Have Saints unearthed a gem. : Fri Oct 03, 2014 12:01 pm  

In recent years Saints have had a poor track record of bringing young players through to fulfill early potential. Without wishing to put the hoodoo on another upcoming player I cannot help but think that they have a gem in Mark Percival. He has adequate pace a very good pair of hands and good judgment of when to release the ball. He appears to have matured a great deal this term and put on weight with maybe more to come. He has also developed a pretty good fend and is prepared to take on defenders. Although at times his defence has been suspect I think by playing with the same wing partner on a regular basis would improve this greatly.

For what it is worth this is my opinion.

Re: Have Saints unearthed a gem. : Fri Oct 03, 2014 12:03 pm  

Very excited about him, he's improving all the time.

Same with Thompson, and there's lots to like about Savelio from what we've seen aswell.

Re: Have Saints unearthed a gem. : Fri Oct 03, 2014 12:06 pm  

We have quite a few, who are perhaps flying under the radar of opposition fans at the moment but have very big futures. Percival and Thompson do have the potential to go all the way though...

Re: Have Saints unearthed a gem. : Fri Oct 03, 2014 12:07 pm  

Percival has looked really good in the 2nd half of the season. He looks more dangerous on the right than the left for me.

As SFW mentioned, Luke Thompson is also hugely impressive.

Both future internationals for me.

Re: Have Saints unearthed a gem. : Fri Oct 03, 2014 12:09 pm  

Percival is a cracking player. Was he on Makinsons wing against Cas???

I thought he was but my memory maybe failing.

Re: Have Saints unearthed a gem. : Fri Oct 03, 2014 12:12 pm  

I thought this thread would be about Thompson before I opened it, it was a real good knock from him last night.
Not many kids have that aggression he does in defence, he looks like he wants to hurt the opposition but can keep a lid on it too. I love it!

Re: Have Saints unearthed a gem. : Fri Oct 03, 2014 12:13 pm  

bewareshadows wrote:

Percival is a cracking player. Was he on Makinsons wing against Cas???

I thought he was but my memory maybe failing.

Has played on the right for a few weeks now. He was there v Huddersfield too. Can't remember the Warrington one.

Re: Have Saints unearthed a gem. : Fri Oct 03, 2014 12:22 pm  

The Yellow Giraffe wrote:

Has played on the right for a few weeks now. He was there v Huddersfield too. Can't remember the Warrington one.

I think the right is his more natural side, seems to work quite well with Makinson and doesn't look as frail in defence...

Is it just me or does he always look awkward when passing? That said his flick on to Makinson for the Manu try was absolutely superb, straight to Makinson without him breaki stride, which is incredibly difficult (and was in no way even slightly forward... )

Re: Have Saints unearthed a gem. : Fri Oct 03, 2014 12:31 pm  

My favourite player, every aspect of his game has improved week on week this season, reminds me a bit like Derek Noonan good feet, balance accelaration and now has got a bit of a handoff. Reckon he will be an international in 2 more seasons.

Special mention to Thompson, could turn into another "jammer" if played and developed the right way.

Re: Have Saints unearthed a gem. : Fri Oct 03, 2014 12:32 pm  

1. Lomax
2. Swift
3. Percival
4. Jones
5. Makinson

Great looking back line that? Where did all they come from?