That Saints Pod 2025 Episode 9

Listen as the lads cry into their beers about Saints' recent form and luck.

Join Graham, Ste, Paul, Darren, and Ady for their unofficial therapy session for long-suffering fans of St Helens Rugby League Club.
Dissecting Saints' latest performance (or lack thereof), questioning tactical decisions, debating team selections, and wondering aloud how much worse the luck can get.
Expect honest chat, a touch of gallows humour, a few rants, and the occasional flicker of hope. It's raw, passionate, and straight from the terraces — because supporting Saints isn’t just a sport, it’s a way of life. 

Warning: May contain strong opinions, rugby heartbreak, and the phrase “I'm optimistic.” 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hello, and welcome to that Saints podcast. And we're back
three weeks. Three weeks since the last show, and we've
had a chance to see our since we're going to
perform after a very optimistic last show with two big wins.
That's not starts on that basis. I'm Graham Gunliff, who's

(00:28):
with us tonight. Stay offers in Paul and lady was
Sullivan's back. You're right, very good. Thank can I to
see your lady.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
That's because I was with our old Steve Beach on
Saturday clock face against Pilkshres and they had me on
the head set and the microphone for a bit of
the old amateur show.

Speaker 3 (00:54):
Yes, so nice see Beachy.

Speaker 1 (00:57):
Say hello Beachy because he still does a bit of
technical work for good evening. Stay, how are you doing right? Okay,
Well we're listening tonight. We're going to look at it's
a way trip took the game at Salford. We're gonna
have a chat about the Cup final and look forward
to the next couple of games against ever resurgent leads
team and Sulford at home. And I look at some

(01:19):
of the issues affecting the Saints at the moment with
injuries and a couple of other things on the cards
about lack of future viewing for me. I'll come to
that later. So last show we had some great optimism.
We've just beaten Huddersfield comfortably, we've beaten Catalans comfortably. And
I have a quote here from Darren Rigby on the

(01:40):
WhatsApp looking for a win tonight from the whole ky
our game, which wasn't quite as bad as well we're
looking for it wasn't quite as bad as Timsy's optimism.
That's probably why it's the sicky tonight.

Speaker 4 (01:57):
I think I was six paints in at that point,
so I thought, there we go. I've got a bit
of a gas vibe and thought he likes to be optimistic.
Here we are going to do okay, they've got the
final the week after and we are going to take
them to the cleaners.

Speaker 5 (02:13):
Well it worked in the other way, didn't quite clear.

Speaker 6 (02:17):
We didn't say something similar, and that's show. We said
if the rest a couple of players ahead of the
Cup final, we've got a decent chance.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
But they didn't.

Speaker 6 (02:25):
They didn't do that full team, The rested Dean Hadley
and that was it.

Speaker 1 (02:29):
Really, Yeah, that's because he was a suspension on cards,
wasn't he Well.

Speaker 5 (02:33):
They took us as the cleaners and the dry cleaners
after it. Let's put it away.

Speaker 1 (02:39):
Basically, let's have a look. The stats of the game
were are thirty four Saints four tries for hockey couple
from Lewis from Broadbent, Michelle and Hicku and five golds
from Arthur Morgue against Saints lonely one effort from Lewis
Murphy four fair, Yeah, to be fair, but it's a

(03:03):
kind of academic in the end to twenty eight to
four at our time, possibly one of the worst half
I was in for a Saints team for a long time.
And that's saying something, isn't it. Yeah?

Speaker 6 (03:12):
Yeah, I think it's others pretty much where we are
in comparison to us, Like, okay, we are probably the
best team in the league at the moment.

Speaker 1 (03:20):
I think so. Yeah. I think I think we got
got the impression. I thought we thought we were back
after those two big games and playing like we thought
would be all right here.

Speaker 5 (03:28):
But we do this, don't we.

Speaker 7 (03:29):
You've just mentioned we played Dunsfield and Catalan, who were
having even worse seasons than what we are we beat
them too, and then get in our eye or something.
We're brilliant, We're going to challenge for the Super League again,
and we get walloped by a decent team. And exactly
what's going to happen in the next few weeks. We're
going to play Solford probably at wallop by Leads, play
Solford again.

Speaker 5 (03:46):
I think we're brilliant and then get beat by Leads again.

Speaker 1 (03:49):
The strange, strange turn of events really, But the game,
the game was a sort of celebration for them again
to Wembley, and they had a massive crowd. It must
be a hard place to play, because I did. I
did think in much the same way as we used
to get the advantage of Bank playing at home. With
all the decisions. I think a lot of the decisions,
all the fifty fifties went their way for some probably

(04:09):
fifty minutes to he leveled it up a bit.

Speaker 4 (04:11):
Yeah, Well they've got that is it the East Terrace
or whatever whatever on that side, and it's like the
old popular side and Nosey Road. You know, anytime there's
a ball that looks slightly going forward or there's offside,
you got the fans screaming, screaming, at the referee, but
you know that aside. I thought we were competitive for

(04:32):
the first probably twenty five minutes.

Speaker 5 (04:34):
Yeah, and then.

Speaker 1 (04:37):
It was twelve four at once back, Yeah, and we
missed the post and he with.

Speaker 4 (04:41):
A kick, and yeah, we looked and we look competitive
out you know. Obviously I must have had a few
beers if I was thinking we're going to be okay are,
but we you know we I did actually think, you know,
maybe they'll have one eye on the cup final and
for credits to ok Are, they never had that eye
on it because they were just focused on the job
in hand. But we were competitive for the first sort

(05:02):
of twenty minutes, twenty five minutes, and then you could
just see we just went back to well, I don't
know what we went back to because we were just
the floor gates just open.

Speaker 1 (05:12):
But isn't it Isn't it the same in these the
bigger games now and has been for the last three years,
going back with we've discussed ad nausea wellos record against
the or you know, the tea or whoever, but we
we just start making mistakes and planning the game over.
It's just it's right, it's too it's too regular now.

(05:34):
To be just accidental.

Speaker 4 (05:37):
It's it's a lot of the senior players that are
doing the same errors all the time, isn't it.

Speaker 5 (05:42):
You know, you can't even blame.

Speaker 4 (05:44):
Or maybe it's a young lads that are coming in
and it's not them that are messing up.

Speaker 5 (05:48):
It's it's it's the senior players that are coming in.

Speaker 2 (05:50):
If you're seeing your players are messing up like that,
it says to me that the shot just get rid
when they get into that age where they're making them
mistakes and them positions and.

Speaker 4 (06:00):
It's either the shot or is there something deep? Is
there something deeper at Saints that we're just not seeing
and something's just not connecting right whereby we're just when
it comes to them big games. It's all right playing
Salford or Huddersfield or Waitfield and we can turn up
for that, but like Grahams said, against the biggest seams,
we just can't compete if it don't look anywhere near.

Speaker 2 (06:22):
If you've got like the group of some of the
senior players we've got on the success they've had in
the last ten years, the talking sport don't be about
these one percenters.

Speaker 3 (06:33):
To use a sports cliche, so if you've.

Speaker 2 (06:36):
Got these players that for ten years have won the
outrageous amount of stuff that they have, then maybe that
without them knowing it, that that heart and that desire
isn't there to give that extra one percent. I don't
want to use the expression that like can't be asked,

(06:56):
but pretty much like you know, because if they've all
got a lesson, yeah, yeah, they've got a lot of
eye to John and they've got a lot of injuries
in them.

Speaker 6 (07:04):
I think a lot of it's physical and they're getting
older squad.

Speaker 3 (07:07):
Well that I agree on that.

Speaker 2 (07:09):
But then maybe in the Wolf days, shall we say
that when they hadn't quite won as much, or let's
look at the whole Brook to Wolf transition, when they
even add them injuries, or if they had them sort
of injuries, they still had that extra desire, motivation, that
extra one percent, no matter how much it was hurting them.
But now I dare say they've won a lot, it's

(07:33):
already familiar for them. They're probably quite financially comfortable, shall
we say? And you couple that with the age, like
I said, I just think basically too old.

