Don't forget he also saved a try when the ball was pinballing around.

Fair do he did. But he can always be counted on for a big feck up which takes away from his all round game, typically within 5mins of him coming on.

Pee'd me off that, took the gloss off what I thought was a great shift, I reckon one was reefed.

I always find Wood, Harrison and Higham a bit slow to climb off the attacker especially Harrison

Harrison was, understandably, well off the pace and his usual form tonight.

No, he is a great forward. If he were to make no mistakes, that would make him a Robot.

That's a good attribute in the modern game.

Penalty slow not Wigan slow

I thought so too. Something to look forward to when, in couple of weeks, he's back to his best.

It may well be that Morley is 'past his best', although that term usually gets used to describe a player who is no longer able to cut it, which isn't the case with Morley.



For me he is still a good player, one of the top props in SL. Is he as good as he was at the Roosters? Probably not. Over 2008-2010 with us maybe he was still at that level. All players will go into some form of decline as they age, with some players its shallow and barely noticeable. Brett Hodgson is probably in a shallow decline as well, he's still IMO the best fullback in SL, but is he as good as he was at Parramatta or Wests? Maybe not.



There are other players who are in steeper decline, Wellens at Saints is a shadow of the player he was. A lot of the Leeds players have dropped off a lot in the last couple of years. Our favourite subject on here, Martin Gleeson, is another player who has been in shallow decline since about 2006. He's still good, but he's not the player he was and even as one of his bigger fans on here I would admit that you could see the decline even with us.



I still reckon Morley will do us till 2012 but next year we might have to accept that he will be running on the reserve tank. But plenty of props have done it, a prop with good technique even when he has become a bit slow and lumbering, is still an effective player and will still dominate younger props who are not as good technically (remember the success Mike Greg got in his brief spell at Wigan, with an ageing Pongia, Craig Smith and Terry O'C as his front line props). It is not a problem when we still have firepower like Carvell and Paul Wood around him. Glenn Lazarus at Melbourne Storm at the end of his career was the slowest player in the game and he admitted after he retired that the refs had been kind to him by not flagging him offside when he was struggling to get back the 10 (they knew it still took him long enough to run in 8 yards to tackle!) but he was still an immense figure in that team. Morley is a big enough presence in the game to be that so I think we can manage the fact that he is coming to the end of his career without it being a problem.

I'll tell you who has declined and that is Paul Wellens. His pace has gone. Don't really notice him playing these days and Eastmond's head is on cream teas in the pump room at Bath. Ah well all good things do come to an end

Morley is a [igreat[/i forward, Wood is a good forward in my opinion.

you should know - I think Flannery is keen on getting into one of those PnB shirts. Seemed attached to back of one all night. Has he always had problems getting up from the tackle?

Sad to see Wello like that - always rated him. His knock back from a ball going into touch to a dead ball was unlike him. Eastmond couldn't give a shiny one as to what happens to Saints this season. And it shows.

You've never said you wear glasses before. Now the thought of you playing Trials HD and Fifa 11, alone in your loft conversion in Howley, is all the more transparent. How could you let this slip?

Totaly agree. Thanks for articulating that which I am unable to do due to my inebriation. (if that makes no sense, have ten pints then try reading it again)



Still buzzzzzing. What game!

I'd rate them both as very good.

He just cuts a frustrated figure doesn't he, with himself like. I guess he's always set himself high standards and you can tell he's had to work hard at his game as he's not a natural athlete who's blessed with extreme pace etc, for whatever reason he's not at those levels, and he really looks like he's finding it hard.



Probably doesn't help when he sees Brett lauding it at 33, playing his best rugby etc, proper showing him up. He must feel like Woody did when Andy first brought home 'Buzz'.

The sad thing is that Woody (the cowboy character) had came out still as a star, Wellens won't. It's actually hard to watch.



Anyway I can't believe we are showing such sympathy, if they had won this board would have been full of anglo saxon swear words beginning with W. I guess that's what makes us finer people.

Wellens we are quite aware of. He's like the 18 year old dog that's 2 years past it's 'shotgun' date. We know it's time to take him to the vets to be put down but we've just not got it in us.



I've convinced just about everyone on the Saints board that he's pants now. Hopefully, touch wood, we'll throw Lance back there next season and have Pryce and Lomax at 6 and 7, presuming we resign Leon. Letting him go and leaving Wellens at fullback for another season would be a big mistake and I just hope Simmons has had a word with the board on that score.

Have to say I think if TS was Saints coach, Wellens would have been moved on.



When he arrived at Leeds he inherited Gary Connolly at fullback who was not quite the player he was. Smith moved him on to Wigan within half a season. I also think despite the fact we liked Mathers for his superb performance at Wembley, in the early part of last season TS probably worked out that there were chinks in Mathers' game which for all his infectious enthusiasm and great heart he couldn't totally make up for, and he wasn't in the top class of fullbacks. Hodgson despite his age, is still definitely in top class in every department of his game.

I know, I found myself praising myself for most of the evening to be honest, I thought that they were very good. Perhaps we're all in danger of not showing out group the appreciation that they deserve as they're clearly special. Beat Wigan at home and we've beaten Wigan, Saints & Leeds home & away, amazing really.

The Hodgson signing (despite much general conjecture) was a masterstroke for sure for 2011. I hope TS has tricks up his sleeve to give us a team that can compete 2012/2013 onwards.

I thought when we signed him that this would be a massive signing because (imo) the four best outside backs in SL are Richards, Hodgson, Tomkins and King. Wigan having 2 of them was significant. Us having 2 brings some balance and it took something away from one of our other main rivals as well (even though they still beat us!)

What are your thoughts on the 2012 or 2013 team bearing in mind the huge changes we will have to make. Will it be a rebuilding transition period or will TS make it seamless. Or will TS go after another CC or a GF?