If saints do offer meli a new deal which i very much doubt, i wouldn't be against letting him have 10 min spells in the pack but il tell you know he will never make a 2nd row.



I wouldn't trust him defending inside our centres for a start.

Yes pal i think he is 30 now.



It's a shame we couldn't use him how we used freddie when we'd switch him and hoppe.

Freddie,what a fantastic player he was.I remember a game at KR about 10 years ago and the hit he did on this fella shook me to the bone(cant remember who it was against).

Freddie was all action, i used to love weatching him play. Hard as nails.

Thats it close the forum no need to debate anything ever.

1. Meli should NEVER have been offered a new contract. His form didn't warrant an extension. McManus phucked up majorly here.

2. When forced to field a kick it's pure Russian Roulette whether he defuses the threat or costs us a) possession, b) a penalty or c) a try.

3. In TWO Grand Finals he has played a significant role in losing us the SL title. And he wasn't great in the third, either.

4. If, somehow, we do manage to get to OT this season the opposition will target Meli again because they KNOW he's nervous in big games. He will almost certainly phuck up again.

5. In Australia this would never have happened. Defensive liabilities are dropped. Period. And Meli WAS dropped in the NRL for precisely the same phuck ups he's been making at Saints for years.

6. In the NRL, no one would DREAM of using the "scapegoat" defence for someone like Meli.

7. The continued presence of Meli in this team does not reflect well on the standards of PROFESSIONALISM or EXPECTATIONS at Knowsley Road.

8. I don't have a problem with Meli as a person. I don't know him. What I do know is he is not up to the job.



EOD.

1 - McManus has made many, many errors with signings, promotions, coach selections etc. Meli's extension is just one of many.

2 - He's fine at fielding kicks. He makes very few mistakes. His errors in the Grand Finals were decisive however

3 - True

4 - Salford in the league is the closest we'll get to Old Trafford in the next couple of years

5 - Meli played for years in the NRL, frequently top scoring for his side and once scored 5 in a semi final

6 - Don't get what you are saying here

7 - The playing staff is the worst it's been for 10 years or more. Squad development is not one of their strengths

8 - He is no worse than Flannery, Gardner, Wellens, Fozzard, Hargreaves, Ashurst, Dixon etc in not being up to it

I mostly agree with Mug on this, but we don't know the ins and out of who was availiable when Meli's contract was renewed. I cant help thinking renewing was the easy option though. On other recruitment, again we dont know the details, but if getting Fozz back instead of getting the likes of Tronc meant we kept Kyle, then thats good sense IMO

There is no chance we're spending up to the cap, no chance at all. Our only 'star' players are Gidley, Pryce, KC, Graham and Eastmond and two of those are still on their first 'big' contracts, their next will be far bigger if they stay.



We have probably the smallest squad in Super League and probably the most home grown players too. Compare with Leeds who have a far stronger 1-17, with top quality in every position plus the likes of Bailey and Ablett as backup before they get to their youth stocks. Warrington too have strong players in every position and far more depth than we have.



If we are up to the cap then we are mismanging it.

Definitely for this season anyway. Since about half our team are off contract at the end of this season I have no idea at all where we will be in 2011, except at Widnes.

well colquitt said last night we are spending up to cap, which is a little surprising to say the least. Its likely that Gidley, Meli, Fozz, Gardner, KC and Wello are in a decent chunk of the cap, and all or most will be gone or on lower contracts (you would hope) next year, this leaves a huge wedge for some big investment or "marquee" signings for next season

I think you can add Roby (MOS bumped his contract demands up significantly) and possibly Soliola as other big earners. Still, hard to see how this can fill the cap when you look at some of the previous squads we've managed to squeeze within it (or, maybe, [ijust[/i outside of it

)

If we are spending up to the cap then there is something [uVERY[/u wrong with our wage structure and recruitment policy. McManus might well be a financial whiz - and I have the utmost respect for the way he rescued us from the debacle of the previous administration, as well as his efforts with the new stadium - but he is not an astute judge of worth.



If we are spending up to the cap - what happens when/if Eastmond, Wheeler, Lomax & Co mature into the real thing and rightfully demand pay rises?

I suspect Kyle is on top wack now (where else are we spending it?), and wheeler/lomax can have a portion of Gidley/Meli or Gardners wage

The danger here is investing too much money in the backs and weakening the pack. You can have the best backs in the world - but if the pack is undertonned they are phucked.

yup, i'd be happy if we keep/develop our current backs if it meant we could get a Luke Bailey type prop (or 2) next year

We are at the cap limit.

How can dire spend the same then and get the quality in depth that we seem to lack this year?

There all doing a Radlinksi and playing for the love of it ...

What? Gardner played well? Did he actually tackle somebody? He is only usually good 5 metres from the line with nobody in front of him.

Saint Simon is not Tony Colquitt

Their owner, Simon Moranovich, bribes the RFL and SL officials with free Take That tickets and ensures that they turn up to the family parties and bar mitzvahs of RFL family members.

We're getting fleeced by the players!

Shall we boo them lots next week then?

i think there is a bit of kidology by TC.. i just can't see how we're anywhere near the cap, when you compare our squad, to say wire..



as for gardner, i can't share the common census on the site, i thought he was very poor again, he made a few good tackles, but again struggled to make yards, he was also at fault for on of the celtic tries (by flying in off his wing), i didn't get a clear enough view, but he was out-jumped for bomb to his wing, and he possible could have done better with the pass that went to ground, he took an age to turn, and when he did he fell over..



personally he is a decent enough defender (when he doesn't get sucked in) and nothing more.. to me he offers nothing in attack