Speaker 1 (07:46):
I guess. I guess they're not as hungry for for
winning stuff and on other teams like the kr are
desperate to winter stuff. But obviously Weigan have still got
that because they've looked, they've watched us for five well five.

Speaker 4 (07:59):
Were going now one to beat our four in the road,
don't they. That's Wiggans challenge now, let's know that.

Speaker 2 (08:07):
And let's be honest though that all our success from
justin Oldbrook up until well, everything we've done in the
last well, you can suppose you can go back in
the whole Super League era for Saints Saints fans and
our town was based on eight doubles on the drops
that Wigging did in the cheating days. I mean, we've

(08:28):
all lived through being absolutely ridiculed by Wigging and then
we've had our glory spell. But now so the boots
on the other foot, so to speak.

Speaker 1 (08:37):
I think we've we've kind of discussed this over the
last few months and that what we didn't do perhaps
is be as ruthless as we should have been when
we were winning. Yeah, and I think that's that's possibly
that the why we're in the situation that we're in
where we've got like this, this disconnect between the older
players and the younger players is a big. There's a
gap in the middle, isn't there?

Speaker 7 (08:57):
Every other team have kind of like when we one
for about for in the Bounce, I've gone out and
recruited wiggans, gone out and signed some fantastic players and
signed them on four five year deals, same as what
like hockey have done Warrington. All the top teams then
have gone and recruited better players and we've kind of
like stood still haven't we Well, we've we've been away.

Speaker 1 (09:17):
The argument to that is we've rewarded the success that
we've had.

Speaker 7 (09:20):
We have, but then obviously we've not kind of like
we've give a lot of players a couple of deals
that maybe we should have done.

Speaker 5 (09:27):
But like you said, only time and time will tell.

Speaker 7 (09:31):
But the minute it's not worked out for Saints and
the rest of teams in Super League of caught.

Speaker 1 (09:35):
Us up and.

Speaker 4 (09:38):
Just clear something up there, Warrington not a big team
any players apart from when they players.

Speaker 3 (09:47):
Becomes something else, don't then.

Speaker 2 (09:49):
Just so, when you mentioned about the refereeing thing when
it was on about the East said, okayr and what
have you? I think there's a big I don't know.
I don't watch much football, but I supp it goes further.
A successful team if you've got a fifty to fifty
decision at this moment in time, and it's okay, our
wigging because they are such good teams and they play

(10:10):
such good rugby.

Speaker 3 (10:10):
If it's fifty to fifty things, they've probably got that.
They've probably done it right. Ye like with us.

Speaker 2 (10:16):
Yeah, when we were winning trophies and you think it's
fifty to fifty decision, Well, this team.

Speaker 3 (10:20):
Is that good.

Speaker 2 (10:21):
They're probably not. It's probably not a forward pass. It's
probably not a knock on. And when you're not quite
as good to think well saying to shift at the minute,
So it probably was a forward class.

Speaker 3 (10:30):
It probably was a knock on. You know.

Speaker 7 (10:32):
It's just frustrating with the we go back to the
style of player we're playing and I don't care what
players we've got on give the youngsters a chance, giving
them them the opportunity like we have done with Robinson
and whipping that and we look, do you know what
I mean? I think we have a completely different team
we play And even Dagnore the weekend, I thought he
stood out and looked SU's half decent and given time

(10:52):
and be good players. But it's just a style of
rugby we play week in week out, and if we
played in the same style no matter what was out there.
I don't think the fans are an issue. I think
it's just the ship we're producing. At a minute, it's
like it's not good enough and it's not like Saints
brand of rugby.

Speaker 5 (11:08):
But that's a minute, is it the Saint.

Speaker 6 (11:10):
It comes down so you can't play boring rugby and lose. Yeah,
you can play boy rugby and win, but you can't
play by rubby lose.

Speaker 1 (11:16):
That was the That was the main crease of the Wolf.
There wasn't it.

Speaker 2 (11:18):
We played bowling rugby and won everything for five years
and offered still.

Speaker 6 (11:25):
Because I give him loads every week about it.

Speaker 1 (11:27):
Yeah you did to be fair.

Speaker 3 (11:30):
Fans aren't gonna Paul has always said the exactly the
same thing.

Speaker 7 (11:34):
Even under Wolf, we weren't playing attractive rugby, but all
the other teams we won we won't. But then I
still walked away from the games thinking I wasn't impressed
with that. I thought we've won because the other team's
rubbish and we just bored them out of the game.

Speaker 3 (11:46):
And think that's what we used to do. We used
to just bore teams today.

Speaker 7 (11:49):
Isn't this we're going to doing that to teams and
it's you're watching it thinking it's not attractive to watch.
We're only doing exactly the same now with what we
did in the Wolf, but they've just.

Speaker 5 (11:59):
Got the X fact of field and French.

Speaker 6 (12:01):
Isn't this a problem with the game in general or
that you have to do that to be successful and
our teams that would play more open, expansive style of
doom to failure.

Speaker 1 (12:09):
I think I think we've gone past the Wolf for
the Wolf's success formula because I've said before my vision
of way well always been playing the rugby is and
is a wolf light. Since everybody else has learned how
to play against it and got around it, we were
still defaulting to it.

Speaker 6 (12:28):
Plus he's doing it with declining players correct exactly.

Speaker 1 (12:31):
That's that's the big point. And then we brought in
obviously Librier's and Amo carol in in an attempt to
change One would think that the way of the coach
with the tactics, but it's not really. It's only there's
only been the odd glimpse of it, and I don't
think until if well all carries on, I think We're
just going to get more of the same until that

(12:54):
that that last coaching attachment to Wolf has got has
moved off. And I'll say that, and I'm kind of
implants next year, well, I'm gonna I was gonna come
to light that will deal with it.

Speaker 2 (13:06):
Now.

Speaker 1 (13:07):
He's not going to contract for next year unless it's
blocks away.

Speaker 7 (13:09):
In case I think there's rumors we've been going into
offens and the drums rumors, and for Saints, I'd rather
Saints come out and say the club come out and look, listen,
we're sticking with Paul at the end of the season.
He's going on to new things things or he's doing this,
he's doing that. But we've come to the end of
the season, and you think, fair enough we've got him

(13:31):
to the end of the season. Saints come out and say,
we've got a new coach, whoever it's going to be.
He's gonna be in charge of resigning players, contracts, et cetera,
and bringing in new players. The fans know where they are,
but at the minute, the fans haven't got a clue
where they are. The fans don't want to sit I
don't want to see well inside sacks. But it's just
not good enough what we're saying at the minute.

Speaker 1 (13:51):
No.

Speaker 5 (13:51):
I just the club needs to come out.

Speaker 7 (13:52):
And give the fans something because the longer they leave it,
the worst going to get. And they can't keep doing
the business in September October time because as we've seen
all the last few years, all the best players have
gone by that point and we're looking at possibly eight,
nine to ten players to bring in next year unless
we've got some academy players to bring through.

Speaker 2 (14:09):
The chap at Salford is really good at building squads.
Every single season they lose five or six players and
he rebuilds a squad. It's been about three times that
this year and he's done, and squads that play really
good rugby. The thing that would be just so Saints
in recent years would be we'd be gearing ourselves up

(14:30):
and then Warrington get rid of Sam Burgess and going
inside Paul Rowley.

Speaker 3 (14:36):
He does for them.

Speaker 2 (14:36):
What but we need that, We need a squad, a builder.
I mean, I suppose a number of years ago you
just said somebody like totally Smith, but totally Smith rebuilds clubs.

Speaker 3 (14:46):
Lea did it with Leeds Warrington.

