Re: SL GF | St Helens (Old Trafford) : Sun Sep 25, 2022 12:42 pm  

I often think having having more teams (same as nrl) and less games would be ideal but money wise it just won't happen anytime soon.

Maybe their tv deal in nrl has a lot to do with the wide gap financially?

Dropping down to 10 could be a little too drastic.

It's so frustrating. The game just doesn't seem to have grown at all does it. The comp and players really deserve more.

Roby should be spoke about as bbc sports personality of the year. But I doubt he will get a mention.

The profile of the game and players is hugely important to attract the next stars but I don't see what has been done in the last few years to remedy that??

Re: SL GF | St Helens (Old Trafford) : Sun Sep 25, 2022 12:59 pm  

ArthurClues wrote:

Aside from Prior, who has already confirmed he is going, we also have Sezer, Austin, Tetevano, Fusitua, Bentley, and Walker (I can't see another club coming in for him) out of contract for 2024. Potentially a lot of cap to throw around, but also a huge motivation for those players to get on the pitch and deliver consistently.

The only one I would keep out of that lot is Bentley.

Re: SL GF | St Helens (Old Trafford) : Sun Sep 25, 2022 1:03 pm  

Saints are really classless in victory (especially some of their fans)

Did any of the players or coach give credit to Leeds after the game?

Re: SL GF | St Helens (Old Trafford) : Sun Sep 25, 2022 1:26 pm  

chapylad wrote:

The only one I would keep out of that lot is Bentley.

Hard to disagree. Sezar is a very good player, but doesn’t seem to have the heart for it. He’s the Joe Bugner of the Side, (there maybe better RL examples)

Re: SL GF | St Helens (Old Trafford) : Sun Sep 25, 2022 1:34 pm  

rollin thunder wrote:

Hard to disagree. Sezar is a very good player, but doesn’t seem to have the heart for it. He’s the Joe Bugner of the Side, (there maybe better RL examples)

based on what? having a couple of injuries?
i think based on the play off game against Catalans alone it shows he is up for it

Re: SL GF | St Helens (Old Trafford) : Sun Sep 25, 2022 3:42 pm  

Academy lads beat Saints 26 - 22 after extra time. Sounds like an epic game.

Re: SL GF | St Helens (Old Trafford) : Sun Sep 25, 2022 4:21 pm  

christopher wrote:

Saints are really classless in victory (especially some of their fans)

Did any of the players or coach give credit to Leeds after the game?

Yes they all did, they were also very complimentary of what Rohan Smith has done in a very short time. Think it was Lomax who also mentioned Bateman taking out Sezer to miss the final.

Re: SL GF | St Helens (Old Trafford) : Sun Sep 25, 2022 5:07 pm  

christopher wrote:

Saints are really classless in victory (especially some of their fans)

Did any of the players or coach give credit to Leeds after the game?

They were alright. Makinson made a 2@ of himself but other than that I thought they were decent.

Re: SL GF | St Helens (Old Trafford) : Sun Sep 25, 2022 5:15 pm  

Haven't listened to the player interviews but had no probs with saints fans before, during or after the game. Ones near us were shaking hands and went out of their way to applaud our players.

Re: SL GF | St Helens (Old Trafford) : Sun Sep 25, 2022 5:42 pm  

In terms of comparing eras, yes I think it's difficult overall, but the game hasn't really changed much in the last 10 to 12 years from a tactical or technical point of you. Wrestling to slow down the ruck has been the primary defensive tactic and the introduction highly structured attack with the FB as an extra pivot has been the primary attacking tactic for over a decade now. Whereas, if you look at the 2000s compared to the 90s, the game is almost unrecognisable.