Entry 25, 29th November 2010
St Helens hooker James Roby has committed his future to the Super League club. The number nine, one of few players to really impress in the recent Four Nations Tour for England, had been linked with several Australian clubs but has now put pen to paper on a new 4 year contract that ties him to St Helens until the end of the 2014 season.
Roby has big shoes to fill, having been awarded the famous number nine shirt for the 2011 season in Royce simmons squad selection. The 25 year old has scored 58 tries in 203 appearances for Saints and after inking the new contract he said:
"It was a big but ultimately easy decision for me."
"The Saints have been my only club and are only going to get stronger."
"We are moving to a fantastic new training facility this season and to a new stadium the next. We've got a top new coach in Royce Simmons and have made some great new signings for next season."
"The next few years will be more than exciting for the club and at a time when I should be reaching my own peak."
St Helens chairman Eamonn McManus said: "This is a big boost for us and a clear endorsement of the future of the club."
"James is one of the best players in the world and crucial to our continued success. Having come through our academy and been at the heart of our success in recent years, he represents all that we strive for and produce at the club."
So much for the Aussies coming cherry picking the talent eh Eamonn? Roby was quick enough to sign on the dotted line when given the chance.
For what it is worth, I think this is a statement of intent from St Helens. For several years Roby has been understudy to the great Cunningham but now is his chance to step from behind the shadows. I think he can do it. He's already proven in more than 200 appearances he can and to be honest there is not a more exciting sight in Super League than seeing the jet-heeled hooker get away from a tackler or two. He's deceptively strong too and I think he is only going to get better.
In the words of a popular lager advert at the moment - good call James!
Showing posts with label St Helens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St Helens. Show all posts
Monday, 29 November 2010
Friday, 19 November 2010
#rugby league BLOG 2010/11: When does a player drain equate to a couple of players?
Entry 16. 19th November 2010
Eamonn McManus at St Helens sounds a worried man.
A story today suggested the Saints Chairman is seeking the RFL to take action in order to prevent a player drain of talent to the NRL.
I’m sorry but I just can’t agree with him. Currently there are just two English players playing regularly in the NRL (Sam Burgess and Gareth Ellis) while one youngster is trying to make his way (Gareth Widdop).
At the end of last week there was a shock fourth player announcing a move to Australia, none other than Michael Worrincy who has played the last couple of seasons with Bradford Bulls.
I would hardly call this a player drain, particularly when in the Super League there were reportedly 111 overseas players according to Widnes Sporting Director Terry O’Connor. It makes the four pale into insignificance by comparison, especially when Super League Clubs can sign up to FIVE Australian or Kiwi players EACH.
What it does point to is my opening statement, McManus is a worried man. He knows that the likes of James Graham and James Roby, arguably two of the jewels in the Saints squad, have boosted their reputations down under following good performances in an outgunned England team during this past Four Nations Tournament.
Perhaps more pressing is the thought that from the end of next season Graham in particular is out of contract and has already reportedly been sounded out by a couple of clubs. To be honest I couldn’t blame any player for looking towards Australia, the current exchange rate is good, the lifestyle is different with cold wet November nights a thing of the past, plus the best league competition too.
I also reckon both players would do well in that competition with Roby’s sniping from dummy half and Graham’s toughness.
I wonder if the first thing on Mr McManus agenda is a meeting with both players next week?
Eamonn McManus at St Helens sounds a worried man.
A story today suggested the Saints Chairman is seeking the RFL to take action in order to prevent a player drain of talent to the NRL.
I’m sorry but I just can’t agree with him. Currently there are just two English players playing regularly in the NRL (Sam Burgess and Gareth Ellis) while one youngster is trying to make his way (Gareth Widdop).
At the end of last week there was a shock fourth player announcing a move to Australia, none other than Michael Worrincy who has played the last couple of seasons with Bradford Bulls.
I would hardly call this a player drain, particularly when in the Super League there were reportedly 111 overseas players according to Widnes Sporting Director Terry O’Connor. It makes the four pale into insignificance by comparison, especially when Super League Clubs can sign up to FIVE Australian or Kiwi players EACH.