Speaker 1 (14:49):
If you look at most clubs. What they tend to
do is bringing new coaching and then six months later
there's a completely new team half the time. But that's
not our ethos, is it. Because you've been geared to
bringing in the new, the youngsters.

Speaker 7 (15:03):
This must be the first time in a number of
years that would change's turn around in squad. It's going
to be so high. I can't remember the last time
we was had to bring eight, nine, ten players in.

Speaker 4 (15:12):
But I don't think it will be because I think
it will come like you just pointed to there, We'll wait,
we'll wait, we'll wait, we'll wait, and then there won't
be any players available or good enough players, so we'll
end up signing the same players up again. And well,
I just the problem is at the moment with the
with the club in general, and we've alluded to it

(15:32):
many many times this season, and it even goes back
to last season because we Saturday this time last year
and we were saying, who the hell are we signing
for next year? And you know it's this is not
a new thing. I just feel the connection between the
club and the fans is.

Speaker 5 (15:50):
Just so so far off.

Speaker 4 (15:52):
You go back to OK our game there and you
watch that on TV, and it is like a party.
You're not just going watching a game of rugby. You're
going with your family to go in. It's a day out.
You've got the bars and you can see as the
game's going on, people milling round, they're having beers. It's
like a big social thing before the game, after the game,

(16:13):
there's so much going on. It's as if Saints just
go right, welcome to the stadium, right, you go home
now with add your money.

Speaker 5 (16:21):
It's I just feel it.

Speaker 4 (16:23):
It's it's more evident now, certainly over the past two
years and I felt it, and a lot of our
sort of group who have felt it were I didn't know.
I did not want to miss a Saints game. Now
it's just like, and I know that that they're not
playing the best, and you know, we go through high
as we go through those, but I've never felt a
more disconnect from the club as they have this past

(16:46):
past sort of eighteen.

Speaker 6 (16:46):
Lot of people said that at the end of Pier
of Gunningham's spelling charge, I was going.

Speaker 2 (16:50):
To say, it's very reminiscent of that, and that though
was like glass ceilings that were put in and then
just in all book came in and shattered them and
brought but with the same players on the community side
of things, opening the club up to the people and
to what Darren is saying there. It's okay, it's great

(17:11):
and it works when your team's doing well, but that's
not the key to it.

Speaker 3 (17:14):
Because every year, how many times we are met.

Speaker 2 (17:18):
Up at Sulford two hours before the game? Yeah yeah,
you rock up at Saltford Stadium two hours before the
game and it's like a carnival. Yeah, and year after
year after year we always seem to bump into YouTube gooons.

Speaker 5 (17:33):
I don't like drinking, but there's drink available.

Speaker 7 (17:35):
There's fair ground for the take kings and stuff, food,
food stores and that, and everything's there. You can go
and you plan your day, don't you think, right, three
o'clock kickoff, we'll lead off at half eleven, twelve o'clock.
Get there early. You've got a couple of hours before kickoff.
You kind of saint we just turn up ten mutes
four kickoff now because there's nothing on before you can

(17:56):
put some on the concourse, you could there's a massive
area outside the red v Tesco area there yet put like.

Speaker 2 (18:02):
A live single on a mark being the most underutilized
space that early and outside of the front. And the
other one is when I went to a concert at
our stagium and it was at the club obviously that
did it. They just rented the stagium out on that
car park at the back. They had a food court,
they had hog groast, they had all sorts, and it

(18:22):
was like it was like being in a different town.
It was unrecognizable from our staging because there was so
much going. And then like you say, on the grass
early and outside the tesco, there was all sorts of going.

Speaker 7 (18:33):
There's still a big area in front of the glass,
there's plenty of space to do. There's still a big
area at the front there next to the link with
that you could quite possibly have think for it, like
to buy that, and kind of turned into like a
fan zone or something, because if you put something on
at the ground, you turn up put there's nothing on
the ground. So people then drink in the town center

(18:55):
and walk to the game. And we've got no rush
to get to the game because we're going on Friday.
I want to go in for mates, and I'm thinking
probably by leads, there's nothing great to watch on the
on the pitch and you just you're more going for
a catch up with the people who're sitting down without you.

Speaker 4 (19:10):
I just think the Wigan did it a few years ago,
and you know they they bought Robin Park Arena. And
I know Saints can do or anything like that because
they've not got anything local, but they bought Robin Parker.
Yeah they're not got any money, but they bought Robin
Park Arena and what future vision that was that you've
got your training here either then the Robin Park Arena

(19:34):
turned into a fan zone, so before the game, it's
nothing to do with the stadium. You've got a fan
zone there and everyone congregates and I've got mate to go.
All Wigan fans and they say it's absolutely brilliant. They've
got a speaker on and that's like an ex player
or you know, a legend of the club or you
know someone in a bit of knowledge. They're speaking to
the fans who are having a paint. You might not

(19:55):
be bothered what they're saying, but it's just about bringing
that community of fans together and having sense of we
all belong together and we want to be a together,
whether our team winds losers or draws. It doesn't matter
because because I just feel Saints at the moment they
just I don't know what it is, but they've just
just got such a disconnect with the fans.

Speaker 3 (20:16):
Well, we've we've gone.

Speaker 2 (20:17):
From what just in Orbit built to now I think
we are referred to by our CEO was outside noise.

Speaker 4 (20:26):
Well, do you know, I'm going to give you an example,
and maybe we're going off on a tangent here from
the okay, our game, but I'm going to give you example.

Speaker 1 (20:36):
Comparing them two clubs. Try at the moment, Yeah.

Speaker 4 (20:39):
Just before Father's Day and I think it was ten
days before Father's Day, Saints social media put out that
they were selling a signed shirt framed Forefather's Day and
it was was it two hundred pound or two hundred
and fifty quid whatever, it was two hundred pound. Now, granted,

(21:01):
it's not the best time because we're not playing that well.
So I think one maybe it's Steve mentioned or Gaza
who ever mentioned. You know, if that would have been
after the World Cup challenge, he probably would have sold
thousand of them, you know what I mean, But we
didn't because we didn't have that you know, future sort
of like oh, let's sell these now. But one thing

(21:22):
that really stuck out with me and I read it
and I thought, oh that that won't be a bad present.
One thing that really stood out something and this is
so so poor? Is it depends on who we can
get to sign it? Now, I'm not being funny a
club an amateur, as a club of Saint Stature, if
you cannot get the full squad, and granted, if Mark

(21:46):
Perswell is in a cast, I'm sure we can sign
you know what I mean, He's not pokus Unless you've
got a player there that's broke both of his arms.
You can surely get the full squad to sign a
shirt that is going to be purchased by the fans
for two hundred pounds. And I just thought that is

(22:06):
that is where we are as a club. Also thinking
that is where we are as a club at the moment.

Speaker 5 (22:11):
Also, I'm thinking, what's what's the player's shirt worth?

Speaker 2 (22:13):
Now?

Speaker 7 (22:14):
Is it sixty quid? Sixty five quid? Why why don't say,
just say like one hundred quid signed by the whole squad.
They get more people buying it and it's more appealing
to people into the saying two hundred quid and pricing
people out.

Speaker 5 (22:25):
It doesn't matter.

Speaker 4 (22:25):
I would pay two hundred pounds for a signed Saint shirt.
Stupid if yeah, if if all the squads My point is,
My point is is that they're putting out there that well,
you're basically buying a shirt and it might be Conrad
or all that signed it, because that's all that was
available on the day. That is that is Ben David.

(22:46):
Imagine Ben Davis, Conrad or what you're going to know
what You're going to go down riz.

Speaker 2 (22:52):
And see Rich and you're in danger of going down
if the club now start wanting to Chidge two hundred
bucks for a signed shirt.

Speaker 3 (22:59):
Are you now going to down the.

