I had high hopes for last year, so I'm trying to keep my optimism in a reasonable check.

We've recruited well, but we still have a fragile squad in some areas and I think the key to our success will actually hinge on how some of our current squad members perform and are used -

LMS - Showed wonderful form at the end of the season after a pathetic start. He is actually a very influential player for us. When he gears up and plays like he should, Saints as a whole are lifted.

Hohaia - Will all the good work by our new 1st receiver be wasted by Lance slowing everything down at 2nd? Will he continue to panic outwide in defence?

Wilkin - Is he realistically good enough to be selected in the backrow infornt of other, physically more capable players? Any game where Brown went with 3 pivots (+ fullback) last year was a disaster. IMO should be playing 6 (if not sold to Salford for some nice reddies).

Wellens - Not as good a fullback as Lomax, not as good a forward as a whole bunch of Saints players, not as good a half back as, well.....
If Brown insists on shoehorning him in somewhere, it will 4/5 times weaken our 17.

Boof - Time to step up, kangaroo.

Finishing inside the top 4 and a decent show in the cup is the minimum this squad should be achieving.

Brown probably doesn't trust him to stay fit. If Lance is our other option at 6, then he needs all the training park time he can get. There's no point in letting Wheeler run there, only to drop out injured and leave Lance undercooked.
We've more genuine depth at centre, so he perhaps thinks its less of a problem if Wheeler crocks out again.

If wheeler can't last a game at centre, then he's no chance at stand off where he's more involved.

Shame really as he's got good potential, he's a natural attacking player what we need at 6 and he's a top lad.

This Masoe situation got Josh Perry written a over it. Big guy, big rep, no pre season and will prob pick little niggles up when he gets back

Only thing in our favour is his age. Perry was nearing the end of his career but Mose not hit his peak yet.

Fingers crossed it's not as bad.

Injuries happen. Can't blame the club or the big fella for that. How you shape up afterwards is attitude. Fitness is these guys job. Pay me to go to gym everyday. I'll be whatever shape you want.

I believe he put a stone and half on from the end of the season with the panthers until the kiwi game in the World Cup. Apparently he was tipping the scales at 20st!

Just think what 4 month sat on his backside could do! We could have the heaviest super league player if all time!

Calories in; Calories out.

It's an ankle injury. Nothing to stop arm exercises, till he can walk on it. Plenty of arm bicycles at the gym I go to, will work cardio as well.

Plenty of athletic Wheelchair sports men and women.

Nothing against the guy being big, that's why we bought him.

I'm sure as a pro with the Saints conditioning team they will have already done all this. It's about managing yourself to your conditions. I would not expect him to be doing sprints in 4 weeks, but neither would I expect his fitness to be less than what it needs to be. You do what you can to keep in as best condition as you can. If that means eating less and spending longer doing other types of Cardio for the same result then that's what has to be done.

I'm not saying it's easy, but then neither are plenty of peoples jobs and they get paid a lot less doing things a lot nastier.

I'm not assuming anything about the man himself, but there should be no excuses either, we are not talking a completely incapacitating injury. And even then diet can be controlled.

My point is, why did he turn up at the World Cup so heavy and out of shape?

Doesn't seem the type to watch what he eats and to train. If he can't keep in shape when he's not injured, I can't see him staying in shape when he can't walk.

I'll know more on his injury later today.

Quite possibly his pre-season cycle - he judged being ready for pre season at his new club more important than maintaining peak fitness for the World Cup? Only problem is it backfired and he picked up an injury ...

Not sure you can make judgements about a guy like he doesn't seem to watch what he eats when at best you've just met the guy ... He's a professional, until I hear/ see otherwise, I will assume himself and the conditioning team know what they're doing ...

I'm just presenting the facts he puts a hell of a lot of weight on during pre-season and when he's out injured. That suggests he's not the greatest pro but I don't care what he does off the field as long as he can perform every week.

I personally think pro players in any sport should maintain weight and keep a relatively high standard of fitness.

It's impossible to maintain match fitness throughout the offseason, and a lot of players will be more than a few kilos off their playing weight at this moment, your body cycles mean it has to.

I'm not saying that I know he's going for sure it is just the body cycle and he's going to lose it, all we have is his penrith playing weight, and I can only assume he's aiming for that

Exactly what i was saying about his mentality a couple of months ago, he is a massive gamble. It wasn't till mid season this year that he got him self match fit by his standards for the past 2 seasons. Roosters wasn't happy with his training and mentality towards fitness either was the panthers.

It was a clean out op that Mose had and should be back for back end if the month or early feb.

His weight when reported to saints in his first day was 130kg!!! I don't think saints was to happy with that even with the injury taken into account.

So all being well he's not out as long as we first thought.

thats heavier than Baloo at his biggest!

Has the been a heavier player to play super league?

i doubt it, at 130 kg, hes 20st, 6lb!

I recall Voss commentating on a World Cup game saying something like "Mose is down as 18 and half stone but he's looking more like 20st to me"

Voss sees Mose play every week in the NRL so it's pretty clear he went into the World Cup massively over weight.

Feka was 123kg in 2011 according to wiki, but given Salford let him go as he wasn't as effective "slimmed down" I'd imagine he'd still pip the prize - that said 130kg is still a lot!

Mose is much taller than feka so I'd be surprised if feka got near Mose weight.

I don't care how heavy he is, just as long as he's able to put in effective 20min spells which he causes some damage.

Amen to that brother!

Exactly, he can be 150kg for all I care, as long as he does a lot of damage offensively and defensively during the spells on the pitch. He,s going to be a lot more effective than Josh P whatever weight he turns out on match day.

Masoe should be back for the Hull KR game. The main issue will be his fitness, but he'll be fine. Training has supposedly been sharp at this stage which is always a positive. Walsh has been first-class by all accounts. A few players really pushing their names forward as well.

Without meaning to put a hex on things, as people have already said, signs are certainly looking good going into next season. The main issue for me going into last season, along with the halves, was the situation up front but our pack looks a different class this season. A full fit James Roby running off the back of these forwards could have a field day. He'll be like a new signing himself. The major concern for us will be keeping Walsh fit, but it makes a huge difference going into the season with a genuine half-back to lead us round the park. The 3/4 looks full of pace, but they're all good footballers as well which makes a difference. I wouldn't swap Lomax for any other full-back in the competition at this stage.

No doubt we will hit a few speed bumps along the way, but we'll see how it goes. The main thing at this stage is that we have recruited well and are looking sharp. Looking forward to the friendlies and Wire away now. Fingers crossed to a successful season.

Is that Indeset or Bosch? Should be a strong year for one of those two!

My posting skills are still a bit rusty after a while out.

Must be that frozen finger stutter.