Phuzzy wrote:
Hi Stu. Saints seem to be pinning a lot of hope on the "golden generation" as it's being called. I know you watch a lot of academy. What's your take on it? Risky or a good calculated bet? Are they as good as, say Nsemba, was last year? We all know that for every Nsemba that goes on to transfer dominant Academy form into the first team, there's a Kibula that falls by the wayside to some degree. It would be unusual, indeed almost unheard of, to get as many as Saints seem to be banking on all make the grade at the same time.
It's a difficult one as the physical differences in RL compared to football is a big factor. The likes of Giggs/Foden/Palmer all came through as skinny lads (or in Foden's case small) but their lack of physicality wasn't as important.
Everyone in RL knew Nsemba was going to be special and I posted on here two years ago after watching Farrimond play against Saints in an U16 Scholars game to say that he looks a once in a generational talent. However that leads me onto the answer to your question- in that same game Harry Robertson played for us and was also outstanding. Him and Farrimond were the best two players on the pitch.
I've seen Robertson a few times to know he will come through but when is the issue, he's tall but still looks gangly and if he played first team could easily get swatted aside. He has a gait similar to Ponga and switches between 1 and 6.
The two half backs George Whitby and Will Roberts are highly rated but Roberts is just back from a 12 month ACL. I saw the highlights from Cas last week and Robertson and Whitby ran the show, literally everything went through them. I would think that these two are the next "cabs off the rank" so to speak. I believe the plan is for Whitby to train full time from July after his studies are finished.
The other one who has come through and has a first team number this season is Noah Stephens. He's a giant of a lad and made his debut at Cas in the game where Makinson was sent off. He had a great cameo however its hard to judge in a game where we were so dominant. He does have the physical size though and was literally a man against boys when he played at Academy level. I know Zig has some reservations about him.
The other one I mentioned earlier- Owen Dagnall plays on the wing and played for Lancashire and England Academy scoring a few tries. He looks quick and knows where the line is.
We'll need some good lads coming through as unfortunately for us Wigan look very strong. I turned off after 20 mins on Saturday and went to the gym even in the heat we had
My final point though is that Rush when interviewed a couple of months or so ago did say that 4-5 of these lads will be "game changers" and won't just have solid SL careers.
EDIT- The other one is Vaughan, the England Academy captain and a real competitor. He has played a lot of dual-reg at Swinton and not looked out of place. He is in the first team squad but hasn't played any mninutes yet for the first team. He was outstanding at Academy but played backrow whereas he is playing dual-reg at centre.