Speaker 2 (23:00):
Route of when all those kids have stood outside the
stage and wait to get the shirt, sign of the.

Speaker 1 (23:05):
Club don't sign them Because early.

Speaker 2 (23:08):
Days of doing the radio show Women in the Studio,
we used to be able to speak to players and
get interviews off players, and then the club stopped that.

Speaker 3 (23:16):
Did they remember his name? But you had the medium
manager at same.

Speaker 1 (23:22):
Not the first guy. The first guy was brilliant, Mike's
and Micapleton, yeah he was.

Speaker 7 (23:26):
Great, but also you get the you get all the
kids stood especially where we are of the west hand
at the front. Ten minutes before the end of the game,
the stewards that the fans then going start and straight
away they all stand on all the kids standing the barriers.
But nine times out of ten the players aren't allowed
to come past. To send me line and Mike then

(23:47):
put at the end of the day, let the players
come over to the fans, and fans are paying the
money to come in. Let the kids see the players,
and let the players come over. But half the time
it's like they're not allowed to. Well half the time
they take forty five minut it's meeting the family when
they're going to see the family ten minutes later.

Speaker 5 (24:02):
Anyway, yeah, bugs.

Speaker 7 (24:06):
Plus at the end of the game, just let the
players come around meet the fans. They get more of
a reaction, they get a sing song, and then go
and see the families and at the same time let them.

Speaker 1 (24:15):
There's definitely become a disconnect. In the last two to
three years we did it.

Speaker 7 (24:20):
They did it at an a couple of somebody Salford
and at the end of the players come over and
they had a few pictures and well, come over to
the fans. Probably they won but the players and coaches
have come over and they add pictures with the fans
and that that's what the fans want and the young
kids look up to them players.

Speaker 4 (24:36):
So but it's the whole experience of the whole day.
So let's say on game day, take away the sign frame.

Speaker 5 (24:44):
Shirt or whatever.

Speaker 4 (24:44):
But it was in a box or whatever it's in,
but take away that. Let's look at the game day
as a whole. You turn up, you have your beer,
You go and stand on the terrace like even to
the to the fats, I'm going to be dead nitpicky.
When we score a try we play some drab music
like you what you watch all k R. And they're

(25:07):
having they're having a party when they score that used
to be knows do it? They have like some you know,
really good tunes and when you because and also play
songs that the fact they know the fans sing along with.
If you've got a song for the player that's just scored,
play it. Don't play that we're going to win.

Speaker 5 (25:26):
Get We're just say what the partners stopped playing.

Speaker 6 (25:34):
Shouldn't we be able to generate our own atmosphere if
was just to try that.

Speaker 3 (25:40):
Single?

Speaker 4 (25:43):
But do you know what I mean a point where
is we need a lift. Everyone needs a lift at
the moment and we're just not getting it.

Speaker 6 (25:50):
I think it's heavily linked to winning or not myself.
The mood of the crowd and the players is dictated
through bad whether we will or we lose.

Speaker 1 (25:58):
And for that are we entertained?

Speaker 5 (26:01):
And the style of the play, Yeah, that's entertainment.

Speaker 7 (26:03):
If you're again we'll walk off from Friday night and
we get beat by leads, you're not bothers entertaining.

Speaker 1 (26:09):
If if, if, well it was a game forty two,
forty three.

Speaker 7 (26:13):
Wondering entertaining, that's a game. But you turn around and
we get wallops. You're thinking there's nothing entertaining about that.

Speaker 6 (26:20):
There be some people saying no rubbish, that no defense
at all, styles towel defense.

Speaker 5 (26:26):
But you watched like the NRL.

Speaker 7 (26:28):
You compare super to an RL, and some games are tight,
but then there's other games where it's a wash out.
But you think how many tries there are scored? And
it might be like forty thirty, but you think, wow,
there's some unbelievable tries scored. I'd rather have a better
attack than an rubbish defense like we did years ago
under like Danny Anderson and play coaches like that.

Speaker 5 (26:46):
But it's just so far and it's very.

Speaker 1 (26:49):
It's very frustrating for all the fans this season and
last couple of it.

Speaker 6 (26:53):
Appears to be easier to coach defense than to coach attack. Yeah,
because we're much better at defensive than we are.

Speaker 3 (27:00):
We have been absolutely shafted by inanies.

Speaker 1 (27:02):
Yeah, comeat, that's just let's just here with the Saltford
game on Sunday, comfortable winn forty six for the stats,
four tries on his return for carl Felt, two for Robertson,
first try for Dagnoll, try for Warms, he tried for
Syon and against a try for Hole in the last
minute for Salford. I come to a win, but again

(27:26):
I could not think, and this was it was going
to watch run training.

Speaker 6 (27:32):
Training, run. That team is never going to beat even
this person of Saise.

Speaker 1 (27:36):
No, no, no, they wouldn't be. It wouldn't be.

Speaker 6 (27:41):
Anybody would do super anymore more.

Speaker 1 (27:44):
Than Yeah, I think he's on loan from somewhere, isn't hes.

Speaker 6 (27:49):
Yeah, Yeah, I've totally busted out because of all the
players that I've left, And yeah, which.

Speaker 7 (27:53):
Is when I brought to today, haven't they Alford from
worrying to Russell and not whole road.

Speaker 3 (28:00):
I think it is.

Speaker 5 (28:01):
White and waited signed for okay.

Speaker 3 (28:06):
Always said they they're right.

Speaker 2 (28:09):
Sam Stone on the day of the play to play
because he was going and you think, well, I think
that club, you feel for the fans to.

Speaker 1 (28:18):
Feel because he did it on the day. If he's
done it in the middle of the week, fair enough.
But he's got he's got an income.

Speaker 6 (28:24):
To protect, hasn't he Has he been paid though? I
don't know because I know a lot of players earlier
in the season refused to play paid, which is another
another matter entirely, but I mean it's bad form on
the day of the game. The bone, the bonus for
me on Sunday was Carl felt back, obviously.

Speaker 5 (28:42):
Fit, look good player, he looks.

Speaker 6 (28:48):
About I have been.

Speaker 1 (28:51):
And then Robertson.

Speaker 5 (28:54):
Place.

Speaker 7 (28:55):
Yeah, we're not obviously disappointed that Wells is out, but
one bonus for Wells be being out depending on where
Robinson plays.

Speaker 5 (29:02):
He plays well where every player.

Speaker 2 (29:06):
I like the if we look like looking forward and
when Jack's fits, I think because Robertson I believe his
natural position is six. Yeah, so it's got to be
Wellsby Robertson and Whitby and then whatever we do for
nine and thirteen.

Speaker 6 (29:22):
So would you go Robert Robertson at six this week
with out well?

Speaker 2 (29:26):
As Paul's just said, I think unexpected pleasant problem that
Saints have been given is how good Haddie Robertson is
in the centers. He's good for every players, He's just
he's just quality.

Speaker 6 (29:42):
From the center. Would it be easier to cover that?
Then it will be to find someone to play six.

Speaker 5 (29:46):
Well and By or play will be well, he might
be a bit faster than well.

Speaker 1 (29:50):
We'll have the slowest pair of arms in the league
this weekend probably coming up. If it's going to be
and By and John.

Speaker 7 (29:56):
Again, I don't think he will do it. Was it
the young kid roberts from the academy. I don't think
he'll bring him in when.

Speaker 1 (30:03):
Won't bring him against Leeds?

Speaker 7 (30:04):
I don't think so. But there's no reason I would
have always coach. I think, you know what, if he's
if he's good enough again he's old enough, Well that's
a good opportunity. That's what we did with Whitby on
it and yeah, look at.

Speaker 4 (30:16):
Now so I think the fan pressure brought Whippy onto
the field, isn't it?

Speaker 1 (30:19):
Really?

