Whilst we haven’t seen the best of Ackers and he has been a disappoint so far, but he is a tried and proven class player, Johnson is not and never will be he same level, JOC is younger than Johnson and just getting better snd better.

Think Ackers is a bit if the Lee Crooks in the transfer deal, and didn’t really want to come here, But crooks was player of the year in his second season at Leeds

Tackle. Johnson also looks too small.

Johnson hasn't taken his chances well this season IMO. If a player comes on fresh from the bench they shouldn't be going to sleep at marker when we're defending our line.

Ackers looked a lot more promising at the start of the season, I wonder if he's carrying a niggling injury or two (hence why he was starting from the bench some games back?).

By the way, kudos to Momirovski for his pass for Fusitu'a's try, Sky were raving about it. Shame about the one he threw into touch earlier though.

The biggest conundrum for me is Cameron Smith. We look better with O'Connor at 13. He might be small, but he's such a natural rugby player, and he can spell Ackers at hooker from there as well. TNW plays more like an NRL 13 - an extra power player in the middle.

I'm just struggling to see where Cameron fits. He works hard, but he's the opposite of dynamic, sometimes looks like he's running in a foot of mud, and his playmaking is just so slow. He doesn't seem to fit at all with the way Arthur is trying to get the team going. Maybe an off season working on a different role will help, but he's looked really poor this year, under both Smith and Arthur.

I think a good pre season under Arthur will be the making of Cam Smith. If he gain half a yard of speed by getting a bit leaner, it could really take his game to the next level. Also having a couple a prop or 2 that can help reduce the amount of tackles he has to make would also help

It wouldn’t surprise me if Cam Smith is carrying and injury. Pace has never been his strong point but the latter part of this season he’s been so off. Last season he also had a bit of a step at the line that allowed him to break some tackles, that also seems to have gone. Could be the captaincy weighing heavy but who knows.

Ref cam smith, he looks jaded. Should imagine a close Season break might do him good. Hopefully return rejuvenated, don’t know what to make if Newman at the moment. Drifts in and out of games, not really playing well.doesn’t look particularly happy. Looking at miller who goes looking for work whilst coming up with the odd stupid mistake is playing well. Seems to be really enjoying himself.

Millers tackle bust stats are ridiculous. 193, next closest is Dufty on 151.

Miller also leads the carry count in the League again with Dufty second.

Just on Cam Smith he’s way out in front of the tackle count in the league, personally i think he’s suffering from having to do too much work to cover the fact we haven’t got a proper pack.

That doesn’t shock me on Miller, his effort has been really good all year but he’s one whose application has vastly improved under Arthur.

On Smith that’s fair. I read something recently that suggested he will far exceed the time allowance for players next year. Also doesn’t help that his direct competition for the 13 shirt in O’Connor is playing out of his skin atm. More than Willing to see how Smith pans out after an Arthur off-season.

Arthur will work it all out. Def a role for Can Smith…..

I would play Smith at prop and not at LF.

Spot on ,
He usually waits by the tunnel at half time and has a go at the ref . Not sure how he gets away with it .

I'd really hope Smith isn't part of our front row plans next year, Though he's not doing great with the ball he's really got no attributes to be a prop

I’d rather Cam was in the rotation than some who haven’t got on the field this year, but I take your point, we should be aiming higher than this in our front row plans.

I hope he can be reinvigorated with a good preseason and hopefully a better pack around him. I think it's clear Arthur has trust in him as I don't think he would be pandering to any sentiment with the remit he's had and he's still been starting him.

Just had a look back at the thread on Cam Smith when he was made Captain before the season. He was gonna have “a big season”, was gonna “be a lot better with the new 6,7,9”” etc, etc. After a second poor season in a row, we are now preparing more excuses for him. Not just a new 6,7,9, we need new props for him to prosper, a new dietician, different type of pitch, different colour shirt. Some have suggested he plays as prop (bulks up) some have suggested he needs slim down and become more mobile, the list of ways we can get the best from him has become endless. The fact is he’s had the two worst seasons of his career during the prime of his career. There’s only one person gonna make it happen for Cam Smith and that’s Cam Smith.

You do know he was 2023 player if the season, don't you? I think he's been poor this year, but like some others I suspect it's partly work load related. I'll back Arthur to sort it out one way or another.

They were never going to give it to Blake Austin for obvious reasons. He was one of the few players to shine last season, Smith certainly didn’t. I’d like to see Arthur have an impact on not just Smith but other players as well, but I’d also like to see people affording as many excuses to all the players that have been poor this season not just Cam.

I would hope Seth we get a couple of decent props into the Club for next season and we won`t have to rely on Smith playing there.
It was more for the remainder of this season allowing O`Connor or even Bentley to play LF and the fact we don`t have many options to cover FR.

Trust me when Ackers heard we were interested he could not wait to get here.

You are right Cam is carrying an injury and has been for a while. The reason he came off against Catalan was due to a heavy knock.

Blake Austin



The 2023 POTY was the easiest decision of all time. Cam was far and away our best player last year. The only player worth mentioning other than him buggered off and is now at Salford.

Smith isn't a bad player,his tackle stats are immense.
His attack is poor,though.

I suspect BA will likely try bulk him up a tad and use him more like an extra middle than a ball playing LF.

Smith is one of the most skilled players in the squad, he just needs to improve the speed of his decision making and slim down a bit

Cam Smith has got heaps of natural ability, however I think he's been conditioned to much for endurance and not enough for explosive power. I think Asiata has set the standard for 13s in SL over the last couple of years because he engages the line with speed with shape around him. Cam looks too slow in comparison to play as directly.

I'd rather see Cam be more explosive and play fewer minutes than be used to do all the donkey work covering for other players. Whatever people think, there's a great player in there, but he needs others around him to step up so we can see the best of him.

I tend to agree on the slimming down and making him more mobile, however grizzly Brian thought he needed to try and become more like a prop.

Be interesting to see if they make a big push one way or the other. I think he will look sharper next year as I think they all wil.

Arthur keeps saying it’s going to be a long, tough pre-season, music to my ears