Good signing by the club which excited me. The reality was a nightmare on Elm Street 3 years of taking the mickey out of our club.

After his first couple of appearances I thought to myself 'when he gets some match fitness he'll be good for us'. Unfortunately that was as good as it got.

It was the injuries he picked up at the back end of his NRL career that set the tone for his whole time at saints. He just never got fully fit from those injuries. He was pretty clean from injuries in his NRL career so we got unlucky.

i was made up with his signing, shame it just never worked.

I was happy with the signings of Hohaia, Laffranchi and Perry as I'm sure many of us were, look how the things turned out...

What stood out in that article to me was the final sentence: the injury has finished his season but not his career.

Do you think Saints might give him another year?

I hope not! If he does, I will consider a dirty protest at Langtree Park.

Should never have been signed. If the club put any effort into scouting it's signings (Or even checking they've played in the position they are being signed to big, long contracts to play) this signing would never have happened. He'd had several injuries and the club shouldn't have gone ahead with it.

Speaks the post hindsight oracle.

He went okay for a small period of last season and I thought maybe, just maybe he can get somewhere near his best form if he keeps it going week in week out. But no.

Not entirely. Concern on here was voiced at the time of his signing about the injury he came over with and whether that would impact on his time here.

Didn't he get that injury after signing a contract with us, though?

Ultimately, as Saddened! well knows, all players suffer from injuries at certain stages of their careers. You can cover your back with medical checks to a certain extent, but luck will always play a huge role in these things. Perry was a top player with a good injury record when we signed him. It was just a seriously unlucky signing.

I thought that, what was the injury? Broken leg rings a bell?

I'm pretty sure he broke his leg after signing for us.

At the time that was reported as the second serious injury he'd had in a year. From memory it was an horrific injury involving snapped tendons, an ankle reconstruction and metal rods and bolts being inserted. He's just never been able to get fit and it's from that injury. Saints just need to get more clinical over these things. When he turns up fat and unfit, give him a month. If he doesn't improve, tell him he'll have to go. Very few players would dig their heels in and request to stay, if offered a part pay off and the chance to return home, they'd go. Wigan did it all the time under Chairman Mo, when those horrible digits curled round a player's shoulder, he knew it was time to ring Qantas.

The problem is English people have this idea that every Australian or anyone that plays NRL is some kind of superman, hopefully this mindset will change with these dud signings and more money will be put into developing your own stars.

He broke a bone In his leg and actually came back pretty quick but then picked up another injury which kept him out of out pre season. He came back few weeks into the season but then picked up nigggles and eventually had a hamstring op that kept him out for the year.

A fantastic signing that the fates have simply destroyed. Terribly sad but c'est la vie and you just hope that the next big signing has a bit more kismet in it's favour.

Josh out for the season and needs an operation

Very true

Welcome to the beginning of the thread...

He might have done, that's true. He's had so many, I can't remember!

Don't blame Perry for any of this. Either he was misdiagnosed or the club took a calculated risk with his health. Either way, bad club but no blame on Perry.

I think Perry needs to shoulder some of the blame for being rank unfit (and podgy) when he has taken to the field - especially in the 2012 season.

But sad news for the guy on a personal level - just hope he can resurrect his career. Outside of St Helens, obviously.