Speaker 2 (30:22):
Is it too much to say that Whitby's nailed that
spot now?

Speaker 1 (30:25):
It is? I think so?

Speaker 6 (30:27):
Now? Yeah, I think decided he's not not fancying Sailor
in the halves.

Speaker 5 (30:33):
Hard to take it off him.

Speaker 3 (30:35):
He was the rest.

Speaker 1 (30:38):
He's got no choice this week because he can't play.

Speaker 7 (30:41):
I think I still think he's settling in. We've not
seen the bester in and that.

Speaker 1 (30:45):
That's he's not He's not physically enough yet as well, And.

Speaker 5 (30:49):
I think I think that's brilliant for the future.

Speaker 1 (30:51):
Yeah, I think that that's good.

Speaker 6 (30:52):
But we could put Sailor in the halves again this
week though, could move robertson to fall back and then
just play Whitley. And there's a in the centers but.

Speaker 1 (31:01):
That but that's a backward step for me playing in
the center.

Speaker 7 (31:05):
But I think I prefer I prefer Robinson Roberts at
half back. Then what's his face?

Speaker 2 (31:15):
Was just mentioning By we need to look after those
that those fourd outside backs of.

Speaker 3 (31:23):
Leads are rapid leads.

Speaker 2 (31:26):
If we put anybody who's not got some wheels on them,
they're just going to skin.

Speaker 4 (31:31):
What's his face in the centers for the new human
Lee's guaranteed score against US, isn't he because I think
he's scored in the last five times he's played against
some player in the Yeah, with Lewis.

Speaker 1 (31:45):
And Lewis, Yeah, well, let's just flag let's let's just
for a second, just flag this injury problem because the
whole KR game we lost Jack would turned out for
sixteen weeks now Lewis Murphy, which has turned into a
six week job. That the shock after that game was
that Percy has suddenly had an operation, was out from

(32:05):
at least another six weeks. And then Sulford game. We've
lost Whitby because he got field his HII. We've definitely
lost Batchley with his CARF and we may have lost
Sern as well for a week or two. I'm not
quite sure, sir, and I couldn't. I couldn't find anything
out about that. But that's of our.

Speaker 6 (32:24):
Best well you see with the squad to it when
it comes out of.

Speaker 1 (32:26):
Our best thirteen. Yeah, we're now we've now lost six
of them.

Speaker 4 (32:30):
Seven of them were in this position last year, weren't
we when we had you know, half our first team
players out and it's sort of like rejuvenated US a bit.
I don't think that will happen this season. No, I
just can't see that happening. I can see Lead Leads
beating us on even.

Speaker 1 (32:47):
At our best thirteen were still only just competing with
the other top teams, but not not not in the
last seventeen games against the top teams or not.

Speaker 5 (32:57):
Now, yeah, Lead that's the top team. I'm not where
they finish last year.

Speaker 6 (33:02):
The third they were last year. They were last year
but the third month, but.

Speaker 1 (33:06):
They went they went out and got a proper coach,
didn't They much improved this year and what.

Speaker 7 (33:11):
They've done this year, they've improved the defense because I
feel like the last three four years have always been
good and they've improved that with Connor as well and
cross back, so they're forming a decent partnership.

Speaker 5 (33:23):
But the defense has always been terrible.

Speaker 6 (33:26):
If you remember at the start of the season, we
beat me in the Challenge Cup. Would I wouldn't better?

Speaker 5 (33:31):
Penny on sayings this week, who's the injuries down to? Though?
Is it is it our our fitness? Is it just
bad luck over the past two years?

Speaker 1 (33:42):
Well, I think you can argue that that the worst
thing that's happened to Paul, that he had no luck.
He's not any look at all.

Speaker 4 (33:53):
That was I think that's his question, was is it
or is it our strength and condition something as it
should be.

Speaker 5 (34:00):
Is it something in training? Are we over training?

Speaker 6 (34:02):
And it's different in Church Square.

Speaker 4 (34:09):
Where the injuries come from cheaper about what we're saying
about connection with the fans.

Speaker 6 (34:17):
Another tremendous outside the church and the balloons.

Speaker 1 (34:22):
That's that's the beggest belief, that's me.

Speaker 2 (34:25):
Things things like quads, calfs, armstrings, stuff like that. I
think he maybe could look at conditioning and training, but
the freaking injuries, like Kyle felt that an absolute freak
of an injury.

Speaker 1 (34:40):
But he came over with that, didn't he And then
it checks out and some surgeon looked at it and
freaked out said by him, you need to get that fixed.

Speaker 3 (34:46):
And obviously would be like.

Speaker 5 (34:51):
Murphy got his injury from trying to gon he so per.

Speaker 1 (34:55):
That's his second big injury to the start of the season.
He's only played month, played five games, aren't.

Speaker 6 (35:01):
Which is That's one thing he could say if it
is luck been lucky with injuries with our signings, because
we felt and Murphy in this year to give them
more pairs, and they both put out for most of
the season.

Speaker 2 (35:12):
As much as much as Sailors being armored off the fans,
I think since they've stuck him on the wing, one
has stayed fit for us.

Speaker 3 (35:19):
He's played virtually every game. He's looking for work and
he's stuck him on the wing.

Speaker 2 (35:22):
He's not he's not made. It's not really made any
mistakes as we don't forget.

Speaker 4 (35:26):
When I'm not rarely did against okay, against when Wigan
brought French over French that first season, then he went
on the wing and they had twelve months of French
where he thought, what's this part of the rubbish of
sign But then.

Speaker 1 (35:41):
The year after it was settled in.

Speaker 5 (35:44):
I can't see Sailor turning out like that, but you
never know.

Speaker 1 (35:46):
You've got to give and he's sure there's a player there,
definitely a player.

Speaker 7 (35:51):
There, but it's finding out words. Best position is if
it's on the wing, keep on the wing. If it's
full back, then keeping full back. But we haven't seen
enough from him in the half fall back to thing.

Speaker 1 (36:01):
But this is this is again that this comes back to, well,
what are we doing at coaching level, we're drifting as
far as we know. Well, it's finished this year. He
hasn't got contract after is it October? Remember when they finished.
We've got to us. We've got to assistant with a

(36:22):
longer contracts than the coach. We've got a minimum of
six players won't be here next year. In my view,
we certainly got the three that are leaving that signed
for other clubs, and we've got a hurdle. And by
that's five, is it? Yeah, David has already gone.

Speaker 6 (36:39):
Are they about other two and by? And are they
have contracts?

Speaker 1 (36:43):
I think they're off contracts.

Speaker 6 (36:44):
Yeah, because anybody who's on contract is going to be
very hard to.

Speaker 1 (36:46):
Shift exactly Well, there is that issue as well, Wield.
I think I think there's eleven eleven at one point
off contracts. Bell and Knowles is going.

Speaker 6 (36:56):
To I mean, I don't know if it's an unpopular opinion,
but I would let Winfield. God would.

Speaker 7 (37:02):
I did right when he when he's fair, But that's
the issue. When he's fair and I do like him,
but we've not said enough of him. So at the minute,
at this moment in time, you let him go.

Speaker 1 (37:10):
Now the other now that this is keep at the minute, absolutely.

Speaker 7 (37:15):
And bought the rumor of what money he wants to stay.
I'm thinking what he's not get an our club at
the minute, and for what money he's wanting, he's probably not.

Speaker 5 (37:23):
Going to get off that and play clubs off Warrington.

Speaker 1 (37:27):
Possibly yeah, yeah, well there is that. But this is
this is where this disconnect with the club comes in again,
because every other club knows who the coaches next year,
they know who the signing. They're all happy and content
they've got they've got they've got a I don't know,
but they've got a continuation that they know about. They
know a plan, they know a vision.

Speaker 5 (37:49):
There was a vision for the future, like what what
vision fans next?

