I think there are some that believe that is what we should do!

Incidentally Connor Murphy has just tweeted that Langley is expected to follow suit - good news!

i cant tell if this post is a wind up!!!!

we should be aiming to Use Sykes' best attribute only once in a match. The more kicking off he does is because he and some of those around him are conceding tries by not being able to tackle!

He is at best a squad player. he is also a full back. We need news on a coach now! because if this signing has not been sanctioned by the new coach, it is a joke. if the new person sees a role for PAul, then good luck.
the amount of information coming from the BUlls is laughable. i remember the days when the club used the media to attract fans!

After all the bad news, bad luck and bad performances this is hardly the news that will get the stay aways flocking back is it? The next good news will be Worrincey, Sheriffe and Reardon have all been given an extra 3 years. Followed by Macca staying on as Coach!

I think Peter Hood's comments about Sykes versatility give an indication why he's been re-signed. I'm a little surprised it's for 3 years but am not unhappy to see him stay. It also adds stability to the squad which has been non existent for about 4 years.
If we follow it with Langley (and if Sykes gets 3 years I'd expect Langley gets longer) it gives us a good base for the new coach to add his own touches.

Sykes may have signed for peanuts for the security of a three year deal - not saying he has - but this might explain the length of the deal to a degree.

If people are annoyed at Sykes re-signing they need to wake up. Who else can the club recruit? Are their better backs out there that are free agents at the end of the year? You can forget about us paying a big transfer fee as we don't have the money.

Fact is there are precious few players available. Those that are can ask the earth because they know this.

The cut in the overseas quota and the home grown rule means clubs have to develop their own which takes time.

All SL clubs are fighting over the same youngsters too. Take one kid who signed up recently was being chased by 6 other SL clubs all offering great deals. We're not always going to be successful in getting them either.

As a result we have little option but to re-sign the likes of Sykes.

Well it isn't exactly the big news we were all hoping for but I do think it's a sensible bit of business. He ticks the box for homegrown whilst covering several positions and probably won't be costing us the earth either. I don't see his long term future at 6 though, so I hope his signature is as a good value utility rather than our 1st choice stand off for the next 3 years.

Who [ido[/i you see as our first choice stand off for the next three years?

I think Sykes will be there for next year at least unless we pull off a coup in signing a stand off who's a free agent, who's available though?

Consider also the dilemma the club have in whether they re-sign Menzies. If they do it means they can't go down under for a stand off or a centre or anyone else.

That'll mean we re-sign Nero (that should get some flak on here!). Or we try and get a free agent centre.

Some have mentioned Hall and Goulding. I'm not even sure if they're free agents. Hall is ok going forward but defensively suspect, especially if you paired him with either of our wingers. Goulding is steadier but probably more costly, and that's taking for granted he would come.

I can't see too much room for manouvre in terms of recruitment this year unfortunately. Just hope the kids are ready next year.

It's a real shame we haven't managed to keep hold of some of our homegrown players who are now at other clubs. If we'd known the rules as they are now and how important these players would become I reckon we might have tried a little harder to keep a few of the following:

1.
2.
3. Chris Bridge
4. Ryan Atkins
5. Karl Pryce
6. Leon Pryce
7. Paul Deacon
8. Stuart Fielden
9.
10. Jamie Peacock
11. Lee Radford
12. Sam Burgess
13. Mark Flanaghan

14. Rob Parker
15. Richard Moore
16.
17.

I'm sure there are others but can't think of them at the minute to fill up the team!

I appreciate some of the players who left did so before they were established ala Bridge and Atkins, but we may have perservered a little longer had we known of the dark times that laid ahead.

Personally I don't think we've done too bad really when you add in the lads who still play for us on a regular basis as well who are homegrown:

Dave Halley
Paul Sykes
Stuart Reardon
Jamie Langley
Craig Kopczak

Bridge was obliquely described by Noble as "cancer in the club" when he was let go, so I think he'd passed the point of no return. He does seem to have matured a bit now though.

I'd happily have kept the others (apart from Iron Karl) but I guess events led to them being let go. If only it was so simple to have just kept them.

We have plenty of home grown players in the squad now, and the quality is improving when you consider Whitehead's progress and Donaldson to a lesser degree.

Think we could probably do better than Reardon and Kopczak, unless they have a much better end to the season.

I guess we're all hoping that Southernwood may come good! Sykes can cover stand off but I don't think he is good enough against the better defences in SL.

I think this is a good signing for us i would not like to see him go to another club.

