Wrong thread..

I'm all for protecting young players coming through and for them to develop properly. But sometimes you just need to let the lads have a crack of the whip. Worst case is that Southernwood has a stinker and it knocks his confidence a bit but he's a young lad and can bounce back and from what I'm told has more than enough confidence in his own abilities.

On the other hand, best case is he plays a blinder and is instrumental in leading the team round the field and resurecting our season which, i think most of us will agree, is at best floundering at the moment. Some may even go so far as to say this season is done for us and they may not be far wrong

I've not seen Southernwood but am surprised if he is 5'9" & 70kg. He would be significantly taller than his dad or uncle & fair less stocky. IIRC his dad would have been playing regularly for Cas by his age. Tomkins must be the skinniest kid in SL for some time & he has done ok, Southernwood would struggle to be 9kg lighter. Get him in. Tackling for a HB is all about technique, not size.

Going on about size I recall the time Paleasina [sp broke free and was charging towards the Bradford line. Dave Halley, not the biggest bloke to ever pull on a Bulls shirt, stood his ground. Most people expected the big forward to run straight over him but Halley stopped him dead.

After seeing that I have to agree with the technique over size arguement when it comes to tackling.

Just cos Dad was a shortar5e doesn't mean his lad will be.

For the record I'm happy to put my trust in people who've actaully seen Cain Southernwood rather than Roy or Graham!

[url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/8227909.Southernwood_is_set_for_Bulls_debut/Seems people have got their wish![/url

Glad he's being used off the bench.

Lets hope he makes his mark!

Good luck Cain.

I hope we don't go with 3 props against wire though.

The voice of experience. I happen to know you were surgically enhanced.

Only way we can ease him in without putting too much pressure on his shoulders. Bring him on when wires big hitters go off and see what he can do. Lets hope he has a blinder.

What we need is for some of our forwards to step up and match the Wire pack. It is a tough ask with Lynch, Langley and Sculthorpe out but we need to give the lad a chance by at least competing in the forward battle.

We could do with Koppy really imposing himself on the game, he's a big lad but he needs to show more aggression IMO. Let's hope the players turn up with some fire in their bellies and knock a few lumps off Wire!

Like Wolverine

Let's hope if he actually plays he doesn't just sit on the bench for 75 minutes!!.....

It is great news that Southernwood is lined up for a debut and probably sensible that he'll likely be on the bench. I do also hope he gets plent of game time and not the typical McNamara 5 mins.

I would also like to see Kopczak get a little longer period on the park, it's all well hoping he imposes himself but he also rarely gets a decent period on the pitch in order to do so. Substitute usage is an area that needs drastic improvement for mine.

Yes a phased approach can give him some vital experience.

His Wikipedia entry (the real TRUTH obviously) has him at 83Kg and 5ft 10ins and knowing young people these days he probably updates it himself, so I wouldn't be surprised if that's nearer the mark.

Lets hope he gets some time to prove himself and we can give him some protection. He's 18, and given we've managed to play Donaldson at the same age for half the season I don't see why he shouldn't have a go - obviously hoping he doesn't end up like James has - which was just unfortunate rather than because of his age I think.

and yet the Bulls site has him at 5'8 and 70kg and I imagine they are monitoring him as part of his development. Although this might be when he was signed by the Bulls if he's put on 2 inches and 13kg in the intervening 2 1/2 months I'd be staggered.

Who knows, the old Wildcats page had him at 5ft 10 and 83 kgs too. The main thing is that he gets some time to prove what he can do, having him on the bench for a 10 min cameo would be the waste of a bench spot otherwise. Particularly if we're sticking with Sykes/Kearney in the halves.

I have a feeling he might start and the T&A article with Kearney today was a smoke screen to:

A) take pressure off the lad

B) trick Wire into focussing on our left side. Let's face it with Halley at FB and Reardon at left wing that side has let in a large number of scores and teams have actively looked to get the ball out wide quite quickly on their right side attack. If they have trained at that all week and suddenly the positions changed they wouldn't be set up to traget Southernwood.

I bet Liam kay is dead chuffed.

Kay is a good little player, but in terms of natural talent Southernwood is ahead.


Btw, the Bulls site don't update the player weights/positions often, Platt is now a centre and the Burgii have about another 5-10kg on them.

Good luck to the led , but baggage springs to mind

the amount of clubs he has been at

dont think 3 clubs , one of them an amateur one, is particularly excessive. wakefield agreed to swap with hyde because they had a more pressing need at the time for a fullback than a half IIRC. strange how any player that leaves wakefield gets tarred with this bad attitude comment ( and yet if they return to wakey later they are suddenly world beaters again

).

And imo its not necessarily a bad thing for a halfback to have a bit of attitude - certainly hasnt done brough any harm.

Don't disagree with that. I'd personally start with Sykes/Kearney and Wardle in the centre, then bring Wardle off move Sykes there and put Southerwood in with Kearney. It keeps as much experience out there as possible to help both Wardle and Southernwood adjust.
If it isn't working swap back.