What it does point to is my opening statement, McManus is a worried man. He knows that the likes of James Graham and James Roby, arguably two of the jewels in the Saints squad, have boosted their reputations down under following good performances in an outgunned England team during this past Four Nations Tournament.
Perhaps more pressing is the thought that from the end of next season Graham in particular is out of contract and has already reportedly been sounded out by a couple of clubs. To be honest I couldn’t blame any player for looking towards Australia, the current exchange rate is good, the lifestyle is different with cold wet November nights a thing of the past, plus the best league competition too.
I also reckon both players would do well in that competition with Roby’s sniping from dummy half and Graham’s toughness.
I wonder if the first thing on Mr McManus agenda is a meeting with both players next week?
Sunday, 19 September 2010
RL Comment: Clubcall
So the big day of the clubcall has arrived and I still can't help but think this is something of a gimmick, I don't know what anyone else thinks about it.
Every other team sport has a structure and this is unusual, however gimmick or not in my eyes, it does buy the RFL more media attention because it is different.
Last year it was Leeds that had the clubcall and they opted to play Catalans Dragons. This year, by virtue of being the highest placed winner on the league ladder after the first week of the play-offs, St Helens have the honour and the unusual step of being able to pick who they will play in the last ever first team game at Knowsley Road.
The teams they can pick from are arch nemesis Wigan, who defeated Hull KR 42-18 on Friday night or tough nut Huddersfield who accounted for Warrington 34-22.
Huddersfield coach Nathan Brown was already putting his troops on standby for a trip to St Helens, although he did say, "whoever we play now, they are both good teams."
This is true, should Saints opt to take on Wigan, it would pit Huddersfield against current Super League Champions Leeds.
So despite my personal thoughts on the issue, I guess we'll find out in a couple of hours who will play who, and the media will report accordingly.
Every other team sport has a structure and this is unusual, however gimmick or not in my eyes, it does buy the RFL more media attention because it is different.
Last year it was Leeds that had the clubcall and they opted to play Catalans Dragons. This year, by virtue of being the highest placed winner on the league ladder after the first week of the play-offs, St Helens have the honour and the unusual step of being able to pick who they will play in the last ever first team game at Knowsley Road.
The teams they can pick from are arch nemesis Wigan, who defeated Hull KR 42-18 on Friday night or tough nut Huddersfield who accounted for Warrington 34-22.
Huddersfield coach Nathan Brown was already putting his troops on standby for a trip to St Helens, although he did say, "whoever we play now, they are both good teams."
This is true, should Saints opt to take on Wigan, it would pit Huddersfield against current Super League Champions Leeds.
So despite my personal thoughts on the issue, I guess we'll find out in a couple of hours who will play who, and the media will report accordingly.
Monday, 22 February 2010
SL XV - Round up 20-21/02/2010
In addition to the magnificent game at the Halliwell Jones Stadium another Super League encounter was taking place in the South of France where St Helens travelled to tackle Catalans Dragons.
This ended with a 42-12 victory for Saints with the Dragons being hampered due to the sending off of French international skipper Olivier Elima.
It was Catalans that made an excellent start thanks to tries from Chris Walker and Setaimata Sa but when leading 8-4, Elima was marched for an incident involving Johnny Lomax who had scored the first try for the visitors.
Lomax grabbed a second before further tries from Francis Meli and Matt Gidley handed Saints an 18-8 half-time lead.
St Helens took control of the contest in the first ten minutes of the second half with further tries from Maurie Fa'asavalu, Kyle Eastmond and Meli added further tries. Gidley also added his second try to put the Sints 42-12 up before a late try from Walker put the hosts into double figures.
On Sunday Huddersfield Giants were big winners over at New Craven Park, beating an underdone Hull KR 30-0.
The Giants led 18-0 at half-time and despite not really impressing their boss Nathan Brown in the second period, still scored a couple more tries to claim victory.
Shaun Lunt, David Hodgson and Larne Patrick scored first half tries. Hodgson went on to claim a hat-trick in the second half and the game was a mere formaility by the time Leroy Cudjoe scored an unconverted try. Brett Hodgson finished with three goals.
Another encouraging crowd of over 6700 was on hand at Wrexham's Racecourse Ground to see Crusaders win back to back games for the first time since they were admitted to Super League.
