I must admit, I was more vocal than anyone not wanting Fleming to play. As bad as Lauaki was, Fleming had offered nothing last season to suggest he deserved the spot. He looked a soft touch for such a big lad and a waste of a squad place.

Whilst I didn't see the Dewsbury game, I've been pleasantly surprised, or even shocked at what I have seen of Fleming this year. One of the only rays of light to come out of the Sheffield game and finally showing some of the potential.

That being said, when everyone's fit, does he get it in the 17? Clough, Sidlow & Kavanagh are surely our best 3 props, and when you're then down to only 1 more place in the team, it would be very harsh to leave out Mitch Clark after the way he's gone so far. At least with Clark, Fleming & hopefully Lovegrove back at some point, it finally gives us some real strength and competition, even before you factor in some of the others who haven't been as good, like Crossley & Lauaki.

Could play all of them? One criticism of the side has been the size of the pack. We could play a pack that looks like.

Clough
OB
Sidlow
Ferguson
Lovegrove (Played back-row before for KR)
Kavanagh

Lumb
Fleming
Clark
Pitts/Olbison

For me Addy wouldn't get in. Even when he has played in the back-row last couple of weeks he's offered very little. Only his goal kicking but that has been average at best all year.

I don't think the above will happen as Lowes prefers playing all of Olbison/Pitts/Addy in the back-row. While all are decent players, when playing all 3 we give up a lot of size in the pack and then wonder why we get dominated.

Someone like Liam Finn would be ideal. He's got all the attributes of a good HB but lacks a bit of pace now. He's done it at all levels & is natural leader, having captained Ireland in the WC. He's tied up at Wakey this year, not sure if he is free next year.

Agree with almost all of that except I'd find room for Haggerty there on the bench as he has good hands and offers a bit of creativity.

Classic tackle technique of attacking at the hips and sliding down the legs will bring anybody down. The problem is that in modern day rugby coaches seem to insist on tackling high and 'ragging' players about to give the defensive line time to get back. IMO the chief aim is to stop the player. Paul Deacon was a classic tackler.

So according to today's t&a Ross seems to think that Fleming and Clark are both almost certain to leave at the end of the season. His words are 'a potential raft' of players set to leave.
All we have as a positive is that O' Brien [imight[/i stay beyond the end of this season.

Whatever happened to the May deadline? How are players like Fleming and Clark already sorting new clubs out for next season?

I would think if we let them know they're not getting an offer from us, then they can talk to whoever they want. But I would have hoped we were trying to keep Clark, at least.

There's an awful lot of players OOC at the end of the year. Failure to win promotion will see at least 80%, IMO, of those players leave for SL clubs.
I just wonder of those, how many are considering leaving due to the head coaches' attitude and ability or lack there of?

People like Clark, Gaskell, Welham, Purtell are on the squad page as contracted to 2017. Is this correct? Is there a possibility of a non-promotion break clause in these contracts then?

Money talks.

I'm sure their agents are putting their names about; there's no rule broken there.

|s I've said before, on previous occasions, when Jamie Peacock left for Leeds he later wrote a book in which he detailed meetings at Brian Smith's [then Leeds coach house in MARCH of the year his contract ran out. If you can do it, put all the details in a book and [istill[/i not get rapped over the knuckles, I can't imagine a few indiscreet words to a journo will bring anything down on your head. To be honest, if you can do that I'm baffled as to what you'd have to do to warrant some sanction...

I'd be as worried about a potential raft of fans leaving. Rooley Avenue might start to resemble the Med near Italy.

Such a shame that we've lost Diskin to Batley.

Always thought he had great potential to replace Jimmy, if and when he got sacked/walked.

That leaves Jimmy and Walker now, not a partnership that a inspires confidence.

It does and unless we gain promotion, there's nothing we as a club can stop the impending mass exodus of players.

It's a well know fact that one club mentioned in the T&A article have offered Gaskell a six figure sweetener to sign for them at the end of the season.

It all adds to the feeling that this season really is boom or bust in terms of getting back to Super League.

It was poop or bust last year Mick. Even more so this year.

Need to make sure we've got all our homegrown players in the 1st team squad signed up for next 2 seasons as priority.

