Not fit to lace Eastmonds boots you know!

Who is?

up there with Thurston, Lockyer, Inglis and Prince imo..............probably better

That was Tomkins mate

Jeez....you're at it now!

Paul Clough by some distance imo.

Rubbish.

Decent enough player, but ainscough is top scorer in super league, in his first season.

Tomkins aint done too bad either, you can't look past these two and richie myler at present.

So a young forward doesn't get any recognition then just going on flair players in the backline? Get a grip your knowledge on the game is nothing short of pathetic if your saying Clough isn't in the category. As far as consistent performances go from a young player Clough is head and shoulders above the names mentioned this season his stats for a Back row forward are immense and add to that i believe if he continues his form will gain international honours at the end of the season.

Cloughs been very good and has come on quite alot but he's been in and around first team rugby for a while now which could count against him.

For a young lad like Ainscough to come in and preform so well in his debut season in a under-preforming team is as eye catching as it is superb and that will count big in his favour as it will with Myler at Salford.

I get the feeling the award is moving more towards an Aussie style rookie of the year award meaning Clough has little to no chance of winning it.

Tha wot?

I'd agree with that.

There's also a long way to go in the season yet, a youngster may come into a team and really tear it up for the remainder of the season and be more in the news come voting time, similarly Ainscough could hit a bad patch or get injured and not be in the running.

Whilst I think both players have got a great deal of potential, I think a few of you are getting a touch giddy at the moment (similar to some Saints fans over some of our youth players).

We've got nout else to get excited about though

But, in the words of the great Gordon Tallis "Wingers only score tries because they're marked by other wingers."

Clough performs very well for saints in a very mature manner in both back and front row roles. However, he played pretty much the whole of last season, which kind of work against the "Rookie" tag.

As for Tomkins, I was hugely impressed watching both him and Eastmond in the game at the JJB. The level of maturaty and intellegence they have about their game is streets ahead of what you expect from a british half back of their age. Consider Long and Burrow when they were that age, they were all about pace and agility and little else.

And the most encouraging thing is that with the like of Ainscough at yours and Wheeler et al at ours, GB does seem to be producing a better crop of youngsters.

Myler is favourite for YPOTY for me, playing in that Salford team and still looking all class.

Great player.

I blame the communist cap for Myler/Eastmond/Watkins/Wheeler/Lawrence/Lomax/Tomkins/Wheeler/Cudjoe/Ainscough/Burgess/Turner/Ferguson . . . . .

Lets see where they are in 5 years before we start spouting!

When was the last time we had 4 young half backs with the class of Eastmond/Wheeler/Myler/Tomkins threatening to break through? I certainly can't remember it.

We haven't developed a half back for years and years and years and suddently, when clubs are forced to rely more on young players and invest in infrastructure, we're churning them out.

I've no doubt it will be dismissed as coincidence by the CC regulars - but the young players in SL this year are head and shoulders above the crops we have seen in recent times and there's plenty more queuing up behind them.

And Here's me thinking 5/6 years ago we had McGuire/Burrows/Brown/Pryce/Robinson/Brough/Horne/Rooney and probably 1/2 dozen more Superstar youngsters.

Are this Crop any better thought of than that Crop were??????

Are they going to again be classed as World Class Superstars but fall short at international Level???

I aint giving you the answer as time will tell and you may be right as to their eventual Outcome as players but to say we haven't developed a Half back in Years and then go on to claim that 4 Half backs who between them probably havent made 25 starts at SL Level and claim there going to be any better than their predecessors is a bit OOT for me.

And to say they are "Head & Shoulders" above the crop of recent times isn't actually correct when we have 7/8 or so H/B between 24&26 who at the same stage in their development had played in GF & CC finals and were also going to be the Next Best thing!

We have always produced them at Club Level and made them successful Div 1/ SL players.
Making that next steps hasn't been quite as easy, here's hoping your right!

By the time the award gets dished out Clough will be 22 so theres another reason for him not really being in the running.

The player that wins it as usually played a season or 2 in super league. Just like Richard Whiting one year and James Graham the other year.

Ainscough should be no where near young super league player of the year imo, untill he sorts out his defence. Kevin Penny can score tries for fun too. However i do think Ainscough in a few years will be a excellent player. Tom Briscoe as had a all round fantastic season up to date and Richard Owen as bin fantastic.

As for Sam Tomkins. Myler as been the stand out half back from the youngsters this season. He is carrying Salford around very well and outplayed Tomkins in the Salford vs Wigan game. Infact if Eastmond can stay fit then he'll be up there aswell. Looked the more confident and dangerous of the two when Saints played Wigan imo.

So basically if your a young player at Wigan your rubbish but if you play for another club your a cracker



Some flaws in that post-

Ainscoughs defence isn't a problem, it's his positioning for high kicks.

Some Cas fans sat at the side of me when we played them said Owens poor.

Did you go to the Salford vs Wigan game? even if you did you couldn't call a winner between Tomkins and Myler as both were different class.

Eastmond showed he can kick a ball in the Wigan game............but thats it, he offered nothing else.

Bar all that a cracking post

Yes



Myler/Tomkins/Wheeler are as naturally gifted as any young half back we've come up with for many years. Thankfully we now seem to be producing halves whose games aren't based on pace and nothing else.



Who are the 7/8? Not being difficult, just interested? The likes of Rooney/Horne/Brough/Brown were never as highly thought of as the young halves coming through and are just about better than average players. Pryce wasn't playing in the halves until a couple of years ago and is another player whose game is based on pace/strength rather than guile - same with Burrow/McGuire, all pace.

Luke Robinson is the only player who I would suggest had the full range of skills but Myler is already a better player than him at 18.

The likes of Myler/Wheeler/Tomkins are far more exciting IMO, just because of the skill set.

Add in the likes of Burgess/Graham who are genuine international props at such a young age and other top drawer prospects like Lomax/Eastmond/Ainscough/Shenton/Westerman - it's been a long time since I can remember such a glut of genuine talent.

He came on as a sub and kicked a drop-goal, amazing

Yes, that was all he did.

Don't do him down, he kicked a goal aswell

While i am excited at the young prospects coming through that is still all they are doing coming through. To suggest the cap is responsible for this is a little niave in my opinion especially when they are still a developing bunch.

The cap may have had some contribution towards it but i would say that the iminent cutting of the quota has forced the clubs hand significantly more than the cap.

The sad truth is the cap could well force them away from the game if they do make it and the Union clubs come knocking, as we have already seen Ainscough and Thornely have been/are being tapped up by Sale.