Hull were the visitors and both teams scored three tries each with the goal-kicking and general play of halfback Michael Witt the difference.
Wing Nick Youngquest scored the first try of the game before Lee Radford powered through a gap to equalise. An easy try followed for Tom Briscoe with Craig Fitzgibbon a man on form with two conversions and some sound play.
Witt went in for a try before the interval and added the conversion to again lock the game up at 12-12. A good kick after 50 minutes then saw centre Kirk Yeaman get the scoring touch but that try went unconverted.
Youngquest then claimed his second try 11 minutes from the end, Witt converted from wide out and some good defence saw Crusaders win through.
SATURDAY
Catalans Dragons 12 ST HELENS 42
SUNDAY
Hull Kingston Rovers 0 HUDDERSFIELD 30
CRUSADERS 18 Hull 16
This ended with a 42-12 victory for Saints with the Dragons being hampered due to the sending off of French international skipper Olivier Elima.
It was Catalans that made an excellent start thanks to tries from Chris Walker and Setaimata Sa but when leading 8-4, Elima was marched for an incident involving Johnny Lomax who had scored the first try for the visitors.
Lomax grabbed a second before further tries from Francis Meli and Matt Gidley handed Saints an 18-8 half-time lead.
St Helens took control of the contest in the first ten minutes of the second half with further tries from Maurie Fa'asavalu, Kyle Eastmond and Meli added further tries. Gidley also added his second try to put the Sints 42-12 up before a late try from Walker put the hosts into double figures.
On Sunday Huddersfield Giants were big winners over at New Craven Park, beating an underdone Hull KR 30-0.
The Giants led 18-0 at half-time and despite not really impressing their boss Nathan Brown in the second period, still scored a couple more tries to claim victory.
Shaun Lunt, David Hodgson and Larne Patrick scored first half tries. Hodgson went on to claim a hat-trick in the second half and the game was a mere formaility by the time Leroy Cudjoe scored an unconverted try. Brett Hodgson finished with three goals.
Another encouraging crowd of over 6700 was on hand at Wrexham's Racecourse Ground to see Crusaders win back to back games for the first time since they were admitted to Super League.
Hull were the visitors and both teams scored three tries each with the goal-kicking and general play of halfback Michael Witt the difference.
Wing Nick Youngquest scored the first try of the game before Lee Radford powered through a gap to equalise. An easy try followed for Tom Briscoe with Craig Fitzgibbon a man on form with two conversions and some sound play.
Witt went in for a try before the interval and added the conversion to again lock the game up at 12-12. A good kick after 50 minutes then saw centre Kirk Yeaman get the scoring touch but that try went unconverted.
Youngquest then claimed his second try 11 minutes from the end, Witt converted from wide out and some good defence saw Crusaders win through.
SATURDAY
Catalans Dragons 12 ST HELENS 42
SUNDAY
Hull Kingston Rovers 0 HUDDERSFIELD 30
CRUSADERS 18 Hull 16
Saturday, 6 February 2010
What a pea-souper: St Helens v Hull: SL Round-up
Thick fog billowed around Knowsley Road this evening meaning the start of the Saints Super League season was delayed by 15 minutes.
Eventually the fixture got underway with Saints making the first couple of breaks through Jon Wilkin and Kyle Eastmond. Hull tackled back well and as possession swung from one end of gloom to the other there was little between the teams until the returning Sean Long, on debut for Hull fired a wonderful pass across the face of Craig Fitzgibbon. Two defenders moved in to tackle the Australian as the ball fizzed past him to Willie Manu and he took Paul Wellens over the line. Danny Tickle goaled and Hull looked more assured.
The visitors adapted better to the conditions with the kicking game from Long and a lively chase halting the Saints who then lost Ade Gardner to injury. Three minutes from the break Hull scored a second try when the ball moved right to the man mountain Epalahame Lauaki. Lauaki brushed a poor Leon Pryce tackle off, stepped James Graham and reached over for an excellent try that I'm sure in clear conditions would have been appreciated by most of the 12,000+ crowd. Once again Tickle goaled and Hull went to the break with a 12-0 lead, partly due to the alertness of Kirk Yeaman as Scott Moore chased a kick through.
