I respect your view but dont agree about burn out. Even the legend S Edwards was eased into the game at wing.

Alex Ferguson eases youngsters into football to avoid burn out and that is football. Rugby is far more brutal. Too many forwards running at Sam wll take its toll.

We need to get rid of them and replace them all with 1-2 world class players who could make a difference, we could then use our young players as replacements when injuries occur, we would then get to see the best players earlier.

Imagine is players like Ainscough and Tomkins had been given a chance last year when we were struggling instead of signing Smith and Phelps.

But wasn't he eased into the game when we had good half backs already. Sam ia head and shoulders above Smith at the moment.

Still think Smith might be able to do something, Coley, Mathers, Phelps, yep I agree, waste of space. Nice to see someone dropped, will have an impact on the whole team. I hope Smith can bounce back,

Yes we did have good half backs when Edwards was brought in but I stil think Sam could get walloped and needs protection to help him develop. Given where we are as a team, I do not see him being used now and again. I would have him in most weeks but rest him occasionally.

He has 6/7 days between games to rest.

He doesnt over easter which is a month away.

OK then we will let him have Easter Monday off after he has torn Saints to shreds on Maunday Thursday!

My my you are a wishful thinker.

look forward to it mate

I think some people forget Tomkins is 20. He is not and academy player we must be careful with.

sam flattend that morrison tonight an he was knocking the big lads over at quins last week you dont need to be big to tackle just the skill of his tackling is good enough ,,,,, sam to start on friday

As Maurie Fasavalu found out last season when Leuluai boomed him

And the alternative is what? Surely that is the point. If Tomkins is one if our best half backs then he plays doesn't he?

Dave

I dont think we need to get worried about Tomkins being scared/intimedated by the big guys (or caring in the slightest for reputation). It made me laugh but at the same time showed a confidence that Tomkins has when he was at dummy half and shoved Burgess out of the way so the Wigan player could get a quick play the ball.

Absolutely no reason why he shouldn't play next week. He'll have Senior and Lauititi running at him. Let's see how he goes. There's bigger players than him struggled against those two. At least he offers a very real running threat that Smith doesn't.

I don't know if it's been mentioned elsewhere, but I though Bailey had a cracker last night and our right side was much more solid defensively. If only we could find somebody who could defend like that but offer more of an attacking threat (ie a genuine centre). It would be great if we could suddenly unearth another Carmont.

I also thought Bailey played well and I think its a good tactic of Noble to have a defensive player like Bailey helping out next to Tomkins. I know Tomkins has shown he is a good defender but Bailey is a big guy to help take some of the workload off Tomkins.

IF Noble is picking on form then Sam should start against Leeds, simply because Smith hasn't played a game to prove he's back in form.

For me, Sam to start unless injured or overtaken by Smith in form.

Sam must be seen as our first choice 6 now imo until like you say his form drops or Smith gets a shot and plays a blinder.

To be fair to Smith though i'm not writing him off alltogether. He's got bags of talent but for wahtever reason looks very short of confidence. If him being dropped gives him a kick up the backside we could get a totally different player the next time he plays.

Smith is excellent back up in all honesty.

Well no actually, it's about managing him. On form he should play but Noble has to decide whether Leeds will ruin him and take the kid backwards. I'd say Ainscough will be at greater risk though, he's very raw.

Never said all the probs were solved, the reality is that there is so much parity in the league now that we have to aim to get in the top end of the table, we have a strong squad but we don't have enough top class players to challenge for the top 2. We'll be there or there abouts as always, but this year we have depth to cope with injuries at the business end of the season. Saints usually have this luxury, I think they'll struggle towards the back end this time around.

I wouldnt worry about Ainscough playing. ATM the alternative to him playing is Mathers (as Pryce isnt quite there yet imo) so Ainscough should continue getting his place in the team till he makes a mess deserving of being dropped. Afterall, wing is probably one of the least work intensive positions on the pitch, and he seems to have bags of confidence so I think its a no brainer keeping him it atm.

Sam deserves and should play against Leeds next week

His form merits it also some question whether he can handle it against the Leeds big boys. First of all Bradford have got some huge players and he more than handled it last night. Secondly who have we got to come in? Tim Smith who was dropped for a reason by Noble and souldn't come straight back in after 1 week on the sidelines especially when the guy he would be replacing has been one of our best players in the last 2 weeks and would anybody else be worried about the likes of Lautiti and Senior running at Smith

I think your spot on there

At the end of the season if we can get rid of the majority of them and bring in some quality (Centre, Half Back and Prop is what we need IMO) we would be a real threat in all competitions

You're right, there isn't much of a better alternative at present, I just know Leeds will try and exploit him and wouldn't want him to go backwards. Either way it's still early doors so, if the worst happened, it'd probs do him some good long term.