Don't want to turn this into another Eastmond thread but as a strong coach Simmons should take charge of the situation and leave him out of the team until this situation is resolved.

Whats happening at the moment is creating a lot of bad feeling between fans and the player and that may spoil any future he may have at the club.



On Simmons himself its too early too judge, but he does seem to be one of those coaches who has a plan and sticks to it throughout the game even if it isn't working, reminds me a bit of Mclennan in that respect.

Other than rotating players he didn't seem to make any tactical subs on Friday.

Do you seriously think that came from Kyle?? not someone at the club or an advisor telling him to do it! typical PR!



On Simmons come on he has to be given a chance, but when it was first announced that he had been given the position reports from down under seemed very surprised??

I have never known of a Saints player apologising to the fans for his own behaviour towards them before. I might have missed it in the past but I certainly don't remember it ever occurring. It is possible he got a bollocking for what he did because the club will know that they are going to have a hard enough time attracting fans to Widnes this season as is; to alienate the hardcore fans at this stage would be a financial and public relations disaster. Whatever the source of the apology is irrelevant: it has been attached to him and everyone will be watching him. I doubt that he will win back the respect of Saints fans any time soon regardless of what he does but if he puts in 100% from now until he goes then that will keep most of us happy.





I'm giving Simmons a chance. I think he has the toughest job of all our coaches to be honest. And he's had to deal with the death of his own father on top of the mini crises we have had here this season (Kyle Eastmond saga and injuries to our pivotal players). Trying to re-educate a team in how to play attractive and winning rugby league while dealing with those other issues is not an easy task and I feel sorry for him. He looked right fed up when interviewed by Sky after the match! (I watched it back once I'd come home)

That would be great but we don't have the back up to do that.

Read somewhere that the head conditioner at Saints contacted RS whilst he was still in Oz (before he came) to ask about the type of conditioning he wanted for the Team, something on the line of your the conditioner you decide!!!! was the reply, well they are certainly fitter (2 good comebacks) and leaner (Wheelers Belly), so thats someone doing their job. Now coming to role RS is supposed to play, coaching, tactics and team developement, this area leaves a lot to be desired, it will be interesting to see what crowd we get at our next home game. (before you ask, no, I am not going)



Contrast this with whats happening at Piedrom, a first class Head Coach who knows what is required and more importantly gets it done.

And exactly what did he have to do? Turn a side that was almost there into a side that was there! He did for Wigan what Daniel Anderson did for St Helens. But we aren't that team anymore. Those who went on about Potter overseeing a side in transition were talking rubbish because we still had enough of our former pivotal players in place to make the grade. All but Wello has left now and we have started the season with him injured, Leon injured, Kyle not with us mentally, Wheeler injured, Jammer injured and Perry injured. Simmons has lost his dad and there has been the Eastmond saga to deal with. No stability. Did you watch the team in full flow for the first half of the Widnes friendly? That was the only time we have had a full team out so far this year. They looked marvellous. If that is what Simmons can do with the players he has at his disposal - once he actually has them all on the park - then I am looking forward to the season.

I know we haven't got another scrum half waiting in the wings but there are options, possibly Lomax or Wilkins to scrum half, I know its not ideal but I'd rather see 13 players on the pitch giving 100% han what I saw on Friday.

He turned a team of also rans into the best team in Super League, (although it grieves me to say so). I hope that RS proves me wrong and comes up with a winning format, however I don't think he's the right man for Head Coach at any team.

I respect your opinion, but playing Widnes every week is not possible, plus all 3 sides we have played in SL have had their injury problems as well as Saints. playing 1 out rugby will not suffice for me I'm afraid, neither will the Head Coach criticising his own players, especially when he admitted he didn't see what happened.

They were in the playoffs for heaven's sake! We only kicked them out in 2009 because of a dodgy try saving tackle by Longy (ie it was 50:50 whether he had a second effort) and a slide in the rain over the tryline by Kyle. They were 80 minutes from the Grand Final. They were on the brink of reaching their peak, just as we were when Anderson came in and sorted out our defence. They were hardly also rans! They hadn't even made it yet! Royce Simmons has a far, far bigger job to do. He doesn't have pace in the backline or any squad depth and we have worse injuries than Wigan did this time last season. He's also got the Eastmond saga to deal with. I'm quite sure that isn't what he had in mind when he accepted the job!





That wasn't my point. My point was that when we had the full team out - which we have yet to enjoy in a league game - it was possible to see what kind of attack he had in mind, and it was nothing like one up rugby.





