Tomkins was 18 when made debut, and a regular half back at 19. He was moved to fullback, not because he was not a good half, but because they saw him as a better fullback, with the way the game has moved here with regards fullbacks. Gaskell was never a half, that was the simple truth of it, he wasn't ruined by playing there, he just wasn't one, alla Sutcliffe. His move to fullback and centre where he rebuilt himself.

Did Gale drop back? he has played super league throughout his career. He wasn't backed by Leeds, possibly correct with the timing it happend, but he was by London and Bradford, and he has prospered from there. He is the best half back not because he has changed his game (although more secure in himself), but because he is playing in a side that utilizes it's halfs fully, and therefore he has that opportunity. Again Sneyd was 19 when he made his debut, and never looked back, although wasn't backed by his own club and had to go out on loan instead to make his mark, coincidentally Castelford yet again.

I think people look at young players, and if the team is not working, rather than look at the faults correctly, they immediately put the blame on the younger and less experienced, rather than look to the failings of the more experienced. And as a game, if we moved away from that, you would see a completely different conveyor of players and better for the future full stop, so long as the player actually has the ability in the first place.

Bang on, i think that sums it up perfectly.

Has GH lost his mind?
Passing game not as good as McGuire
Kicking game not as good as McGuire or Lilley and possibly even Moon and Sutcliffe
Running game not as good as Moon or Sutcliffe

If Myler is the best we can get I would rather we gambled on a combination of Moon Sutcliffe and Lilley (or persuade McGuire to stay another year)

At least Myler is a genuine halfback. He's also at the right age to go to the next level if he's ever going to.

The real problem is to even name a better alternative if we're to bring someone in. There are no quality halfbacks in the NRL who would be available, so at best you'd get one with half a skill set (a runner and/or passer but not both). Across SL who is there that would be available? I wouldn't be surprised if Widdopp was a possibility last year but his form this year means he'd now be in huge demand i the NRL, which has a shortage of quality halfbacks.

Re the development side, I just think the game is far harder for a kid to come straight into at halfback than it was even a decade ago. Everything is far more structured which means needing to learn a lot of plays and develop a kicking and passing game and be able to tackle. That's not to mention the ability to read a game and having the natural or learned ability to order forwards around. It would be far easier at a club like Wigan who run the same plays constantly, rather than a club which plays more off the cuff (in the NRL this equals badly coached but that's another topic).

I wonder when we can expect an announcement about the futures of Mags , Burrow and JJB ?

I feel Burrow will certainly play on. JJB will likely play on until his next bad injury (a shame because i would like to see him go out on his own terms). McGuire will go another year and announce it to be his last.

Just my view of course.

McGuire said last week he was still undecided.
Maybe if he can finish with a CC medal he might call it a day and end on high.
Saying all that he has played his part these last few weeks with his kicking and cut out passes

burrow got another year in him comfortably.

JJb a good player to have around the place and around the squad, but should take more of a back seat next year, he would be ideal to lead an A team as player coach.

mcguire, time to hang up the boots its been great but nows the time.

I agree. time for Mags to hang up boots. All time legend but must make way now.

I read something this morning that JJB wants to continue. TBH I'd be happy with that. He's still performing and he's definitely a positive character who is needed around the place. Id . pick him over Ferres, Delaney and Walters.

I'd Pick Stevo over Walters, unless the task called for falling over the line and landing on the ball, in a [size=200big[/size game

Im not so sure, if we are being linked with the likes of Myler then we would not be replacing Mags with an improvement, the coaches need make a judgement call on Lilly, if they think he could handle a year of SL then I say we try it next year, if not then we may need to stick with Mags till we can get something better.

Agree JJB and Burrow should stay on, as long as they are willing to be phased out, I would like to see Jack Walker get to play a few games in the 14 role next year for us

Myler might not be an improvement, but he's a halfback, unlike Moon, and with some track record, unlike Lilley. Would you feel confident going with Lilley/Moon as our starting halfbacks?

...how about Aston/Moon or Lilley/Aston?

What does Myler do better than Moon?

I dont watch enough of Lilley or Aston to make a judgement tbh, but we may as well try one of them at 7 (preferably Lilley) if the best we can buy is Myler

I am happy to go into next year with either Moon or Sutcliffe at 6, though I dont think they could play next to each other

People seem to have written off Lilley and Sutcliffe as halves because of last year, but I think a lot of their problems came from not having a recognised hooker, if we hold onto Parcell for the next few years I think they could do a decent job

Myler announced next week im told

The future is pretty easy to predict.

Jordan Lilley released to join Wakefield when not deemed good enough.

Jordan Lilley stays at Wakefield for one season before being transferred to Cas as a replacement for the outgoing Luke Gayle.

Jordan Lilley bosses proceedings everytime he plays against his former club.

Sound familiar???

Is that to coincide with an announcement about Magsy retiring or is the plan to have both Myler & Magsy for 2018 or is it going to be a HB partnership of Myler and Moon

If gale ended up at Leeds I would take that.
Lilley may need to follow gales lead and get game time in super league elsewhere.

i have heard that gales contract at cas is well above what we would be willing to pay him,so no chance of us signing him imo

Told you weeks ago. Good signing for Leeds.

That's one. Just need another now.

I understand the reservations about Myler, but I think its as much about signalling that the time has come for a change in direction as signing him as a player.

We don't have halfbacks of the required quality for next year, but can we afford to wait for one or more of our untried players to make the grade? If they were given a go and didn't make the grade, that would be a third year in a row of 'transition' and a lot of us would be up in arms about why changes hadn't been made. At least signing Myler suggests GH has a sense of urgency about the need to shake things up.

Whilst the Sinfield era was marked by a huge amount of stability across the squad, it was also marked by several major signings along the way. In recent years the stability has remained but we've stopped signing anyone of note. IMO if we didn't start to look externally to fill key positions now, we may end up having to replace large numbers of players en masse, which historically has generally been a disaster.

Correct, however, it remains to be seen if we can buck the recent trend of signing expensive gash from Aus.

Surely we must have a decent scouting network in the UK to spot some of the rough diamonds that have appeared in SL (Walmsley, McMeeken, Hill) or is it that we just wont shell out the £££?

What's happened to your under 21's you are classed as having one of the best in SL. Nobody coming threw?