Hello everyone, just been perusing the site to see what you folks are making of Luke Thompson and thought I'd throw my twopenneth in. You, as you're already starting to see, have got a star signing with Tommo - I've seen him playing from his days in the under 11's at Pilkington Rec's and as he matured through the ranks at St Helens academy and never had any doubt about him going as far in the game as he wanted to. In the last ten years I've seen one other young forward coming through the ranks at Saints, and again I've seen him from his early years at his amateur club (Rochdale Mayfield) and in my opinion has even more potential than Tommo and that's Matty Lees. This kid is ferocious, as hard as they come, probably the nearest thing I've seen to a young Adrian Morley. He has a terrific engine on him and can do the big minutes he needed a few rough edges knocking off him as he tends to be a touch over enthusiastic but if I had any influence at the Doggies I'd be all over this lad, because as sure as "eggs is eggs" Justin Holbrook will be in for him at the Titans.
I'd also be checking out a young loose forward at Wigan called Morgan Smithies, another young 'un who is dynamite. Throw Joe Philbin in from Warrington (another all action prop) and your pack would be bolstered up tremendously. There's also an 18 year old half back on the fringes of the St Helens first team, Lewis Dodd, who will be the best British half in Super League in the nest two years. He already has several admirers in Oz after staring in the Saints academy tour to Australia last October/November.
I'd love to see all the British players staying in Super League but I really want to see the international game prosper and take its rightful position at the pinnacle of our beloved sport and the best way for this to happen, for now at any rate, is for our best players to ply their trade in the NRL.
