Tony Smith is blowing smoke up his backside in the Wire Guardian probably because we looked mildly better with him at half back than Monas .

Is this the make or break season for GOB? If he's not given the opportunity to shine does he have to take a long hard look at himself and say I need to move on for the sake of my career?

When I saw he made the 17 I was made up for him, I naturally thought he was getting the starting gig with Stef at fullback but was probably as frustrated as he was that Monas got the nod.

On the subject of half backs does Myler need to change his game or does he stay the same and we mould Ratchford?

Of the three options we have in Ratch/Myler/GOB which pairing would complement each other the best?

Personally, I don't think O'Brien is good enough at this level. I haven't seen him take control of a game when he is on the field, albeit only for short periods of time.

We desperately need a quality stand-off to boss the team around. I also think Myler needs to step up too and start to want to be the leader but he seems reluctant or is it incapable - you decide

No good panicking just yet anyway , let's get our injured players back & see how it all pans out ,we'll still be a superleague team next season.

May be though ,once Grix &/or Harrison are back ,Ben Currie might make a decent stand off ,he seems to have a decent rugby brain & likes being in the thick of it. With all these new players matters on the pitch will take a while to bed in & the team will probably look like a rubik's cube for a few weeks.

I can't help thinking though ,with so many changes to the team, that a couple of more friendlies would have benefited us better than a trip to Oz.

I would like to see us give him an extended run in the first 13... Then we can find out where we stand with him. A game here and a game there wont ever do a HB any good.

I suppose the worry is that him and Myler are both too small. What i don't get though is why he hasnt put a few more stone in muscle on... GOB doesn't appear to be someone that relies on his running game like Myler. He could be a a tough little bugger with good hands and and excellent kicking game... he still has the build of a paperboy though.

I cant see Myler and ratchford being the long term HB pairing, so either GOB stands up to the plate and delivers or we will end up in the market for another HB.. i think the latter is what will probably happen at the end of the season.

He's not the best 7 in the world but added much needed direction to saints last year, which is what you were missing on Thursday

I can't help but feel he isn't robust enough. And lacks a little pace.

He is probably about the same size as a young Lee Briers. Unfortunately Briers had the Luxury of playing the early years of his career in an awful Wire side, and then occasionally alongside a world class scrum half, there was never any real pressure on Briers.

Gareth O'Brien has none of those luxuries, he is expected to slot into a silverware winning side and make a seamless transition taking over from a 15 year career pro.

I'd give O'Brien a good run this season, if we win nothing and he doesnt show glimpses of taking games by the scruff of the neck then we can disregard the fanciful notion of having a youth set up and go down the Saints route and buy an Aussie playmaker.

I personally think he has all the atrributes.

I just find myself getting really dissapointed in Myler at times. He shows glimpses of class..the wembley opening try for Joel for a starter, if that was an aussie doing that can you imagine?...

But then he goes missing in games and I mean completely missing when people said Briers went missing he was just struggling to pull any big plays off. Myler on Thursday struggled with drop offs...!!!

Whilst GOB doesn't have the best running game in the world, I think a HB pairing of him and Myler or Ratchford offers more than Richie and Stef together. Our two established players are a greater running threat, but I think GOB's got more off the boot and if we can shape him into the player who steadies the ship and gives us some direction in attack, then a combination of him and either Richie or Stef should be the future.

As it is, we've got two great running players, an inexperience stand off and a hooker filling in for our halves. We've got to figure a system out pretty soon or we're always going to be headless chickens when it comes to attack.

Doesn't anybody else think we signed ratchford to be the long term replacement for briers? I think we signed him when we did because that happened to be when he became available, I firmly believe that given time he will make the 6 shirt his own.

Myler in my opinion is a running half, much like Danny maguire really a very good support runner who can pick a pass he will complement stef nicely like he did with briers. I certainly never expect him to be the one who leads us around the field with the boot so the decision to play Monas and Myler together on Thursday, neither of whom have a kicking game really baffled me. Gaz o'Brian should have got the nod from the start in my opinion. If there is ever a game where ratchford is either injured or filling in at full back then o'brians name should probably be one of the first names on the team sheet.

That said our defensive commitment wasn't good enough and we never matched saints in any department they were definitely good for the win even if we gifted them 2 tries with awful defensive efforts and another with a slack pass at the end.

I don't expect that we will win the next game either but hopefully we won't play as badly as that, I can't wait to see Russell play full back for us and we can judge ratchford and Myler as a half back pairing after they have been given a fair crack at it. I still think we will be up there come the business end of the season.

In smith we trust (but please don't play Monas in the halves again at the expense of Gaz o'Brian)

I am not sure Ratchford is a 6, I thought we had signed him as the replacement for Hodgeson to be honest. The Russell signing I found on the one hand exciting but on the other a bit confusing as I am not sure where he will end up playing.

GOB has to, in my view, be given a chance at 6 and we will learn once and for all if he is the one or not. For me the jury is out, flickers of great promise followed by flickers of not a lot. The lack of an extended run may explain this and a good run in the side may help to resolve this conundrum. For me, I hope he steps up to the plate

I really struggle to understand why, and on what evidence, some people have decided O'Brien isn't good enough for this level, given the number of times he has played and the circumstances in which he has played.

Personally, I'm undecided - but I'm also undecided about Myler's ability to be(come) something special at this level, and am still unsure of Rathford's best position.

The difference is both Myler & Ratch have had time, and opportunities in a squad brimming with experience and talent to show what they can do. O'Brien's Warrington career to date has been the odd game when we have an injury, pre-season friendlies and being shipped out on loan. Now he is thrust into a team suddenly shorn of experienced, hugely talented players and expected to prove his mettle overnight.

Gareth, the balls in your court, prove these doubters wrong.