Cloughie was EXCEPTIONAL in Jammer's absense tonight. His usual eeking out of yards went a step further with man dragging drives, and sound defence.



Tony Puletua once again played in the way we should expect of him. Powerful and gracious with ball in hand, he is a joy to watch, and put in a tidy hit if memory and eyesight serves.



Emmitt is developing nicely too. Just needs composure close to the line to help him with the traditional Saints goal line hospital ball (something Jammer took nearly two years to get used to).

The big drive just before the last try really summed up his effort tonight

Cloughy is a fantastic young player, I always remember hearing KC saying years ago that of all the youngsters, Cloughy had the best chance of making it because you had to drag him out of the gym. He's gone from strength to strength and I hope he ultimately gets the recognition he deserves and hopefully gains international honours. I think he's more than worthy of it, but the competition is immense.

Unless he develops considerably I doubt that will ever happen as there are far better players in his position available.... then again if Ben Westwood can make it I guess anything is possible.

paul clough has been one of my standout players for the past 2 seasons now, im shocked he hasnt got into the england squad, as i rate him as one of the best players at saints

I think we should also give special mention to Bryn Hargreaves last night, put in a good solid performance and took some sting out of the Giants pack early on.

True - Cloughy is a better player than Westwood. People bang on about Westwood's defence but I bet he misses more tackles than Cloughy and he certainly makes less ground with the ball.

Westwood also has the tendency to give away costly penalties whereas Cloughie does not. I think it's a shame he hasn't been given a chance at international level.

He's been fantastic all season for me, a huge talent for us and he'll be a key figure in our pack for years to come.

Honestly think about it - would he cope against an agressive aussie pack? no imo. Cloughie at the moment is one of those players who goes out and gives 110% for the club and he is very solid but he is never international class. At England level you have Ellis, Burgess,O'Loughlin, Sinfield and Tomkins ahead of him in the back row all of whom would walk into the current Saints team. People spoke about Cloughie as a youngster having a different dimention to his game (i.e offload and passing ability) but that hasnt been apparent so far at SL level. If he was a bit bigger for me he would probably be our starting prop alongside Jammer.

Exactly the same could be said of Westwood. He works his backside off for his club but international class? No. Not in my opinion anyway (such as it is!). The difference between the two men is that Clough doesn't give away penalties like Westwood.



Although I agree with you in terms of his club commitment and his game, I still think it's a shame he hasn't been given a chance at international level. But maybe I'm just being sentimental.

A young Andy platt, a second rower who turned into an outstanding front row forward...