I wasn’t arguing that Roby is world class because he has international caps, that would be like saying (for example) LMS is world class because he’s been capped by England which obviously isn’t true. I was making the point that the fact that Roby is capped by England and Houghton isn’t shows that Roby is better. They both play for the same country in the same position and are both playing well at the same time so clearly if one is selected over the other then they’re considered to be better. Surely you can’t disagree with that? Roby is the best 9 in SL history for me, to compare him to Houghton is ridiculous he’s been far better over the years and still is.

As for Barba are you seriously saying he isn’t world class? He’s won a Dally M medal, has scored in and won an NRL grand final and is an incredible player one that other teams could only dream of having. He’s the big favourite for MOS for a reason.

Based on the last couple of seasons I would say he is playing for a top club, considering we have won more trophies then any other SL club in that period. He is very loyal and could have gone to Leeds 3 years ago, if he became available just about every club would be interested.

To be fair Roby is best hooker in SL, but here has been games in the last few years where he has outplayed him.

Is Roby good to enoug to play in the NRL, probably, but we wol never know as he hasn't had the bottle to try and play in the best league in the world.

re Houghton I think it's more that Hull play significantly better when he is in the side. His tackle count/workrate is outstanding and he adds a quick PTB to speed up the attack but just seems to galvanize how we play. Better than Roby? - difficult as 2 very different players in the same position but overall I'd prefer DH in the Hull side than Roby, as good as he is. And not sure using international appearances as a yardstick is totally meaningful as England have hardly been successful with some bizarre player choices recently!

Saints/Hull games are usually v entertaining and I hope this one proves to be. I think someone else said its a freehit - if we win it's a bonus and if we lose to (so far) the best team in the league its hardly a disaster (unless we play like vs Salford in which case it'll be a 30+ margin!). Hull have been inconsistent so far, but not having key spine players has disrupted us, all be it at the positive of letting some of the youngsters get invaluable experience. And lets not forget that the Watts (hothead and sadly eventually a liability as much as I liked his appropriate aggression) affair must have damaged squad preparation.

BTW what has happened to the Saints board - is that why we are being invaded!?

Your living in the past, over the last 4 seasons Houghton as been far better than Roby, 2 CC medals , MOS. Its been an absolute disgrace him not been picked for England. And once again tomorrow night , you will see Roby go missing after been dominated by Houghton

Everybody knows Saints are currently the best team this year, and that Barba and Roby are 2 outstanding players. So why their fans (well, mainly just the game moron on this thread) feel the need to try and shove it down people's throats is beyond me.

Important game this. wire, cas, leeds and wigan will all likely win this week and a loss for us would leave us with only a 50% win ratio and losses against all of our main top 4 rivals. 8 points behind saints and already having to play catch up.

I still think the oz trip was a poor decision for our league position this year and can see us finishing 5th or 6th. Losing watts to one of our rivals has compounded it

I don’t like the prospect of this Saints trip
I have the feeling we could be beaten by 14 -20
See where we are after 9 games and said earlier we could finish 8th more than we could finish 4th

I am not saying or claiming anything.

Just showing the flaws in the arguments you use and how confused you seem.

I follow Cronulla in Australia and am well aware of Barba's achievements and skills.

But you claimed Roby is miles better than Houghton which is just plain daft and use international caps to back your argument.

Their are many very good players that didn't or don't get the caps they deserve due to competition for places and coaches choice.

Barba being a good example.

Roby, Barba and Houghton are all very good players that are a joy to watch.

But you are so biased that you come on here and diss our players. Many of whom have just won back to back Challenge cups.

we didn't "lose" Watts, we sold him because he was a problem...

@AS108
When has Barba even been second choice at FB for the kangeroos, how often has he even being in the squad, he's good in fits and starts but clearly you don't even understand what world class means!

It means top one or two in the world in your position, Barba is and never has been anywhere near, his lack of a single cap proves that. A world class player gets picked and utilised, sometimes at the expense of others, Barba doesn't on either score because he isn't.

As for Houghton, narrow minded failed coached can't understand what Houghton could have brought to an England side. Yes Roby is a world class player on his day but taking the pressure off the forwards with his defence makes a huge difference no other hooker in the world can do. We'll never know now seeing as successive coaches have ignored him for plodders/error strewn types like Hodgson and Clarke who have failed miserably at the top level.