 was only a kid of around 19 years old.



He had promise but no way would he get in the current side. Especially as he was only bench material for the 1991 side.



Most people choosing Connolly are thinking of the older mature varient, which is not what has been asked of here.



I never picked Mann as i just dont know were he would fit in. Similar with Cooper who was an outstanding player.

veivers was awesome and it's tough call between wello but i'd go with veivers over the current wello.



Hunte walks in!



ropati walks in but at stand off.



quirk or meli hahahahahaha.



bishop was very good for saints but i think eastmond is going to be better.



ward is best prop saints have had in my time of watching saints.



mann is just what saints need. power, pace, tackle breaker.



connolly would also walk into this current saints side.

I ever really got the obsession with Mann. He was good with ball in hand and was pretty speedy for a big bloke. However, his defence was pretty woeful.



Ward would be in any team any era.



The threequarters would all have a good chance.



Otherwise Dwyer and Cooper would be worth a shirt.

The Connolly that played in the 1989 CCF against the Vermin was a kid. The Connolly of 1991 was a man. Being thrown in repeatedly by Murphy at full-back - with no help whatsoever - meant growing up fast or sinking without trace. He hadn't filled out fully by 1991, but he was easily one of the strongest players P4P and nobody was getting past him whilst carrying the ball. If he'd had access to the kind of training advice that kids as young as 12 are now receiving from professional clubs he'd have been a monster.



Not shifting Gidley, but definitely putting pressure on for the other jersey.







Cooper was a bit of a throwback and perhaps not suited to the modern game. But he sure could teach Pryce and Wilkin a thing or two. Mann is borderline, IMO.

flippin eck theres some rose tinted spectacles.



Ward is the only name that would make our first 13.

If Connolly was a man how come Veivers is at Fullback and Ropati and Loughlin are the centres then in your original post?



Also in the 1990 1991 season Connolly scored a grant total of just 4 trys.



It was around 1992 and 1993 that he really became a top line player. At which point he took the pie lucre and jumped ship.

Because they were both good and the senior pros. And playing experience over youth from the start in big games is the SMART thing to do.







Connolly was never a strike centre (his grand total of 1 try in 40 GB games testifies to that). Sure, he scored a good number at Wiggin. But you could put a penguin at centre in the team he joined and expect no less than 10 per season.

lol maybe - But you'd agree with the rest? I always liked Ropati at 6 for us and I think he had far more natural ability there than Pryce

Some rose tinted spectacles about some limited/flawed players in my opinion.



We know our wingers are poor currently, so that's where there'd be changes, but not much else. Only Wardy (legend), perhaps Cooper, the wingers and Ropati/Loughlin in one of the centre spots would make the current team.

So your sayiong you wouldnt have Gary Connolly ?

Gary who?