He didn't criticise him! I've just re-read the thing. He said he didn't see what happened but that kind of thing should be done as a team, which is absolutely right. And a formal apology has since been put out which suggests Kyle has been disciplined.

New coach new ideas



1st match draw against current champions but all teams are a little rusty so not a real indication of how the season will pan out



2nd match Salford, hmmmm they look pants



3rd game, NEUTRAL stadium let's be honest, against a contender with less injuries in key positions, finished stronger.



Don't see the problem, Wire fans love TS but he was in charge early on when we were humiliated by Quins at The Stoop ?



It's not as if he's Jimmy Lowes.

So let me just get this straight, you're suggesting the assistant coach of Australia, with over 20 years of coaching experience doesn't know what is required to get things done?



Riiiiiiight.







Over the course of a season not over 3 games 2 of which were against two of the toughest teams in the league, and as has been stated they were hardly also rans.

He's only had 3 games. Are you actually serious?

Do you even know what transition means? We have now transitioned, the older players have gone and this is our squad for the next few years. Potter facilitated that transition over his two years. He made mistakes but he's gone now so we move on.



Simmons seems to know what he's doing but again some of his decisions are as strange as Potter's. Putting Foster on the bench and leaving him there for 75 minutes for example. I'll give him until the end of the season until I make any judgement on his ability to put us back where we should be.

No it isn't. We still have Wello, Meli, Pryce and Gardner who are all older players. I'm not sure how old Wilkin is now either. TP is 32 I think. And Flannery mustn't be far off. But more important than the age is what needs fixing. We need to replace both our wingers with pacey players who can also defend. We need a reliable left centre. We need to start identifying a replacement for Wello as he is fast approaching the end of his career.

i think better team won on friday, i hate to say it. This season i can see a top 4 finish. Think us and leeds will be contesting 3rd.

wire and hudds?

Yeah the likes of Wilkin and Gardner may as well retire now at 27





Even the likes of Wellens, Puletua and Flannery have 3 more seasons in them.



The transition period is now over. The likes of Cunningham, Sculthorpe, Talau, Hooper, Gidley, Cayless, Anderson, Long, Gilmour, Fozzard, Bennett, Fa'asavalu and Hargreaves have all moved on in the last few of years.



What we have now is what we'll run with for the next few years (with the exception of a new scrum half)

Transition periods are never over, when they are you're already falling behind.



What Potter had to deal with, that Simmons doesn't, is removing three real top class players whilst they are pretty much past it in Sculthorpe, Long and Cunningham, whilst not being able to spend any money on replacements.



Simmons doesn't have that, he's not got Cunningham, but has had replacements brought in, two props and the centre we were crying out for in Potters two years. He's also got the benefit of the youngsters Potter brought into the first team having a few years of experience behind them.

He also lost Gidley, who was extremely good in defence even if his attack dulled during Potter's regime. He also lost any depth we had to the squad after what looked like a total clear out of our back up players. So he has a paper thin squad to play with. And a petulant child for a scrum half, not to mention a prop forward who is a bit off form and is umming and ahhing about his own future. Oh, and injuries to main players to start the season with.



I think Simmons has it tougher already than Potter ever did.

We've lost some depth in the prop department IMO, but nowhere else. Potter had a paper thin squad, with less experienced youngsters to back it up.



IMO, we've not expected Eastmond to play this year. He's only in because Pryce is injured. Simmons has said himself that the team prepared with Pryce and Gaskell at half back, I think if Pryce had been fit Eastmond would have been 'injured' until his move.



You've still got a raving blind spot where Potter is I see.



Simmons has the problem of being at Widnes, Potter was on a hiding to nothing by following Anderson.

Maybe. I understood his comment about Gaskell and Pryce in relation to the anticipated return of Kyle to playing, which was originally set a few weeks into the season.

Possibly.

Apart from Shenton, I reckon our backline will completely change in the next few years. I'm not sure Gardner will get a new deal at this stage, Meli has 2 years left and he'll retire, Wellens probably has 2 years left, will Wheeler still be at the club with his injury record? Pryce will probably sign a new deal, but a new Scrum half will be needed asap. There's alot of uncertainty in the future of our backline.

Not sure about taxi for Royce but maybe a White stick for Royce!



This guy aint got any eyes! He can't see!

Not quite, what you're talking about is development or evolution. Transition is moving from one state to another in a short timescale. In rugby league if you don't do the development bit well you end up in transition - e.g. having to replace a large number of players in a short space of time



We've done that now and will continue to evolve as a side at a more natural rate