The difference between 2009/10 and 1999/2000 is that the squad we had in 1999 had already peaked, and the players were aging. On top of that, we recruited similar old players past their prime.

This season, we have a very young squad, and had added a bit of experience in jackson, a great player coming into his prime in Snitch and a workhorse, and still not too old player in Clayton.

Players like Westerman, Shenton, Huby, Chase, Ferres, Netherton and Owen are still not the fully formed article yet - they've still got room, and age to improve - meaning they should be better this year than last.

Huby isnt a young buck anymore, However for to get the best out of the younger members of the squad they need to learn from quality

Heres a senario: IF you were coaching a team of players

Who would you learn more from?
Terry Mattison
Wayne Bennett

Same goes with players,
Just Imagine what Joe Westerman would pick up if Nikau was there - its the knowledge and key elements that develop - same for every position.
Plus the Professionalism

Quality breeds Quality

Younger players will learn very little from the likes of Clayton and a few have already acheived more in their shorter career

He's 23, younger than Shenton, and that's very young for a prop.



I don't really understand your point. Is this some sort of fantasy 'if money was no option' coaching team? You seem to be whinging for whinging's sake.

Anyway, given that Matterson was a multi NRL winning loose forward and State of Origin player in his day - not to mention a goalkicker as well, I'm sure young Joe will pick up a few things off him.

I think the comments made by the Giants fans about losing Jackson would suggest that he's going to be an asset to us. It wasn't a signing I was particularly enthused about when announced, however I'm prepared to wait and see.



Working on our defence is key to improving in 2010. We saw signs of how good it can be in 2009, but there was no consistency. With so few changes in the squad, this is an opportunity to strengthen our defensive technique. When was the last time that we survived a season without a hammering in SL though - even when we had strong defence in the Raper days we always used to go to Saints and get stuffed.

If you actually read it correctly i said - in this senario: who would you learn more off.

I understand your point totally. Though you are accepting that because the club over acheived (which was due to many factors) its just served up crap recruitment yet again.

Is that TM's doing - Probably not, but he does shoulder the blame for lots of things wrong. - see record defeats whilst hes been in charge

However - Its not fantasy what so ever. If you think TM is a great coach - good for you.

As a player he was solid, watched him many times perform both for Brisbane and London.
Though he was no world beater.
Unlike Nikau who was voted the worlds best loose forward. Along with his Grand final winning performances and many NZ caps

As for whinging, its called being realistic, the club tell lies, its run badly, its no real direction, no true action plan, tries to do everything on the cheap,

Optimism would be bringing 3 Academy players to the first team squad who have excelled at either our or AN Other academy and 2/3 high quality additions.

As for recruitment the game as a whole is suffering due to average overseas signings. All are guilty apart from Saints and Leeds

The club needs to adopt the ethic of - Not an International or recent S.O.O. then no thanks. Puts bums on seats as well.

Money is an issue - thats self induced in my opinion with poor leadership off field
Folk have opinions...yours differs to mine.

I don't really think it's crap recruitment - underwhelming certainly, but I think the club has it right. All additional resources must go into the stadium - I'd prefer a few seasons of lacklustre recruitment and a new stadium compared to bringing in Aussies, scraping into the top 4/5 and being kicked out of SL in the long term.

As for the players in, as Bonzo said, Jackson has had some good reports from Hudds fans, and I think a solid prop adds something to what we currently have. Snitch has had a great season and is still young for his position. Clayton is a squad player through and through - no world beater for sure, but solid. I have no qualms with him coming in, but would have preferred a youngster ahead of him in the pecking order.

I'm happy to concur on how the club is run, there are certainly holes and question marks, I have been a fierce critic over the years but I do believe they have learnt a few lessons and are on the right track.

We are probably one of the poorest clubs in SuperLeague. It is to the club's credit that we finished in the playoffs with a largely homegrown team, we have to look to the youth to build the team in the coming years, and that's what the club is doing - whether circumstance has forced it or not. Our financial situation is not entirely the club's fault, but that of circumstance. We are a small town, with a club with poor facilities and an increasingly unsavoury atmosphere for families - this doesn't add to good crowds. We can get those good crowds (10,000+ Cas fans at the NL1 grand final proves that) but first the whole situation needs to be transformed to get those crowds (and families) in and for us to have the financial resources to compete at the top, all this points to the stadium, which we need money for - and that involves cutting our costs across the board - including player recruitment.

I think he's a good coach who's promoted youth development and created an expansive style of play within the team that's extremely entertaining to watch. A lot of people seem to be thinking that we should be getting instant success, however I believe the work that TM's doing now will be of great benefit to us in years to come. We were a much improved team in 2009 over 2008 and a lot of that was down to TM.


yet the club are surviving, competing and progressing through one of the most devastating recessions in history. Whilst the club could adopt a more professional attitude in some areas, you can't argue that in the last 12 months they've begun to address some of the alleged issues that you mention above.


Absolutely agree - I've said it before that whilst aiming to remain competitive on the pitch, we shouldn't be aiming to excel and instead the absolute priority must be the stadium. It's in the club's best interests for the future, however many fans seem to be only concerned with today and have no foresight for the future.

Theres a lot of valid points there.
But an awful lot is self induced by the club itself.

My thoughts of Jackson are -
Positives:
Hard worker, Tackles well, gives 100% and has a good work ethic
Nagatives:
Gets penlised alot, Small, a lack of another string to his bow, Cant bust tackles, has no pschological fear for other teams.

The Club lost its momentum when they said goodbye to the McDonalds - something the club probably couldnt do anything about in essence,

Though the club had been shown how to move forward with Marketing.
We (until this year) cant even get shirt sales right - basics

A Hull fan stated that they gain 40-50k in shirt sales alone within a week.
its 1000-1500 units

Your image needs improving, Im a big believer in you reap what you sow.

Our Juniors are starting to show, we need more and its a key area for RL as a whole. id love an All English team - many probably would. though its a long way off.

We have to accept Aussie "superstars" bar the odd exception stay in Oz.
But remember what impact the likes of Sterling had at Hull, Maninga and Lyon had at Saints, Joey at Wire. Salaries were high. But the Revenue Generated was even higher.

Theres the risk in getting crocked, theres risk in crossing the road too.
Development of a business is all about calculated risk.
You dont take risks you never grow.

Example: Goldy earns a GOOD wage. Do you honestly think he is worth his salary on the back of his performances/disapline?

Perhaps a performance related bonus is an incentive. (within confines of salary caps