Re: Luke Thompson Confirmed : Fri Oct 06, 2023 11:46 am  

FearTheVee wrote:

That doesn't bother Saints fans - I agree with it. What bothers Saints fans is pretending they didn't take it seriously. Anyone with eyes could see that they were taking the game seriously, were elated when they tied level jand doing "ice in the veins" gestures, then devastated by the GP loss.

Saying Penrith are the best club side in the world isn't really a controversial take, but guess what - they sometimes lose games and lost one that day in what happened to be the WCC.

Part of being a champion side is preparing properly and if they didn't do that then more fool them.

There's taking it serious and being gutted with the loss and then really taking it seriously. You're a fan of a top team, you know that. I'm sure Wigan took the game Vs Wakey (A) serious and didn't want to lose. Likewise your loss to Leigh will be the same. You obviously wanted to reach the CC final - who wouldn't have. Was either of those achievements by Leigh or Wakey, the be all and end all however?

We know that both teams had an off day and who the better team overall is/are. Why is it then, fans can't handle it when NRL fans, or those of other teams dare to suggest the same in relation to the WCC. It's a good performance in a one off game. Well done, take the W & the glory, but know where you stand in the grand scheme of things.

Re: Luke Thompson Confirmed : Fri Oct 06, 2023 11:49 am  

FearTheVee wrote:

I think you are overstating issues in the Saints pack.

Walmsley
Clark
Lees
Sironen
Batchelor
Bell

Knowles
Sione
Delaney
Mbye

We then have Wingfield, Eseh (apparently), Paasi to come back in mid-season hopefully before moving on to younger prospects. We also have back row options (including Whitley) which means Sironen could play prop if needed which he is more than capable of doing.

I know people keep saying Knowles and Sione aren't props, but that doesn't change the fact that they are actually excellent props!

We probably need one more prop but I'm not concerned to be honest, I'm more concerned about us signing a strike outside back.

I am talking about the props not the pack in general. Knowles and Matautia aren’t props. Passi, you have no idea how he will recover from his horrendous injury, Walmsley is starting to miss games through injury. Eseh is as raw as red meat and Stephens is nowhere near first team rugby. Wingfield, I understood was a loose forward/second row. Lees is fine. If you get one or two injuries to your main props then you could be in the doo dah.

Re: Luke Thompson Confirmed : Fri Oct 06, 2023 11:55 am  

sergeant pepper wrote:

You obviously wanted to reach the CC final - who wouldn't have.

Not by your logic, by your logic because SL is more importnant to us we probably didn't take that game seriously.

sergeant pepper wrote:

We know that both teams had an off day and who the better team overall is/are. Why is it then, fans can't handle it when NRL fans, or those of other teams dare to suggest the same in relation to the WCC. It's a good performance in a one off game. Well done, take the W & the glory, but know where you stand in the grand scheme of things.

I'm not sure what straw man you are running here, basically nobody (Saints fan or otherwise) would dispute that Penrith are the best team in the world. That's why going out there and beating them in a one off game was such a magnificent achievement.

The only person who wants to pretend people think that means Penrith are not the best RL team in the world appears to be you.

Re: Luke Thompson Confirmed : Fri Oct 06, 2023 11:57 am  

FearTheVee wrote:

People repeating the words "Knowles and Matautia aren't props" doesn't stop them playing prop and doing it very well.

If we still had LMS people would say he is another prop, ignoriing the fact he too started in the back row and is a worse prop than both Knowles and Sione.

It doesn’t stop me playing prop either and playing very well, it still doesn’t make me a prop. I, like them, would be a temporary solution.

Re: Luke Thompson Confirmed : Fri Oct 06, 2023 12:01 pm  

Zig wrote:

It doesn’t stop me playing prop either and playing very well, it still doesn’t make me a prop. I, like them, would be a temporary solution.

Was Jamie Peacock moving from SR to prop also a temporary solution?

13 and prop has been pretty interchangeable for a while. Why people can't see that Knowles and Sione are currently best suited to prop is beyond me but each to their own! Knowles has played prop for England. Sione is a bigger body than Luke Thompson.

