I think we had 12 two years ago so actually ours are going down too.

so you are suggesting Gutterfax that in fact we should have pushed to have 17 Aussies in the squad when we were promoted then we might have been as succesful as Quins RL? Damn if we'd have known that was the formula of success we wouldn;t have waited this long to fill the roster with overseas players!

Is he here yet?

I think the obvious reply to that would be: as a heartlands club, it should not only be easier to produce your own players, but it should also be easier to attract English players (since they're only down the road).

How come heartland clubs are deemed to have an advantage in attracting English players because of location but this whole thread (and others) is about how so many players are happy to travel half way round the world to get work? For people like Stanley Gene he could barely speak the language, that wasn't a short trip down country it was whole different culture!

In that context is 200 miles (35 in the case of Crusaders) really such a barrier?

Perhaps the question is better asked to any number of northern muppets who've come down and then gone home before completing their contracts because they miss their mums?

But making comparisons with people coming thousands of miles is a bit facile, [uany[/u club signing an overseas player risks them getting homesick and going, although the sheer effort involved in uprooting in the first place makes such brain farts less likely. Besides one needs to consider the relative value of the opportunities available, someone like Stanley Gene had a choice between staying in PNG which is developing country, or moving overseas to be a professional sports person, and realistically he wasn't NRL first grade regular material so UK was almost certainly his best chance of a better life. Similarly for some average NRL players it is their best offer of maintaining a professional career, whereas for others like Kolpak stiffs and past it NRL players it is their only way of maintaining a professional career (the NRL isn't falling over itself for Willie Mason - his career has been in freefall for several years - although I'm sure someone would have given him a contract of some sort).

Domestic players are a different proposition; London and to a lesser extent Wrexham have the disadvantage that the mature established player pools in the UK are located in the north of England, which more often means players reloacting. I'm guessing that a Hull based player is not going to spend up to 6 hours every day doing a return trip to Wrexham, although a player based in Widnes or Warrington might be prepared to spend up to 2 hours a day doing a round trip for work. The offer of a contract with Quins or Crusaders has to be weighed against the opportunities available closer to home even if that means playing at a lower level or for less money, the money is especially a problem for London where rents and house prices are generally much higher than most other places in the UK (other living costs are less skewed than popular myth - unless you insist on shopping and socialising in only the trendiest establishments).

I'm all for seeing BRITISH players playing in BRITISH teams but it's all about results.

Harlequins have 3

Hull KR have 10.

Which team will finish higher up the table this year?

I'll give you a clue.



It won't be Quins.

Saints have 5

Hull KR have 10

Which team will finish higher up the table this year?

I'll give you a clue.



It won't be Hull KR.

I'm not so sure. Royce Simmons... Justin Morgan...

Hmmmmm

Or, in a nut shell...

You don't have to uproot if you're in the north, and if you do it's not that far home. This being a VERY attractive thing to a lot of players moving.

You finished 11 points behind us last year when we were crippled by injury, I wouldn't hold your breath.

I think this season will be very interesting for both clubs. Either one could finish in the top 5 or the bottom 5. I can't wait to see how it pans out.

Saints to finish in the bottom five? Yeah right!

Saints haven't finished outside the top 5 for 17 years, and have made the last 5 GF on the bounce, but you think we might finish in the bottom 5 below one of Quins/Salford/Wakey/Catalans/Cas?

Give over.

wishful thinking?

so you was the only team crippled by injurys was you i think we was one of the worst hit at the back end of the season but oh yea i forgot only saints wigan and leeds had all the injurys how silly of me

No, you probably had some too, just everyone was busy talking about the big clubs who might win something.

Saints will struggle to make the play offs this season.

Kyle Eastmond might yet go to Union.

Josh Perry will get injured and or 'homesick' or even go to play in the USA

Royce Simmons in as a new coach

Fatty Cunningham retires

Leon Pryce and his glass skeleton will break down again

Playing all their 'home' fixtures 'away'



All small things (apart from Keirons waistline) but all enough when combined to cause St Helens to struggle this year.

I personally think they will make the play offs but only just and thats because the 'lesser' teams such as your Salfords, Wakeys, Crusaders and Quins are even worse.

Nice one. Happy to have a charity bet that Saints finish in the top 4, at least 6 points clear of KR.

My bible study class has taught me that betting is a sin.

Sorry.

Is Willie Mason here yet

still hasn't got his visa if andy wilson of the guardian is to be believed.

No....you will know when he does though as the thread will be flooded with dobbins declaring Big Willie is going to smash every player in the league

corrected that for you BB.

My worry would be that although Willie Mason was a class act a few years ago (and undoubtedly still is although to a lesser extent) how has he been spending his time recently?

I doubt very much if he is in bed by 10pm every night with some milk and cookies.

How out of condition will he be if he ever pulls a Hull KA shirt on?

He will make Greg Inglis look like slimmer of the year.