Jon Wilkin Sports Column

Injury times are tough

2008-02-28T14:25:00.000-08:00

The season is now start to gather momentum now, teams are starting to get to grips with whats working for them and more importantly whats not! Teams have a few weeks of footage to analyse and I am sure many coaches will be analysing this looking for trends and common flaws in their own teams play and also the oppositions. I suppose Leeds have stepped out the blocks very well and will go into the world club challenge full of confidence, they face Melbourne Storm a team full of pace and guided by the guile and smarts of Cooper Cronk(great Aussie name). Melbourne and Leeds are two sides blessed with pace in abundance and I am sure it will be an amazing game and lets hope Leeds can follow our victory over the Brisbane broncos last year!
I have been missing recently from the saints team due to injury, in the season opener i damaged my medial ligaments in my knee and I am 3 weeks into a rehab programme that will get me back playing I am hoping this will be sooner rather than later.It is funny I have not played in the 2nd game of the Super league season for 3 years now I am jinxed!!
I have started running again though and Matt Viljoen our physio is working me very hard to ensure i am right when I return, I suppose being a physio is a tough job you only really interact with the players when they have received bad news, they must get on the wrong side of a few bad tempered and bottom lip dragging players. Fortunately Matt also has a very melancholy demeanour and suits working under the influence of sadness!!!
Its often the case when your injured you end up training harder than the boys who are playing! I am becoming very close friends with the perimeter of our training pitch and I have started talking to the dumbells in the gym(that's when a few of the boys are not using them to sculpt their arms-Fozz) I will be happy to get back on the field whenever that is, its a much more fun!
Its always nice when you receive a blow like an injury that all the team and people who support you help out in anyway possible,I would like to thank Simon at James Edwards land rover Chester as he gave me an automatic vehicle for the first week or so! it enabled me to get around and keep my spirits up. Thanks so much to them for that!
I thought i would take this opportunity to tell you that superstitions still exist in our game, some people this weekend will be getting changed in a specific place and in a specific order around the Super league grounds, some players will have edited a play list of favourite songs to inspire them but at StHelens we have unearthed the oddest of all superstitions, one young player steals labels from luxury clothing, keeping several down his sock during training and games, he often removes them and fondles the silky labels and rubs them under his nose to comfort himself.....I think its brilliant....obviously this must remain a secret due to the nature of the superstition, dont worry. I myself dont really have any apart from when we play at home I always write the older members of staffs names on the strapping list in the physio room, Stan Wahl our Kit man is due to have his knees, hips and shoulders strapped but it is yet to happen!!
It Wakefield for us and a massive challenge as they will be wounded following a defeat to harlequins! they are a big side and will threaten us, so we must continue to improve as the weeks go on! good luck chaps

Warrington Fixture

2008-02-18T08:22:00.000-08:00

The game on Friday night was of an excellent standard and as I am injured it was a great game to watch! I always get amused sat in the crowd it really opens your eyes to what spectators actually say during the match, some good and somethings you would rather not hear ha ha, It makes you realise how passionate supporters are and how your actions on the field really affect their emotions, especially my mother who is very small but also very loud and spends the majority of the game ot of her seat waving her arms ........well done lads on a great win and its good to be back at Knowsley road on a Friday night!!!

If-By Rudyard Kipling

2008-02-10T13:26:00.000-08:00

IF you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,But make allowance for their doubting too;If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,Or being hated, don't give way to hating,And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;If you can meet with Triumph and DisasterAnd treat those two impostors just the same;If you can bear to hear the truth you've spokenTwisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,And lose, and start again at your beginningsAnd never breathe a word about your loss;If you can force your heart and nerve and sinewTo serve your turn long after they are gone,And so hold on when there is nothing in youExcept the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,If all men count with you, but none too much;If you can fill the unforgiving minuteWith sixty seconds' worth of distance run,Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

This is something I had up on my wall as a child and I love to read it...........

First Game Blues

2008-02-10T12:58:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately today we got beat in our first super league match of 2008, we found ourselves down early under constant pressure from Hull.KR and it proved we left ourselves too much to do! I would say one of the best tries ever scored got disallowed after the full-time whistle as Matt Gidley went into the corner....gutting! Its even worse when you celebrate like you have won the game and the officials pull the play back for an incident which happened a minute earlier...but thats the game and you just have to deal with it and move on, we play again in 5 days so its rest/sleep/recovery with a little bit of training between now and then, but well done Hull.KR on their first win.