Speaker 6 (37:53):
It may be that they know I haven't told us
because the disconnected that you.

Speaker 7 (37:57):
Refer to is the only let us know just for
the season to get renewals, and they're an ounce like
three four signs and this is you're watching next.

Speaker 1 (38:05):
Year unless it goes wrong. And the only sign we've
got is that bloke that made his name and the
Imperial his name.

Speaker 5 (38:11):
Now, oh whacker, there you go.

Speaker 6 (38:15):
Apparently he's lighted it up for Bradford and the JAB.

Speaker 1 (38:20):
Found the level the.

Speaker 6 (38:25):
BRD, what would you want.

Speaker 1 (38:27):
To But but then again, but it's part of the
classes and malayser around the club that nobody seems to
know what's happening. Nobody seems to know what's going on.

Speaker 4 (38:37):
I think I said it last time I was on
the podcast If Saints now, for me, have just got
a couple of losses and they need to make a decision.
What's happening with Paul Wellens, with the players that are
coming in and going out that maybe decisions have already
been made, and maybe we're just fans that just turn
up and hope for the best. But but they need

(39:00):
they need to give us fans some hope for next
season because the times sticking on other teams are announcing
someone signed or they're signed, and like you said, Graham,
they already know who the coach is next season. We
haven't got a scooby doo whether Paul Wens are staying
going out, So just make that decision.

Speaker 1 (39:19):
The danger, the danger they're drifting into and then this
doesn't happen every year to me is that they piss
off so many fans and just hope that oh, we'll
tell them we've signed so and so just before that
they hope that they'll renew the season tickets. But at
some point that the fans are going to say hard
bollocks to it.

Speaker 4 (39:37):
But what they're doing without even realizing, is they're pissing
off the most loyal fans. And we every club has
fans that are on the borderline that they might go
if Saints are doing well, yeah we'll get a season
ticket that year, or you know they're not. But what
they're doing is without even realizing, the pissing off fans
that go weak in week home and away, paid years

(39:59):
and y years and years for season tickets. And I
speak to so many fans, and you know, our dad
was on about the other day. They're friends, they've had
a season ticket for twenty our years. They're not renewed
next season because they do not know what you know.
And this is this is the issue that many times.

Speaker 2 (40:15):
I was going to say, I'll give you so by
my first season ticket, believe or not, like nineteen seventy nine, Yeah.

Speaker 5 (40:22):
Because it was that you are Yeah, it was.

Speaker 1 (40:26):
Pounds and shillings that was.

Speaker 3 (40:29):
Say anything on older than Yoda, you.

Speaker 1 (40:33):
Tackles, I'm sixty five tomorrow, then rip off season tickets.

Speaker 6 (40:39):
Either way, it was.

Speaker 2 (40:43):
I think one of the things that's happened where the
season tickets are concerned is for our group that go.
For the last three years, I've been like, because of
the cost of the season ticket, if I miss three
own games on my season tickets, it works out that
I'm paying I think it's fifty three pounds a game.
Now our work shifts, so every season I miss three

(41:05):
on games at least, so I'm paying over fifty quid
a game.

Speaker 3 (41:09):
Now.

Speaker 2 (41:09):
It's my choice to sit on the halfway line. But
at Nosey Road you could just rock up, go on
the terrace on the side. Because I don't like watching
the games from behind the sticks. I want to sit
on the touch I want to be on the touch line.
And there's many many people where I sit, the same
group of people who virtually stood together in the same
place at Nosey Road. And if you let that season

(41:30):
ticket go, you can't be with your mates at the game.
You only option at our ground is to go and
stand behind the sticks no beds.

Speaker 3 (41:38):
But I don't want to do that.

Speaker 5 (41:42):
I'm one of them now where you guys, but we're
not with the put on Sandwich an.

Speaker 2 (41:51):
Unfortunate circumstance to the stage and we've got maybe maybe
if we'd have had a terrace one end and one
side then But for me, for the last couple of years,
not put apart from the price, we were now throwing
the style of rugby that you get in so when
you're watching it, justin Albrooks side, as much as it
pissed me off if a game cost me over fifty

(42:13):
quid on the price and seas I was going there
and I was coming out thinking that was a great night.
That really enjoyed that under wolf. It was like those
ditch water But you know we're top of league with
one again. Now I've got neither of them things and
it's still costing me over fifty pounds a game.

Speaker 3 (42:29):
If I miss all.

Speaker 2 (42:30):
My alternative is use a day's annual leave to go
and watch the Saints. Now whom in the right mind
is going to use a day's annual leave to go
and watch that shot?

Speaker 1 (42:40):
That's exactly Darren's point. The club in the danger of
pissing off that sort of.

Speaker 2 (42:45):
And that's exactly right. So like we're where Dad's dad
and the family sit on the opposite side on where
you say.

Speaker 3 (42:55):
That's it.

Speaker 2 (42:56):
But there the day there with the group of people
who've always gone the game, and if you don't renew
this season ticket, then you know you're either sat on
your own or you're in a part of the ground
that you don't want to be in.

Speaker 4 (43:06):
Because I don't think people are bothered now. I don't
think people. I think it's got to a stage where
people go and this is how bad it's gotten. This
is what the club have got to be careful of
now because they need to start giving fans something back,
whether that be like I said, who's the coach next year,

(43:26):
what players were signing, what players are going, give us
something somehow make us buy a shirt for two hundred quidding.
Our kid travels from the south.

Speaker 1 (43:39):
Of Burma every for every home game, and I know
there's another lad who's on red V sometimes comes down from.

Speaker 6 (43:45):
Scotland, comes from Redditch, which is in the Middlands.

Speaker 1 (43:51):
When you throw on top of all that, but the
point is now thinking about picking his games.

Speaker 5 (43:59):
Even we.

Speaker 3 (44:01):
Absolutely so, and then this AND's a long way.

Speaker 1 (44:04):
That's a long way to walk down.

Speaker 2 (44:06):
The one that sticks in your throat about going back
to the cost of things is every single week there's
eight thousand empty specs. It's it's like if the staging
was full, but it's half empty, and it's empty single
week and it's still But like like David says, they're
the season tickets side of me, that's the only thing

(44:28):
that's kept me.

Speaker 1 (44:29):
But isn't isn't it? Isn't it a simple fix from
from not calling your fans outside noise to bringing them
in and letting them listen, letting them know what the
noise inside is.

Speaker 6 (44:41):
But they don't care whether they seeing the ticket.

Speaker 1 (44:44):
Yeah yeah, but they might not get it next year.

Speaker 5 (44:46):
That's the danger that that that I feel.

Speaker 7 (44:52):
There's also I don't know if it's classes with a
seating down the side, but in the West End you
get five pound free ticket each year. You can pass
on to a friend for five pounds, so basically there's
a lad revuls.

Speaker 1 (45:03):
It's not free, it's five pounds. Sorry, it's bring a
friend for a five.

Speaker 7 (45:10):
There's only a Wigan game you can't use it, but
you're getting basically or you makee basically a ticket for fiver.
So there's lad of us who actually don't actually buy
a season ticket and just put the games and just
use use to make five us. We should stop them, really,
but people do that, and I just think, why do that.
If you're going to do that, just reduce season ticket
to get more people buy them and give people some entertainment,

(45:30):
put it on before the game.

Speaker 4 (45:31):
I don't think it's even across of the season ticket ball.
I think it's just this disconnect that we've got. People
will buy season tickets if they feel loved and wanted
and they want to support the club.

Speaker 3 (45:44):
The part of the club.

Speaker 4 (45:45):
You cut all us and half you'll see a big
red V through us all. But it's wearying thing, that
V is. You know, it's wearing thing with a lot
of people who I speak to, who I know are
die hard Saints fans and they were at that stage
now where it's come to a sad state.

Speaker 5 (46:00):
Offers that it has got that bad.

