Saints cupboard left bare (From St Helens Star)

Saints cupboard left bare

10:16am Thursday 15th October 2009

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FOR the first time since 2003 the Knowsley Road trophy cabinet is bare.

Despite a disappointing season by their high standards, Saints nevertheless came close to giving Sean Long and Lee Gilmour a winning send-off at Old Trafford.

It has been a tough season of transition under new coach Mick Potter - and fans have not warmed to the style of rugby being served up.

Some of that is out of the coach’s hands - for years Saints’ central attacking thrust has come from good go forward and quick play the balls.

Potter believes the game’s administrators will have to make the call on this particular aspect of play.

The Saints coach said: “It will depend on what the game’s administrators want next season. If you want more tries scored you probably need to get rid of the slow rucks.

“If you want a dour, hard game then keep them in. That is for people smarter than me to make a decision.”

Quick play-the-balls have traditionally benefited Saints’ style and have been exploited by Keiron Cunningham, James Roby and Leon Pryce ruthlessly in the past.

The slower rucks and more wrestling techniques have negated Saints’ Plan A and the club’s management and coaching staff now have an off season to work out a Plan B, should the game’s governing body not rethink this interpretation of the rucks.

Potter has already said this area is a number one priority.

“We need to work a little bit harder at the rucks.

“If the ruck speed is going to be like it has been this year we are going to have to do more work there and work harder in that key area there when we haven’t got the ball,” he said.

“Attack wise we need to look at what turned the Grand Final - and that was our kicking in crucial areas although for three-quarters of the game we went pretty well with our last plays.”

They will have to do that without the long-serving kicker Long who has now left the stage clear for Kyle Eastmond, Gary Wheeler or on-loan Matty Smith.

Although Long will leave pretty big boots to fill, Potter was comfortable with the opportunities his departure presents.

“Sean is a quality player and has been for a lot of years and he will be missed. But as someone moves on somebody else will step up and we have a couple of different options there so we will move forward and try to develop a younger player there.”

The Saints coach returned home to Australia on Monday for a break, but he said he has enjoyed his first spell at Knowsley Road.

“There is nothing negative about the place. The club is so driven and there is a new stadium on the horizon and there a couple of new guys coming through that have had a sniff of the action this year.

“St Helens is not a big town yet we have a lot of young players coming through,” Potter added.

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