: Thu May 28, 2009 2:48 pm
Finally you have stopped moaning and continued the debate top notch.
Not sure of the first point you make in bold. Are you claiming Long has never said he wants to finish his career at Saints?
Tim Smith won a rookie of the year award and was not signed directly from the NRL he was signed from obscurity without playing a game or training in a pro environment, as he has found his feet in the pro ranks he has shown some good form. Orford has not had the same background as Smith he would be moving from pro to pro environment without all the added bagage so i think its a poor comparisson.
Both are over 30 but Orford is still younger he has just short of 2 years on Long which in real terms at there age is a significant difference, maybe not 5 years ago but certainly at this stage of there career. Given Orford had the best season of his life last year it shows the ability is still there, i do not think you can say the same about Long. If we offered Orford a 2 year deal he would only just be older than Long is now when it finishes.
Until this post you clearly have ducked the debate.
Both players are a short term 2 year fix clearly Myler is a long term option but you cannot blood them together without having a senior partner to step in when required hence why we are having this debate on the merrits of Long/Orford.
The other word of warning that would put me right off Long is this, remember the effect Millward a man dripping in honours won at Saints faired at Wigan, he failed. He failed because of the history between the 2 clubs and the part he played in it. He never ever had the dressing room, something we could not risk our 7 and leader around the pitch not to have. Attempting to have a character like Long who has for so long been an integral part of Saints and a pain in the players side in my opinion as happened with Millward, i do not think he could ever win the dressing room.
Once again you claim i have hardly ever seen him which is plain wrong.[/quote]
You've just focused on Tim Smith over in the SL when I listed several Aus halfbacks. I listed more than 1 HB to prove the point.
You speak of Not blooding them together I think you're referring to Tomkins and Myler, thats why I feel and agree a senior player is needed in the mix, I counted this by many times over outlining what I would do with Sam if we signed Long/Orford and Myler.
The two year age difference between Orford and Long is irrelevant, there are many players out there who are old but yet fitter than younger players, i.e a 35yr old Menzies is still top notch.
Don't forget Millward was the coach, not a player. The coach has the final say not the number 7. Plus Long is a Wigan lad not an Aussie like Millward. It would be closer to compare Long to Gleeson, both well liked saints players who are from Wigan. Gleeson has been accepted by all at Wigan.
Also don't forget Long is quiet friendly with many Wigan lads, which would make his integration into the team smoother than Orford.
So I'm not entirely sure how your speculation that Long would causes issues as a former saints player is valid.
Oh and thank you for holding back on the insults.