Just lazily stating that they "aren't props" is missing the point. Worth watching the roles both play tonight in the middle of the park (albeit with Batchelor missing, and before signing Whitley, Sione is likely to return to the back row this week)

Re: Luke Thompson Confirmed : Fri Oct 06, 2023 12:01 pm  

FearTheVee wrote:

Not by your logic, by your logic because SL is more importnant to us we probably didn't take that game seriously.

I'm not sure what straw man you are running here, basically nobody (Saints fan or otherwise) would dispute that Penrith are the best team in the world. That's why going out there and beating them in a one off game was such a magnificent achievement.

The only person who wants to pretend people think that means Penrith are not the best RL team in the world appears to be you.

There's no straw man argument. The fact your lot keep recycling quotes about how much Penrith "wanted it" obviously means you guys think you beat them at their best. You didn't and you can't.

Good achievement and a hell of a lot of luck too. Congratulations.

Re: Luke Thompson Confirmed : Fri Oct 06, 2023 12:22 pm  

Saints achievement was immense, make no bones about it but they’re living in cloud cuckoo land if they think that was Penrith at their best that they defeated. Even beating an Edwards and Martin (plus Kikau and Korisau from 2022) less Penrith, who treated the game as a trial match, is still something to be immensely proud of because the difference in the quality of the squads and the salary cap spend is huge and it’s even bigger to do it on their own pitch.

Whoever plays Penrith in 2024 will pay the price, I’m sure of that. If it’s Saints again, they’ll face a totally different animal. They’re already making noises about that game Penrith. It’s a game you pray to be involved in but I’d suggest the lions tail has been tweaked.

Re: Luke Thompson Confirmed : Fri Oct 06, 2023 2:38 pm  

FearTheVee wrote:

Was Jamie Peacock moving from SR to prop also a temporary solution?

13 and prop has been pretty interchangeable for a while. Why people can't see that Knowles and Sione are currently best suited to prop is beyond me but each to their own! Knowles has played prop for England. Sione is a bigger body than Luke Thompson.

Just lazily stating that they "aren't props" is missing the point. Worth watching the roles both play tonight in the middle of the park (albeit with Batchelor missing, and before signing Whitley, Sione is likely to return to the back row this week)

JP was a far bigger body and a far better player than both of those. I’ll say it again, if you are relying on those two to fill the void for long periods of the season then you will have issues. How many yards do you expect each to make if they play prop? The size of Saints pack is starting to diminish if you are relying on back row forwards.

Re: Luke Thompson Confirmed : Fri Oct 06, 2023 4:08 pm  

Zig wrote:

JP was a far bigger body and a far better player than both of those. I’ll say it again, if you are relying on those two to fill the void for long periods of the season then you will have issues. How many yards do you expect each to make if they play prop? The size of Saints pack is starting to diminish if you are relying on back row forwards.

As FTV has said, Knowles has played prop internationally and Matautia is bigger than most of Wigan's props, definitely Thompson, Ellis and Dupree and makes great post-contact metres. That's not taking into account that we may sign a prop or that Wamsley may remain relatively injury free, who knows. Add Lees to this and if Paasi can come back mid-season and we are not going to be weak in the pack. We've done without Walmsley and Paasi for half of the season and finished joint top of the league.

I can imagine Delaney will put some more size and strength on pre-season too.

Its the backs where we are going to struggle as Percival and Hurrell pick up injuries more regularly now and Makinson is injured more too and has lost a a yard of pace. We are desperate for a strike centre and another decent winger IMO

Re: Luke Thompson Confirmed : Fri Oct 06, 2023 4:28 pm  

FearTheVee wrote:

Yeah yeah, and if you win the GF and beat them it will be no achievement either I'm sure.

And yes, it is just like the Academy GF, good point.

I think we've got to be realistic that if we played on a weekly basis in the NRL we would be far down the table, as yourselves would be (under the current set ups). Of course we would both enjoy a huge inrease in TV revenue along with a massive increase in salary caps to match the teams down under. But as we are it's unrealistic to assume we are anything otherwise. There's always that chance of a one off upset preseason but play that WCC mid-season and we'd likely get trounced every time (especially over there).