Now you're being stupid.

Are you for real?

The simple answer to the question is Newlove. He could score special individual tries from anywhere on the field. Not may other players can do that.

Loughlin was a class act. You don't get to score so many points and receive so many international caps if you're anything else. The abuse that he endured from certain Saints fans (some who come on here) towards the end of his St.Helens career was a disgrace.

Both weren't the greatest defensively, by the way, but there were adequate.

I thought both where great but Newlove was much greater! I wish he'd joined Saints earlier from Fev instead of us having to watch him at the Dulls for a couple of seasons

That could have changed the 93/94 and 94/95 season results, IMO

Schofield finished top try scorer in the NSWRL (forerunner to NRL) 13 tries in 18 appearances in 1986.

He is i understand 2nd in the all time try scoring list for GB with 30 tries. Thats more than the likes of Offiah and Boston.

By any stretch of the imagination he was world class

Was he phuck. If I were to base my argument on statistics gathered from one or two matches you'd have a point. But taken over the DURATION OF A PLAYER'S CAREER there's no hiding place. You can only evade the statistician's pen for so long. If Newlove was weak on one on one's - blinkers or not - it would have dragged his ratio down.

But don't believe the numbers. Ask the players. The next time you speak to Chris Joynt or Anthony Sullivan why don't you tell them that Newlove was dodgy in defence. After that, come back here and give us chapter and verse.

It's worth making the point that the arrival of both players at their respective clubs kick started a decade (and more) of SL and CC success.

Without a doubt, Newlove won us our first league title. He gave us the one thing that Wigan (and Widnes, briefly) bought from under their rivals for years - cutting edge. At his best Newlove was almost unstoppable. If you gave him any kind of room he'd murder you. His footwork and balance were beyond coaching (the step he put on Sailor in the WCC was sublime). I can't remember how many tries he scored for us in SL I, but I do recall a few corkers.

IIRC, Loughlin was the least successful of the three Saints that went to Bradford. They were a weird side back then. You'd sift through their line-up on match day from one to thirteen and be convinced they were over-achieving. I guess that was Smith's forte - turning yard dogs into greyhounds.

Something like 28-32 tries in his first full season at Saints IIRC.

Methinks Mugwump protesteth too much. Maybe he's trying to convince himself.

36 in 27 matches - incredible.

bloody hell

he would walk MOS with that tally nowadays

Mugwump is right though.

I can distinctly remember Newlove missing a bad one-on-one tackle on Greg Barwick in a match against London Broncos in '96. The reason I can remember it is because it was a rarity (Gidley, an excellent defensive centre by anyone's standards, missed a similar one on Senior earlier this year). Perhaps he was more shaky in his earliest years at Fev (I only started watching in 1992), but for the duration of his Saints career he was at the very least a competent defender and IMO considerably better than that.

Add that to the fact that he was fast, powerful, had sublime footwork and was an excellent winger's centre and it's not difficult to see why Saints fans rate him so highly.

Amen, brother.

He was injured for large parts of that season as well.

Lockers was great until about 1990. For the last five years, he was a complete shambles. He was a confidence players and it was at rock bottom for a very long time.

Unfortunately, I now forget the days when he was the best winger's centre in the book and remember him for the latter years when he was a complete and utter liability.

As for Newlove, Robinson has had a bee in his bonnet about him for years, even going as far as to name him in a worst ever Saints XIII.

Fact of the matter is that Newlove's defence was far better than he was given credit for. It was very shaky in his first year or so but he improved that part of his game no end and became one of the best defensive centres around. His attack speaks for itself.

Taking a career as a whole, Lockers is not fit to be mentioned in the same breath as Newlove, who was one of the best in his position over a generation.

Robinson could do a good line in dead parrots.

Saints fans rate anyone who wears a Saints jumper, to be fair. As soon as they leave for another Super League club, they're not fit to burn, or are their third choice or something ridiculous.

Sadly I don't think I'd sell as many of them as you would blinkers, eye patches and rose tinted specs.

Such can be said of a minority of supporters of any club, but not of me.

Higham was, and would now be our 4th choice. Get over it.

Who mentioned Higham, touchy?

Funny, you all say that. "Not meeeeeeeeeeeee, sir"

It's clearly the third choice you were referring to, considering how touchy you pies got about it when it was claimed at the time.

Dude, who did put that bug up your ass?

you'd think wigan fans had other things on their minds today