Alex Sutcliffe to Doncaster according to Matthew Shaw - disappointed with that as he looked good when playing second row and would certainly have preferred him to retaining llaroyer.

As things stand we do not have any real competition for Kav and Gee in the second row so i thought we might have gone for him. Maybe we did and he chose Donny instead or they might be able to guarantee him a starting spot every week.

Didn't see his appearance in Toulouse where he was excellent by all accounts.Did nothing to impress me in the games I saw-looked much like the rest of our pack-even his try at Keighley would have ended up on the ground 9 times out of 10.

Agree with this, the pack (including Sutcliffe) the last few games (bar Toulouse) really let Fax down with only Tangata really standing out.

Tangata standing out? Not sure which games you have been watching, think its been Tangata's worst season in a Fax shirt. His dumb penalty against Bradford cost us the playoffs.

Tangata upped his game after the Bradford game ,larroyer didnt . Oakley and Forster have left , Maher as been a disappointing signing, kav is 35 and gee has shown some defensive frailty all be it on the back of some poor discipline from his teammates. Calcott , Douglas, lannon and perhaps an inform Murray are something to build on . This area specifically is where I’m focused on , no disrespect to some loyal players but if they are retained and the pack remains similar then the appointment off Finn is a sideways move .

I'd keep Matty Gee definitely.

Agree almost completely- think Gee was carrying an injury which affected last part if his season, would hope he'll be back to his best by next season. Maher is unfortunately an expensive mistake who shouldn't play a part next year - slightly worrying that Finn gave him game time at Dewsbury- hoping he was just doing his future employers a favour by covering at least part of his wage. Kavanagh should be better if he gets a full season with Keyes, although wouldn't have been surprised had he been released - Larroyer has been a good servant to Fax but unfortunately can't be retained if the pack is going to get a much needed revamp.

Can't recall the last prop we had who made real, proper yards? Anybody?

I remember the last who used to break tackles.



To be fair it did used to be Tangata then Calahane as well but it is a while since we have had what you could describe as an explosive forward. I think unfortunatley most of the business had already been done before Finn's appointment and will no doubt include a lot of retentions so I am not expecting a lot of changes. As mentioned before rather than pursuing Widdop that money would be better spent on 2 or 3 good forwards as we have been rolled too easily this season.

Probably Luke Ambler

Last proper forward we had was Sam Barlow,he had it all except the right attitude..

I know what I saw and imo Tangata and Lannon were our best forwards "the last few games". Can't really cherry pick his penalty "cost us the play offs" either, as there have been several close calls throughout the season .... Joufrett's last minute drop goal at Keighley and London not getting a nailed on penalty try at the Shay, for example, more than balances out the Tangata brain fart.

The thing that worries me the most regarding the pack for next season. Was Finn comments in the article about Douglas joining when he said that Douglas was joining an already formidable pack. Formidable, he must of been watching a different set of players than me last season.

A very strange comment,particularly as he witnessed the last few games...

He's not going to slag the pack down as they are his players next year but it is a bizarre thing to say! Finn out! Lol!

I wonder if any of the London pack will be leaving as they’re going full time , parata at loose and I can dream that bienek ( who has a good job in IT) turns down a full time contract and joins us lol

Someone who's not been mentioned for a while but is in my view just the sort of forward we need - Bailey Antrobus at York. Out of contract, no mention of him resigning, has always impressed when I've seen him play against Fax. Can also play centre but looks better to me in second row.

I hate to say it but when Finn was last here pretty much that same pack could have been described as formidable. There was a lot of disruption last season and we saw first hand how poor they were for the most part. Hopefully changing things up a little will have them playing like the 22 pack again.

In his press release statement Finn called the “already” Fax pack “quality” which Douglas would be adding to.

Was he just referring to last years group of players or looking forward to the group he would be working with which included other departures / additions that haven’t been confirmed yet but we’re already in place?

Either way, moving forward it will be up to him and his coaching staff to get the “quality” to become “formidable” in 2024.

Losing Gwaze and Barber from "the class of '22" and their replacements Maher/ King and Doro not happening made a massive difference. So all it needs is a couple of additions, Douglas already made, to beef the pack back up.

The new coaching staff will have their own approach which will be different and bring a freshness to the training side of things and you only need 2 or 3 quality additions to change the entire attitude, approach, dynamics or whatever you call it to the full squad and to the on field performances.

Douglas and Crookes are steps in the right direction and if we can add a couple more to the pack of Brandon's ability and another decent centre then we could be back on track and I'm pretty sure we'll see a different Fax from last year.

Having to wait for confirmation on the playing front is the most frustrating thing.

Hopefully the latter and changes to how our pack attack as a unit under the new leadership..
BTW I don't subscribe to this 2022 love-in..I was critical of the pack all that season and when it really mattered with all the supposed favourable conditions in place it fell miserably.

Yep. Between Finn and Huby they've had a successful season together at the Rams and being former players there should be some understanding of how the backs and pack work together as a unit with some fresh plays for them to employ as well as towards the end of the season even Swinton knew what we were going to do with the 7,6 and 1 moves in the opposition 20.

As you say about the pack, examples to me was the York eliminator of 22 where it showed a demonstration of the Swinton game as regards commitment and being out enthused and out muscled etc, albeit to a less extent but it was there and cost us, but onwards and upwards to 2024.

I still firmly believe we need a game manager like Muzza at 6. Easier said than done I know but the lack has been stark since Scott left and LJ needs challenging for his place as he goes missing and lacks confidence, even Grix was at him on that score. Widdop maybe or try to coax Meadows away from Batley?