TBH a lot of people get 100% or very close to it on the refs exam, I've taken it myself. And a lot of the younger lads that are breaking into SL teams these days don't drink when they're out, which is obviously the sensible thing to do. There are still some though that do which I can't get my head around considering it has an impact on their short term careers.

That's not taking away from Lomax as a future player though, he looked very impressive last night. He's not the kind of person who's going to let breaking into your first team go to his head either which is a massive bonus from my experience.

Totally agree

Given our very sketchy form this season when I saw Burrow & Sinfield against Gaskell & Lomax I was worried it was going to be too big an ask given our form, I know Leeds haven't been at their best this year and had injuries too but with Webb, Senior, Hall, Sinfield, Burrow, Buderus, Jones-Buchanan, Huaraki, Cross, Lauatiti, Ablett, Burgess, Kirke they certainly had the experience over us by miles.

I am absolutely delighted with/for our young players, they have certainly proved that they are talented and capable. It is only one game and for them it is about building on this performance and us kicking on as a team, am sure Gaskell's confidence will have been boosted immeasurably with his own performance and having a commited and willing partner to work with.

Lomax was a joy to watch, willing to take on the line, pass confidently left and right, side step through, support others, he's very strong too, often getting through the first man on his feet and carrying on, he's a way to go to be a 7 but it was great for the team to have a pivot working so hard.

Team spirit and scrambling defence was the best I've seen for a while, I know its a bit moot after Leeds scored anyway but prior to McShane getting over how on earth did we stop Leeds scoring? There looked like a massive overlap and loads of space when Senior took the pass, its been a long time since I've seen us do that.

Things are certainly much rosier, 4 very winnable games in a row with the correct attitude and with Wilkin, Soliola, LMS and Pryce to come back into the squad hopefully we can maintain this type of performance from now on.

I can't remember the referee that was mentioned, but Clarke said that he said Lomax was the only person he'd met that got 100%

The important thing now is continuity. Let's hope the lads don't pick up injuries and Simmons refrains from playing musical chairs positionally.

All the more reason for him never to get penalised, then.

All Billingers are intelligent people, ask Agent Mulder.

It depends which side of Billinge you belong to though.

I am on the good side. While you turned to the dark side. lol I saw the light, Rogues.


No matter what part of Billinge Lomax comes from - he turned to the right side.
St. Helens motto - EX TERRA LUCEM Out of the earth comes light.

i've always thought wheeler was the better player, but struggled with injuries.. eastmond was simply outstanding week in, week out for the first part of last season.. lomax is probably just behind the two of them, but learning fast, at least when it comes to playing at that level consistently.. i think a lot will come down to injuries in the future, but lomax has all the potential to be a class player..

i think wheeler, eastmond (albeit not at the moment), lomax and foster are certainly a cut above the rest of the youngsters in the squad

Proof that refs know absolutely sod all about the game?

I mean at youth level.

Minor point of order, we have all been congratulating Lomax on a great SH perfomrance last nihgt, when in fact Gaskell playd at SH for most of the game, with Lomax at 6. I realise the positions are failry interchangeable, but is he a better 6 than 7?

I don't think it matters. As a pair they worked well together. Granted, they won't always work that well together - they are young and inexperienced at that level - but I think it's the partnership that counts and they complemented each other well.

Had a good game and handled the responsibility well, but so did Gaskell who had a pretty faultless game.

Unless injuries hit, I'd be giving them a run in the positions until Pryce is fit.

Absolutely brilliant performances from both halfbacks. Lomax kept the defensive line guessing with his footwork and strength (so refreshing after Eastmond's no shows), and Gaskell put in a very mature, steady display. His kicking game was excellent.

Another point is that apparently Lomax had spent part of the week with the England Knights. So prep time for the Leeds game must've been minimal.

He had two training sessions with Saints, according to Simmons.

Got some good raps on Boots n all last night, they focussed on the "young guns" of superleague , gave Gaskell and Foster some credit also

double post

Lomax looked very useful in the halves last week, as did Gaskell. Be interesting to see how they go over the next few weeks.
Credit to Roycie for giving them a go.
Couple of years ago we had two promising halves in Eastmond and Tomkins. Neither have really progressed, and I'd go as far as saying Eatmond has already dropped to Union standard.

You're saying Tomkins hasn't progressed?

Dear, oh, dear.

He didn't make it as a half back and was permanently relocated to fullback. IMO he's too concerned with cheating, cheap shotting and niggling to be as good as he was when he first broke through.

He will never be an Edwards, Long or Gregory.

Ski,
Tomkins is too predictable and I can't see him posing much of a threat to the Aussies later this year.
As Saddened says, the cheap shots and niggles are now the major part of his game. I hope he DOES eventually turn into a Long, Edwards or Gregory, but he's way off their standard at the moment.

Has he been played on the wing like Long was at this stage in his career?

I'm not sure if you are comparing him to those players in their second season or when they were at their peak.