Danny Tickle added a third goal from a penalty five minutes into the new half before an excellent piece of play brought a debut score for Long. Manu managed to offload for support and the move was carried down the middle before Wellens was drawn in and Long scurried home. A fourth Tickle goal made it 20-0 and things got worse for the Saints after 57 minutes when Tom Briscoe twisted out of a low tackle, losing a boot in the process before racing to the try line from 70 metres. This time Craig Fitzgibbon added the extras and St Helens needed something special.
Hull fullback Jordan Tansey was then penalised for making a tackle whilst offside at marker and dispatched to the sinbin. The hosts immediately punished their visitors when Matt Gidley lunged for the line and the try was awarded by video referee Steve Ganson. Eastmond added the extras before a destructive run from Lauaki saw him beat six players including Chris Flannery twice. Sadly that came to nothing for Hull and it was Saints through Flannery that scored their second try, this time on the left. Eastmond goaled before Tansey returned from the sinbin and Hull monopolised territory in the last eight minutes. This set the platform for their final try five minutes from the end. A kick from Long was placed on by the boot of Fitzgibbon and Yeaman won the race. A second goal from Fitzgibbon made it 32-12 on the night for Hull.
St Helens 12 Hull 32 FT
Saints:
Tries: Chris Flannery, Matt Gidley
Goals: Kyle Eastmond 2
Hull:
Tries: Willie Manu, Epalahame Lauaki, Sean Long, Tom Briscoe, Kirk Yeaman
Goals: Danny Tickle 4, Craig Fitzgibbon 2
Eventually the fixture got underway with Saints making the first couple of breaks through Jon Wilkin and Kyle Eastmond. Hull tackled back well and as possession swung from one end of gloom to the other there was little between the teams until the returning Sean Long, on debut for Hull fired a wonderful pass across the face of Craig Fitzgibbon. Two defenders moved in to tackle the Australian as the ball fizzed past him to Willie Manu and he took Paul Wellens over the line. Danny Tickle goaled and Hull looked more assured.
The visitors adapted better to the conditions with the kicking game from Long and a lively chase halting the Saints who then lost Ade Gardner to injury. Three minutes from the break Hull scored a second try when the ball moved right to the man mountain Epalahame Lauaki. Lauaki brushed a poor Leon Pryce tackle off, stepped James Graham and reached over for an excellent try that I'm sure in clear conditions would have been appreciated by most of the 12,000+ crowd. Once again Tickle goaled and Hull went to the break with a 12-0 lead, partly due to the alertness of Kirk Yeaman as Scott Moore chased a kick through.
Danny Tickle added a third goal from a penalty five minutes into the new half before an excellent piece of play brought a debut score for Long. Manu managed to offload for support and the move was carried down the middle before Wellens was drawn in and Long scurried home. A fourth Tickle goal made it 20-0 and things got worse for the Saints after 57 minutes when Tom Briscoe twisted out of a low tackle, losing a boot in the process before racing to the try line from 70 metres. This time Craig Fitzgibbon added the extras and St Helens needed something special.
Hull fullback Jordan Tansey was then penalised for making a tackle whilst offside at marker and dispatched to the sinbin. The hosts immediately punished their visitors when Matt Gidley lunged for the line and the try was awarded by video referee Steve Ganson. Eastmond added the extras before a destructive run from Lauaki saw him beat six players including Chris Flannery twice. Sadly that came to nothing for Hull and it was Saints through Flannery that scored their second try, this time on the left. Eastmond goaled before Tansey returned from the sinbin and Hull monopolised territory in the last eight minutes. This set the platform for their final try five minutes from the end. A kick from Long was placed on by the boot of Fitzgibbon and Yeaman won the race. A second goal from Fitzgibbon made it 32-12 on the night for Hull.
St Helens 12 Hull 32 FT
Saints:
Tries: Chris Flannery, Matt Gidley
Goals: Kyle Eastmond 2
Hull:
Tries: Willie Manu, Epalahame Lauaki, Sean Long, Tom Briscoe, Kirk Yeaman
Goals: Danny Tickle 4, Craig Fitzgibbon 2
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