I agree, but only just .......Worrincy and Reardon for starters



I`m sorry but this is laughable. Anyway, who gave him the new contract as i didn`t think you had a new coach in place yet for next season ?

[urlhttp://viewtopic.php?f=2&t=454780&hilit=contract[/url was started a while ago to list ooc players at the end of this year. While I'm sure it's not complete it's a starting point.

I don't understand this. Nero is easily your best outside back not including Kearney. I suppose if he is taking a quota spot there is an argument that you could afford someone better (although how much better is debatable), but it seems silly to focus on replacing him when the collective brain-fart of Halley, Platt, Reardon, Sherrife, and Sykes are getting picked with regularity.

Given that most posters on here agree that the best thing about McNamara's reign has been his work with the academy set-up (even though this is Medley's job), surely you should be able to ship out Halley and Reardon and replace them with youngsters next season and not fall short on the homegrown player count.

Sykes is a Brian Mac fave, coincidence?

Aren't Senior and Shenton in the window? Can't see Senior leaving Leeds if he doesn't retire though, and Shenton is rumoured to be Saints bound, although they are technically free agents.

This kind of reminds me of "The Office" scene when David Brent mentions he has good news and bad news. After the Orford news yest i was expecting something a bit more uplifting. The club obviously have nothing.

Not a resigning i really wanted to see, but the club seems to have little option. 3 years seems a bit much. Today is just another indication of how much the club has fallen unfortunately.

=#FF0000Chris Bridge - see Bullseye's post
Ryan Atkins - fair point
=#FF0000Karl Pryce - you're joking! You may actually think so, but it would be hard to think of many players who have been more roundly and thoroughly condemned on this board
Leon Pryce = Harris saga. This stands alone as THE biggest cockup maybe in the history of rugby league, certainly in the history of the Bulls.
=#FF4000Paul Deacon - poor Deacon was the butt of the board (despite overall still playing to a decent standard) and the club replaced him with Orford. I don't at all see how he can therefore make this list. Unless you suggest we should have known Orford would be written off due to injury?
=#FF0000Stuart Fielden - absolutely wrong. What we got for him, coupled with his anodyne performances ever since, make this arguably the BEST bit of business, or at least in the top 3, that ever we did.
Jamie Peacock - see Harris
=#FF4000Lee Radford - journeyman. We have far better and homegrown
=#FF4000Sam Burgess - Not valid. Impossible for us, or anyone else, to have kept him.
=#FF4000Mark Flanaghan - not valid. Sure we let him go to Wigan, but he then emigrated. It's a long commute!
=#FF4000Rob Parker - another journeyman, or maybe overall a bit above that, but there is no hole where he used to be.
=#FF4000Richard Moore - pretty much ditto. Plus he had some horrendous health trouble didn't he, and we'd have had to get cover for him even if he was still our player.

You're all losing your jobs but I've been promoted, so that's ok!



You're right about little option. We don't have the cash to splash anymore (not that we did then either!).

On the bright side I do know we've signed a quality junior, I expect the club will announce that in due course.

Couldn't sum it up better!

This is my team for next year:

1. Billy Slater
2. Rikki Sheriffe
3. Joe Wardle
4. Greg Inglis
5. Billy Boston
6. Paul Sykes
7. Matt Orford
8. Nick Scruton
9. Heath L'estrange
10. Andy Lynch
11. Elliot Whitehead
12. James Donaldson
13. Steve Menzies

Subs

14. Wayne Godwin
15. Glenn Hall
16. Sam Thaiday
17. Anthony Watmough

Reserves:

Dave Halley
Mike Worrincy
Craig kopzcak
Iron Mike Tyson
Brian Lara
Fred Trueman
Pele
Eusebio
Ferenc Puskas
Ian Botham
Magic Johnson
Karl Lewis
Geoff Capes
Eddie the Eagle
Magnus ver Magnusson
Mohamed Ali

Head Coach: Field Marshall Montgomery (necause the current coach clearly doesn't know how to get the best out of his men in the theatre of combat that is Rugby league).

If the Hood doesn't pull this off I'm off to support someone else.

Outstanding.

Capes would be an ideal impact prop. He could also pull the team bus if it broke down!

In fact better add George Best to that list as we don't have anyone up there that's creative enough in the final third if Orford gets injured or someone to drink Champagne and shag Miss Worlds.

I asked Connor about the good:bad ratio, his response was this "depends on yr perspective I suppose but one firm piece of news and one snippet which are positive if not unexpected"

He has subsequently put on his twitter account "Sykes signs new deal, Langley expected to follow suit"

remember it was Connor who said there was good and bad news, not the club