Speaker 6 (46:04):
Rush's comments won't have helped, though. That sort of thing
does created a divide, yeah, outside noise.

Speaker 1 (46:10):
Yeah, but I think the is it that they've made
the mistake and they've repeated the current cunning and problem.

Speaker 4 (46:19):
Is that is that is that simplification? I don't think
that because the chances are working with like so it's
very similar. But you've you've got like this season Breers
and Carol coming in, so they've tried to change that
and they tried to change that narrative that had all
been on Paul Wellons, but nothing changed.

Speaker 5 (46:38):
More what what's the word?

Speaker 3 (46:41):
Kind of much better squad than.

Speaker 1 (46:44):
Absolutely absolutely training.

Speaker 6 (46:47):
You've got Tobby Leo what's his name? That goings?

Speaker 1 (46:55):
I just I'm gonna have to lie down in a
minute to stop.

Speaker 7 (46:58):
Don't tet me back to the coach under Wayne Bennett's
Holbrook Wolf Cunningham got brought in, but it doesn't make
under Brown.

Speaker 1 (47:10):
Yeah, Nathan Brown.

Speaker 7 (47:11):
So Nathan Brown to Nathan Brown was a great coach,
but Cunningham had probably what season or two?

Speaker 3 (47:16):
Nathan Brown was a lucky coach.

Speaker 1 (47:19):
Appear as well.

Speaker 7 (47:20):
He's not a lucky coach, which is but what I'm
saying is welland has had how many years very very
good coaches. So from a SATs point of view, you
think he's had his training. Give him a chance.

Speaker 1 (47:33):
But for the end, Number two is don't always make great.
Number one can't think of very many, can you.

Speaker 6 (47:39):
That's quite a list of top quality coaches he's worked under.
And what has he learned from that.

Speaker 1 (47:45):
Who knows.

Speaker 5 (47:46):
I mean, I don't know whether Wellans is the right
person for the job or not. I really don't.

Speaker 4 (47:50):
But again, last season, he didn't know whether he was
going to have a contract. He got a one year contract.
This season, he doesn't know whether he's going to have
a contract. He might get an the one year contracts,
he might get bend off.

Speaker 5 (48:02):
Who knows.

Speaker 4 (48:03):
But anybody doing their job, and that is in any profession.
How can you work with a vision of a couple
of months ahead? You can't, can't, And how can you
work without the backing of And it's I think it
was alluded to on Sky Sports about player signing. Yeah
you know, and is that Wellens?

Speaker 5 (48:20):
Is that the club? Whoever it is. But it's not working.

Speaker 1 (48:22):
And it comes back to the conversation fifteen minutes ago
about succession information fans. If he's going to good, I mean,
good luck to well If he's going to the number
two somewhere.

Speaker 5 (48:35):
Else, great, good luck to him. I hope you absolutely
smash it.

Speaker 3 (48:39):
But he's staying.

Speaker 4 (48:40):
Give him a two year deal, give him whatever deal
so that you then I'm not saying giving him a
two year deal. But if he is staying, then you
need to give him time. You can't give him another
one year deal and just roll on, roll on, roll on,
because he can't make any decisions.

Speaker 7 (48:54):
Because probably now at the point he don't know if
he's staying or going. So what players is he then
looking at if he is thinking, well, I'm going in
the season is just the biggest team for the now
looking towards the future, the club aren't helping Paul Wellings
at the minute. And to be for no fan, no
sink fan want to see Portland sat first thing. If
the club call out and say Wellens is going to

(49:14):
leave at the end of the season, He's going wherever
you think, good luck to him and worst were with
Paul to the end of season. Fair enough, the fans
know where they are, who he is, and the players do.

Speaker 1 (49:23):
But nobody knows where they are they are.

Speaker 7 (49:27):
We'll be better off coming out saying listen, this will
this is the direction.

Speaker 5 (49:31):
We're going in with Paorn next year. We're not the porn.

Speaker 7 (49:34):
This is the players we're bringing in. And you know
what other teams are linked to. So many players don't
sinking to anybody.

Speaker 1 (49:41):
That's just move on to look at the next couple
of games we've we've thrash we thrashed Shelford.

Speaker 6 (49:50):
That one again again, let's go some points.

Speaker 2 (49:53):
I'll tell you what, considering Selford have only got half
the team they add and.

Speaker 3 (49:57):
We put double the score on him in the first
game of the season.

Speaker 1 (50:00):
Well there is there is a measure of a measure
of improvements or not there. I think it's fair to
say we're going to play resurgent leads on Friday who
look the Hammond Warrington at the weekend and.

Speaker 4 (50:14):
Looking forward to playing leads And I have not said
that many times over the past few years.

Speaker 1 (50:19):
As favorite team, isn't.

Speaker 6 (50:20):
It enjoy Friday?

Speaker 3 (50:24):
I don't think the mostgant team in rugby league.

Speaker 7 (50:27):
You can cause some trouble trouble at the end of
the season if you can carry on playing the way
they're playing.

Speaker 2 (50:31):
I don't know about I don't know what you mean think,
but all looking andy at on Fridays that the older players,
the experienced players have come to the four because as
much as Mortington always have done a number on us,
in recent times we've always done all right, sneakily, we've
been all right against leads, don't we We are?

Speaker 6 (50:50):
But I think there's just a golden class at this
president moment. I can't see them say.

Speaker 5 (50:56):
It's lucky that we're own.

Speaker 7 (50:57):
I think this Friday and then hopefully we can build
some confidence when we go in a couple of weeks.

Speaker 6 (51:03):
It's more for me, I'd be more looking for how
we play now we compete rather than will we will
on that because if we don't play well, it could
be ugly.

Speaker 1 (51:10):
Could get there, it could be ugly with the players
we've got missing, it could be if it's a.

Speaker 7 (51:15):
Style of play, and with leads, one thing they do
we can week out no matter what players are out there.
They play the same style of rugby and the ball about.
Like we said in the build up to the podcast.
Then the issue of lead is over the years has
been the defense, but this year they tend to so
that's the issue. But yeah, they play the same style

(51:37):
wee can week out, and especially with Jake Connor at
the minute, love or hate him, he's been unbelievable this season. Well,
with a decent coach, that's what happens, and you can
turn these players around, these gob shaped players like Newman.
Newman's a bit of a gob shake, but he's brilliant
knuckle down and again you wouldn't you wouldn't have any
issues of his pick things.

Speaker 5 (51:55):
At the end of the season at all.

Speaker 1 (51:57):
He's just such a good player.

Speaker 5 (51:58):
He just needs to go coaching in charge.

Speaker 6 (52:00):
Is a great player, but it's somebody who could potentially
cost you because of his.

Speaker 7 (52:05):
Done that for many teams City's played for over the years,
but when he's on it, there's not many many better.

Speaker 1 (52:11):
After the last couple of games, I think we're all
we're all going to risk one eye on Friday early.

Speaker 5 (52:17):
It's weird because how long since we've had our home game.

Speaker 6 (52:20):
Last game was Catalan five weeks ago.

Speaker 5 (52:23):
Six games we've played.

Speaker 7 (52:26):
We played Catalan and then we played with it another
like four or five weeks before week. We've had two
games like two or three months. It feels like for
ever since we've been at home.

Speaker 1 (52:35):
Then we've got sold for the again the week after
at home, so we've got two own games if we can,
if we can get past leads a little bit more confident,
we'll have another night, another four.

Speaker 5 (52:45):
Another week off his back, and then we'll go to
Hendley get turned.

Speaker 6 (52:49):
Over for the rest of the season. We're going to
play a decent team and get our proverbials handed to
us and everybody be like, oh, doing the gloom season over,
they will have us whole. People be saying engine.

Speaker 1 (53:02):
The inconsistency we've got makes me think we ain't going
to make the six.