Secondly we meet to make sure Gaskell is also signed up for another two seasons
I can see why he would go to Leigh, but in Rugby terms the chances of Leigh or us going up are equal, and that's slim. If its a toss up between Leigh and us then I hope he would choose us, however I wouldn't begrudge him a move because he has shown some loyalty to us recently.

First choice players like Sidlow, Purtell, Lovegrove, Clough, Welham, Caro, Williams, Clare and such need to be signed up, and the potential quality needs to be tied down. That list includes the likes of Clark. Kavanagh, Fleming, etc.

Ulugia, Lauaki, Crossley, Uiesele, Mendieka, Halafihi, Mathers, Thomas, Blythe, JPB need to go because they don't bring much to the table. Replace them with hungry homegrown players.

After we have tied as many as them down we need to hunt down a Scrum half and a full back because they are what we are lacking, although I feel James Clare could turn into a good one.

I know I'm a bit "Woe thrice woe" of late but even making allowances for that, what is the point of talking about signing up all our best players for another two years?

Unless you somehow believe that in the absence of promotion we can miraculously keep on spending similar through 2017 and 2018 season in the Championship, in front of 1500 crowds? Or that players who had a choice would even want to stay with a midtable Championship also-ran, anymore than the majority of the fans left would?

I didn't realise we were getting 1500 crowds?

Can you really see it coming to that?. I would imagine everybody you see now is pretty hardcore and would probably stay the same as long as we are in this division.

What's the other alternative to not trying to sign them up? Just let them all go now and bring others in who are not as good?

We are going to have to build the squad through the junior system and I would imagine they're the cheapest on the table and would at least show some loyalty to the club.

If our hand is forced then fair enough, but we have at least got to show some ambition that we want to make an impact.

apparently JT (that's Justin Timberlake rather than the other one) used to play HB for Rhode Island Rebellion & is in training with the Bulls following his house move to Eccleshill. He's got the guest bench spot for Sunday. You heard it here first.

I don't think what is left now will stay if we are still in the Championship and still charging the same amount for season tickets and gate prices.

Fans will pay a premium at first, as they understand it's to try and finance a better team to try and win promotion. However they won't do it forever, and every year that promotion doesn't happen, more fans will decide it's too expensive and not pay it.
Which means either that figure dwindles, or the prices fall to keep the attendances at that level, and it has the same effect anyway of less money in the coffers.

Did I say we were getting 1500 crowds?



I would imagine you imagine wrong. 2014 was an easy sell. We had teh choice of paying top dollar and getting a SL-level F/T squad which hopefully would go straight back up, plus we had the feelgood factor of a new ownership etc.

2015 was a hard sell, but people stuck with it in reasonable numbers on the basis that without the money, there is no chance at all of getting out of the division.

But what will be the sell for 2016? Very clearly we'd have proved, two years running, that we have no realistic chance of promotion. Very clearly we would lose our best players and would have to reduce our budgets. The rest of the scenario is exactly as per Hamsterchops and I don't need to repeat it here. A rapid and probably terminal downward spiral.

The only point I would add, which I've made before but which people somehow remain in blind denial of, is that WE CANNOT STAY AT ODSAL if this slow death decline continues as WE WILL NOT HAVE THE MONEY TO DO SO. We are I'm certain greatly struggling even on this year's crowds, and another 1000 off the gate would i think be totally unsustainable. And that's even if there was a will to sustain it for another season, which i'm far from convinced about.


Not a case of "not trying", more an exercise in futility.


But doing that is the same as abandoning all hope of promotion, ever. You won't get a title-winning, let alone MPG winning, squad in that way, and your leading juniors will be regularly cherrypicked by SL clubs. You're dreaming.


Meh. The only way to show continuing ambition would be to splash the cash, and increase the subsidising, and continue to pay the price for being at Odsal. I would dearly love to see somebody with the means and willingness to bankroll us in that way but I don't think it's remotely realistic.

You're living in the past mate. It's 2016 now.

So basically what you're saying, FA, is we are f####d, regardless of what we try to do?

I think everyone can realistically see that what FA said is true, alas.

Superleague teams with a smaller fanbase, and less income than ourselves are propped up by central funding. We are not. This buying power actively prohibits real competition, and barring a huge upset means that the illusion of promotion remains just that: an illusion.

By giving certain clubs huge amounts of money, but not not others, the RL has reinforced the existing SL teams, to the detriment of cross-league promotion and the development of clubs which could benefit from a change in the existing financial status quo.