Life In StHelens

2008-02-08T08:38:00.000-08:00

I have lived in the North West for 6 years now and I cannot speak highly enough of the people of StHelens ! they always made me feel safe and welcome as a younger lad. When i first moved over I got put into a house the captain Chris Joynt owned and the neighbours all helped me out when frequently the boiler was on the blink and Joynty was busy elsewhere!!! Going to training with a blue complexion during the winter months was a common occurance and occasionally a flock of penguins would gather in my bedroom to escape the sweltering heat outside.... I drove past my first house the other day to discover that it was no longer there it had been reduced to a levelled pile of rubble, I will be honest I was a bit gutted as that house was where my early memories of playing for Saints came from, and it was a doss house for first team members who lived outside the town and had too much to drink after post match victory celebrations....

2008-02-08T08:29:00.000-08:00

I would like to announce that I have signed with Steeden the rugby brand which provides the matchday and training balls for Super League! I am delighted to be associated with a highly motivated and ambitious organisation as they develop there clothing, protective wear and rugby specific equipment. Check out the site for their new range of playing kits ! http://www.steeden.co.uk/

Steeden have also recruited my good friend Mike Bennet to help develop a range of shoulder pads for rugby league....

2008 The New Season

2008-02-07T14:22:00.000-08:00

I think everyone was impressed with the speed, intensity and level of skill on show in the Leeds and Hull.K.R game. It set early standards which all players and coaches will have had to sit up and take note of and in many ways it could set the tone for an energetic and explosive year!
The game of rugby league evolves like any sport and as the years have passed due to full time training , improved coaching at younger ages and increased understanding of the human body the game has increased in speed, players are becoming heavier ,faster,stronger and more importantly younger(in no way do i wish to alienate the elder members of the league, apologies Fozz). I often wonder at what stage the human body will reach its limit, and when the search for the edge in performance comes at the detrement of players health, I am pretty sure as our understanding of the human body increases as will performance and in rugby league the game will continue to develop and i predict that this season will be the fastest and most frantic yet.
For all other teams this weekends fixtures will be a chance to translate miles on the field and kilograms in the gym into tackles and carrys with the ball,for all the moments in the off season when Super League players lost their identity and questioned training in the rain and mud the first weekend of the year fills the part of our lives that has so obviously been missing,it changes from off-season cups of tea to inseason electrolyte drinks for hydration, from relaxing weekends to the pressure and expectation of being involved in a game, I love it!
It will be interesting to see who starts the strongest and which teams grab the early headlines, an early trend which occurs is the sides who have had the longest pre-season get the jump on everyone else! I imagine that all the sides who finished outside of the playoffs will be stronger and fitter early on in the year before the league settles down around 6-8 weeks in. Of course all teams will be prepared and be in tip top condition , I know at Saints we have worked hard and now there is a strong desire amongst our squad to play! We play Hull.K.R in round one and they have recruited very well and look to be a strong unit, they pushed leeds all the way and will be disappointed they couldnt close the game out. Our challenge comes to get up to the high standard they set last week and to win the game we must exceed it. I would just like to wish everbody in the league the best of luck for 2008....within reason that is, a few spots of misfortune against us would go down very well!!
I thought i would take this opportunity to tell you that superstitions still exsist in our game, some people this weekend will be getting changed in a specific place and in a specific order around the Super league grounds, some players will have edited a playlist of favourite songs to inspire them but at StHelens we have unearthed the oddest of all superstitions, one young player steals labels from luxury clothing, keeping several down his sock during training and games, he often removes them and fondles the silky labels and rubs them under his nose to comfort himself.....I think its brilliant....obviously this must remain a secret due to the nature of the superstition, dont worry Jamie Foster(18,about 6ft blonde spikey hair)your secret is safe with the lads!

Winners Now We Can Celebrate.....

2007-08-30T13:25:00.000-07:00

As a player, I'd never felt under so much pressure coming into a game as I did in this Challenge Cup final against Catalans at Wembley.
We'd been made such massive favourites, it's a real challenge to come out and live up to that.
We're used to that in Super League, but it's different in the big games where the opposition are just as motivated.
The Dragons came out and played really well but we showed we're a champion team.
We were well aware that if we rode out the first 20 minutes we had the fitness and strength to do well in the latter of both halves.
The first period of both halves was a battle but the last 20 minutes we dominated. That's credit to our conditioning staff for getting us in such good shape.
We knew that if we got to the ends of our sets of six we'd score points, so regardless of what time it happens, we know we can change the game.
We kept the creativity until the last minute of the first half and that's how Adie Gardner scored just before half-time.
After 80 minutes of rugby, they sling a couple of hundred steps at us just to see if we can manage it
We were happy with the hot weather - we like playing in dry conditions. It was ideal for us because we had every opportunity to throw the ball around, and when we did we looked dangerous.
We had great creativity from the likes of Paul Wellens and Leon Pryce but players like Nick Fozzard were great too. I thought he must have run them close for man of the match.
It was a long way up the steps at the end to pick up the trophy, but it was well worth it.
Halfway up there my legs were tiring, I think it's the final test - after 80 minutes of rugby, they sling a couple of hundred steps at us just to see if we can manage it!
I was very emotional at the end because my life is based around rugby and very few people ever get to fulfil their dream - that's what I've done today.
My family have always supported me to the end, so for them to see me at Wembley was fantastic, it's as much a credit to them as parents as it is to me as a player.