Speaker 3 (53:06):
At least we're consistently inconsistent. I think it's very border.

Speaker 6 (53:11):
Line, on the very borderline. Yes, let me make it
on that.

Speaker 5 (53:14):
Yeah, there's a lot of good teams.

Speaker 1 (53:15):
It always takes Warrington and Wakefield to cast the series
solid by beating the whole last week.

Speaker 6 (53:22):
Otherwise we won then.

Speaker 1 (53:25):
Two or three are two the three teams around us
potentially well.

Speaker 4 (53:31):
The big Warrington six points behind us. But I think
the big test will be jumping out here but whole
away a couple of weeks.

Speaker 5 (53:40):
That is a big test.

Speaker 7 (53:42):
We might beat at home because they don't have a
great record at home. It's away from home they play well,
isn't it?

Speaker 1 (53:47):
What's strange on that?

Speaker 4 (53:50):
Can I just say the fix absolutely shocking, absolutely shocking.
How can you play leads twice and solve for twice
in five weeks?

Speaker 1 (53:58):
It's madness.

Speaker 5 (53:59):
It's just that.

Speaker 6 (54:02):
Doesn't help fun engagement.

Speaker 5 (54:03):
It doesn't know, it doesn't know that does not We've
said this.

Speaker 7 (54:06):
We've said this over the past few years on the
podcast where You're Playing.

Speaker 5 (54:11):
We used to look.

Speaker 7 (54:12):
Forward to Warrington home and away, wigging home and away.
Now sometimes you're playing Wiggans four times in a season.
The enjoyment in the bores of the wigging game is
out the window.

Speaker 1 (54:22):
Straight fixtures, Yeah, are you're thinking.

Speaker 7 (54:24):
Just play a team home and away and if you
get them in a cup then fair enough. But at
the minute we're playing the big teams too many times
and like how many times we played We've got to
play Warrington again this year?

Speaker 5 (54:33):
Are we done with them? Now? I think that's it.
We played them all at the start of seasons.

Speaker 6 (54:36):
Because the honors want to, the club owners have more
home games, financial reasons.

Speaker 5 (54:41):
We play.

Speaker 7 (54:41):
Obviously we couldn't help it in the cup game, but
we played Warrington three times in the space of six weeks.

Speaker 5 (54:46):
Like, there's the enjoyment going straight away.

Speaker 7 (54:48):
You think the fixture list comes out, you're looking right,
wigging at home, wigging away, Warrington home warning away. Put
them in a Diary've going back to back three times
and six weeks off, right, I'll go one of them?

Speaker 6 (54:59):
Yeah, and then you that trilogy.

Speaker 1 (55:02):
What's what'sn't exactly a test series? All right? I think
we should just give a quick mention to the girls
who were sadly took a bit of a beating in
the Cup final prior to the Warrington. Okay, our game.

Speaker 6 (55:15):
The story there is that is that wigging and moving
the game on. Aren't they that? They? Certainly the moments
and whatever it is that they're doing. Other teams need
to kind of up catch up.

Speaker 1 (55:23):
They brought, they brought, They brought three Aussies in.

Speaker 6 (55:26):
And Twitter they spent big on.

Speaker 2 (55:30):
There's no salary cap in the girls game, and I
think the players they've brought over, but again it's having
the wealth at the club have got.

Speaker 1 (55:39):
Well, the dancings are Brewsters. Isn't he the owner of them?

Speaker 6 (55:43):
You wouldn't imagine that they're paying them anything like what
they're paying the men. Surely it's very good.

Speaker 3 (55:49):
I believe that the paining them as much as the
girls are getting paid in the really.

Speaker 1 (55:56):
To bring them over and.

Speaker 2 (55:59):
Pay a d amount obviously, but I believe that the matching,
if not improving what they're earning in the Australian.

Speaker 1 (56:08):
Competition. Dvantage that the women the women's game is where
the men's game was in the nineties. The Natives with
Wigan by.

Speaker 3 (56:15):
The Saints girls team is where the Saints men's team is.

Speaker 1 (56:17):
It looks like when it's beginning to look that way
better than.

Speaker 2 (56:21):
That to be true, I think that that Wembley game
will be a wake up call for O girls and
I'd still be confidence us going on and winning the
Grand Final because we've got some great players. But what
the girls have done is we recruited some good young
players as well. They've got some cracking players in there.

Speaker 6 (56:40):
They might be similar as they are. They coming toward
the end of a winning cycle and they need to
I believe it.

Speaker 3 (56:46):
I believe that is.

Speaker 2 (56:47):
I believe that is only anything that Roudgie and Joeldie
and Faye. They're all like mid thirties now and they've
been battered for ten years.

Speaker 7 (56:55):
It's also difficult to keep that and we found that
with the with the men's side exactly the same the
women's now.

Speaker 1 (57:01):
To be fair, look at Penrith in Australia.

Speaker 6 (57:07):
That's what Solid Caps designed for that.

Speaker 4 (57:10):
I think what the women needed was a training session
on Church Were just before the Wembley. I think that
would have sort of right out with a tennis balls.

Speaker 6 (57:21):
Two hundred churchs time by Ben Davis.

Speaker 3 (57:26):
In a box church.

Speaker 6 (57:31):
It was final same weekend, the same weekend.

Speaker 4 (57:39):
I think I think you're right with with the women's team.
I think that they've been they've been there for they've
been the front runners antony for so long. You know
that was always going to come to an end at
some point. And I'm not saying you know this. They're
still up there in the league table, aren't they still top?

Speaker 1 (57:55):
It's how you respond to defeats like and we have got.

Speaker 6 (58:00):
It was the nature for me that was worrying, because
they weren't close. They got probably like.

Speaker 5 (58:03):
You've got, but you could see it on the faces.
I don't think.

Speaker 4 (58:08):
I think they were pretty shocked. You know, you panned
in on the creen light when they're the goal posts
and you know what's going on here.

Speaker 5 (58:16):
And so now it's a massive wake up corner, like
Ay said, and hopefully didn't kick on.

Speaker 3 (58:20):
I don't think it'll happen again.

Speaker 5 (58:23):
I've got some good kids as well coming through.

Speaker 6 (58:26):
But it's about how you respond, isn't it really?

Speaker 1 (58:28):
So well, Certainly there's certainly be some of his conversations.
Sorry to bring it back to that, to bring it
back to that, but there we are strong leadership dream
so in a strong leadership group, and there and and
above all want me to tell us what the hell
is going on and then we'll all be happy.

Speaker 3 (58:48):
You know.

Speaker 1 (58:48):
It just makes it difference.

Speaker 6 (58:50):
All this conversation.

Speaker 1 (58:51):
We need to have the one with the fans, absolutely
not amongst themselves. Okay, well, thank you very much, lads.
It's been another interesting week. We'll see you again in
a couple of weeks when hopefully we'll have better news.
I'm not convinced we will, but hopefully we will.

Speaker 6 (59:05):
So we don't have time to ask whether you can
ground the ball. But it's also.

Speaker 5 (59:10):
I'm not bothered.

Speaker 6 (59:13):
I'm hoping, I'm hoping not.

Speaker 4 (59:15):
When he leaned over just to get that ball within
an inch of that white line, jumping up and down
like Saints won the Cup final, absolutely made hope.

Speaker 6 (59:24):
Guys, was in the street.

Speaker 5 (59:27):
Blow just after twenty nineteen when we got done the
Yeah we did anyway, I'm not coming against all right.

Speaker 1 (59:38):
Well, thank you very much. I will see again in
a couple of weeks. L's thanks to Steve, thank.

Speaker 6 (59:41):
You very much.

Speaker 5 (59:41):
As always Paul, no problem, no problem.

Speaker 1 (59:44):
And to see thank you enjoy Rugbley because we still
do no matter what we say. So we'll see you
in a couple of weeks.