Whitehead has just tweeted that the rumours are 'definitely not true'. Good news for now, but I hope hard work is continuing to get him signed up for the long term.

Is Micky G being used as a stalking horse?? or looking at him a tethered goat? maybe!

How does Whitehead know the rumours are not true, MicktheGled only says Adam Pearson is planning a big money signing and that Whitehead was the name mentioned, not that a move as been made.

I'd be more worried about other teams trying to get hold of Bateman

Well Bateman's under contract for another 2 years and signed for us in the face of much higher offers. He's a Bradford lad and a Bulls fan so that obviously played a part in his decision last time. Hopefully it will again, in the meantime I'd day he needs to keep doing what he's doing.

Clubs like Warrington who like to splash the cash and stockpile youngsters can make the offers but I hope he sticks with us where he's getting 1st team rugby in his hometown team.

What's Ben Helliwell doing nowadays? Noticed he's not figure in Wire's reserve grades for a while. There's an example of a kid who went for the money and hasn't got anywhere.

As already stated we have quite a few fringe players we can offload to make space and one or two injury prone players who we should also offload. We have a really good core of talented home grown players who we need to keep hold of!

Craig Kopczak
Elliott Whitehead
Danny Addy
Tom Burgess
Jason Crookes
James Donaldson
Adam O'Brien
Tom Olbison
Karl Pryce
Cain Southernwood
Liam McAvoy
Jobe Murphy
Alex Ball

On loan to York sort of sits in my mind? Red will be able to advise.

Re Helliwell, that was.

We need some totally unconnected third party to pay the players loads for image rights, or to give a lucrative job to the players' partners or give them a special deal in, say, the entertainment industry.

Wondered where he'd gone.

How did you manage it when you had an international packed side a few years back?...

Probably the same way you are now.

So you don't really have much room to complain??

Remember, we lost Sculthorpe and Harris to the 'chequebook predators', so it won't be anything new when you lose your highly promising youngsters (and you do have a couple of crackers), to richer, more ambitious, clubs.

We were never a rich club. We have always been ambitious. What we lack is a wealthy owner, and all the myriad of options that that presents.

Why don't we just call it the Warrington Way.

we need to do a leeds and get our young lads tied down on 5 year contracts an build a team around the likes of bateman, whitehead, burgess, crookes etc if offers do come in (and im sure they will) i suppose we will see where we are and if we want to be successful or a mid table selling cub

I'm pretty sure they already have and like all contracts won't be announced until later on. Probably around season ticket renewal time.

that old chestnut

I'm sure Mr Peter Hood has to be alot more polite in the way he phrases things, but I would hope he's thinking of a more polite version of pi$$ off, he's ours. And that goes for any club wanting Crookes, Burgess, Whitehead, Bateman, Addy, Olbison, O'Brien etc.

Crookes, Whitehead and Bateman are the priority for me. Crookes is OOC soon so he needs to be signed up ASAP.

Someone at the club told me it is a big money signing, already sealed, for MickTheGled to do hospital radio in Warrington.

Well said Ethan.

Isn't it amazing that people are listing Crookes along our most precious properties? IMO he's progressing well, but lets keep his feet on the ground. He's not got the potential of Bateman.

If he kept his feet on the ground he'd only have scored two.

Maybe more a case of crookes being first ooc hence slightly more urgency in his case. I'm sure were talking to all the players being mentioned though re extensions.

Potter's commented after the HKR match that at 21 Crookes is now doing what he needs to do to be a SL standard player. If he keeps up this kind of work ethic he's definitely worth another deal, he's obvioudsly keen to sign one with us as he's already said as much in the T&A.

I'd be interested in finding out who the predatory clubs are. Hopefully it isn't Leeds, although we did recently pinch Luke Briscoe from Hull.

Warrington (having asset stripped Salford), Huddersfield (ditto Wakefield) and Hull (new owner splashing the cash) would be my guesses.

Which clubs have very wealthy owners, who seem prepared to buy success?

I don't put Leeds quite in that category, since (unique in SL) they have a corporate owner and are owned by a plc. And that plc's owner is careful with his money. And I am reluctant to put Saints - and its highly-capable owner - in that category either.

I always assumed the Briscoe deal was really sealed a bit before the contract was signed, across El Presidente's dinner table with his soon-to-depart-Hull missus, to be honest - but that is only my speculation.