Fulfilling A Lifes Dream.....

2007-08-30T13:17:00.000-07:00

I am a very lucky person, not many people get close to fulfilling a lifes ambition and do something which feels unttainable and unrealistic. As a scrawny child I have vivid memories of watching the challenge cup final on a Saturday afternoon with my parents, following the game I would run around the garden pretending to be players who had featured , I emphasise the word pretend because although I was young and naive I was aware that it was more than likely that pretending to be at Wembley playing rugby was as close as I would get to reality! And this is the bizzarre thing I still until very recently have not come to terms that the child in me is going to proven wrong and as an adult I will be walking out on the hallowed turf full of pride and an immense sense of achievement.
If you look back through the course of rugby league there are probably a dozen of major histric moments which will always be remembered ranging from the change from unlimited to limited tackles, the break away of the Northern Union and more recently the inception of the summer era and the Super League brand. On Saturday another one of those events will occur in my opinion , the first final at the new Wembley and Iam sure all the players involved would love to make it memorable for rugby reasons and not just for the new stadium.
Preparing for a game like this is always good fun and very relaxed, i imagine people would assume we would turn into ultra serious rugby nerds building up to a game of this magnitude but in reality I think we take a relaxed approach and just try to enjoy being part of a big game. I am a big believer of whilst your training you should be intense and discuss the ins and outs of the game with your team mates but as soon as training finishes I like to just switch off totally and turn into a dosile sloth like creature until the next day, apologies to anyone who meets me whilst in this state please be aware that when your talking to me the lights are on but nobody is home, the best way to overcome this is either a slap to the face or mention food both seem to bring me around. Another player famous for his inability to listen at certain times is Paul Wellens, you can hold an in depth conversation with Wello about the pros and cons to the pedestrianisation of StHelens town center and he can have no recollection of it ever happening. After rooming with Paul prior to last years challenge cup I had an inight on what it would be like to live with him and it is at this point I would like to nominate Rachel his wife to be for a place on the honours list for services to the community.
It is a funny expierience rooming with people when the team travels away and I know that certain people are on a room mate black list for the coming weekend, Leon Pryce for his subconcious Harley Davidson impression in his sleep would be on the list,Ade Gardner for his midnight sleep walking and finally Mike Bennet who has a strict lights out policy by 9pm and does not tolerate swearing or nudity within the room, offences are punished and offenders could be bannished from the room for an undisclosed period of time !!!!
I enjoy my job all most of the time and am very fortunate to live the lifestyle I live but games like the one this week end really remind you why you sit on a rowing machine in pre-season and lift heavy weights, for the one second this year i have questioned why I am doing these things I will be rewarded with 80 minutes of comfirmation that I have made the right choices in my life to get me to this position!!! this game is for my parents Carol and Phil and my sister Nicola whos endless support inspires me every single day. I just hope we can get the right result.....

Rugby League simplified......

2007-08-01T15:34:00.000-07:00

26 men, 13 0n each side stand opposite each other on a large rectangular green thing covered in horizontal white lines, the men hold an odd shaped white leather thing , they get it and swing thier arms letting go of the white leather thing before another man on the same team collects it, whilst this is happening the opposing team run toward the team with the white leather thing and cuddle them 6 times then they get the odd shaped leather thing! Or they try and dislodge the white leather thing with thier shoulder, the attacking team all the while are trying to place the odd shaped orb over one of the white lines then they can all run back hugging and patting each other on the back!! the team who does this most wins

Wembley Finalists......

2007-08-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

Playing in a challenge cup final is any proffessional rugby players dream, very much like the FA the challenge cup holds a similar prestige,history and drama. The final has always traditionally been played at Wembley in North london but during the demolition of the old and construction of the new the challenge cup has been wandering around in a homeless peasant like fashion! dropping in on other stadiums such as Millenium stadium Cardiff,Murrayfield in Edinburgh and Twickenham! All fantastic venues but only now at the new wembley will the sense of historical pride and tradition be reinstalled to both players and fans of rugby league.

Myself and the saints squad will face Les catalans of France in what should proove to be a very memorable event and lets hope that both everyone sat within the couldren like atmosphere and everyone watching at home are entertained by one of the toughest sports going!