think it is a bit of a smoke screen to be honest.

it might not be a direct replacement, for example as others have suggested Langley to prop and a quality back rower to replace him there. or if you are cynical, Hood is saying what he needs to, that they are looking but without being specific, which most fans will be quite content with.

You would hope. In terms of an 'on-paper' aspect I'd suggest we might look strong enough. Hargreaves and Scruton are credible front rowers but their form dipped last year. Burgess still has some way to go but his potential is enormous, I can't over-emphasise that enough. And Kopzcak came on leaps and bounds in 2011 and could well lead the line. Like I say, on paper things look OK but the game ain't played on paper.

I'd like to see one more front-rower come through the door to supplement the quality we already have.

Luckily his feelings don't determine club policy on signings. I'm sure he is as clueless as the rest of us at the moment but i am quitely confident we will sign a player to replace Lynch or as is suggested a back rower to subsidise Langley to the Props.

Desperately need another prop. Will scruton go back to being a decent prop or Is he too injury prone? burgess cannot be relied on playing just 10 minutes and whilst on the pitch constantly dropping the ball. I'd have to say Hargreaves and Kopczak will have to step it up incredibly but will they become the work horses who are flogged like lynch was with the potential of thrn picking up injuries? Not one of them can even compare to andy lynch, his talent, game time, scoring abilities. Without a replacement we are f&cked

Nail on head. We have never been f&cked with Lynch, but clearly with no Lynch, we will be f&cked, that's the end of being shoo-ins for the top 8.

I think for me we need that replacement but we also need to share that workload around a little, one of the reasons he made so many yards was he was given the ball probably a little more than he should (in reference to sharing the workload, not his ability). It's time we played a team game and not look at individuals to pull us out of the mire

absolutely spot on AB. Hargreaves and Scrutons form has dipped in 2011 if you compare their standardised statistics eg carries per game, metres per carry, tackles per game etc for the last couple of years. If they get back to previous performance levels, and Koppy makes just half the improvement he made last season, and Tom continues to improve without losing that 9 meters per carry, then Lynchs contribution is covered. One post is using the wrong measure of Toms contribution, as his carries per game is not that far off the rest, not bad for 10 minutes on the pitch, so clearly massive scope for much more go forward from him, play him for forty minutes and he will be in Australia... where he doesnt contribute so much is tackles and his missed tackle % is higher than the other props but much higher than Andy, so thats where we would fall short. his errors as a % of carries is as the poster correctly pointed out also high. So as you say AB cover is really the issue, whether existing players being flexible or an addition.

Wouldn't it be interesting to see langers as our 4th prop coming off the bench, he could be an exciting prop who may rip up trees, I would love to see hoe he would fare

I did include Langley in the stats, clearly 2011 a wipeout because of the persistent injuries but if he performed as he did in 2010 he would be a great replacement, his metres per carry is similar to Bryns but more carrys per game gives much more total metres per game and more tackles per game even in an off season like 2011, at a similar low missed tackle %. But would be a change of direction for Potter who has been encouraging him to use the ball a bit more.

Those cheap season tickets don't come cheap you know.

Bet Lynch was surprised too when he found out he was covering the difference.

Great...

There is an interview with Hood in this week League Weekly if anyone is interested. There wasn't a great deal new in it if you attended the fans forum though. The hint seemed to be that we would sign a forward but not necessarily a Prop.

I would say that a first team squad ought to include 6 Props. Do we have anyone ready to step up to make up the six? To be honest, I haven't seen much from Crossley to suggest he will make it at SL. I thought our pack was already a little lightweight against the better packs last year. I hope there is still some quality signings in the pipeline.

Not as surprised as I'll be if we sign her. Mind you she'd take no crap, so . . .

Isn't the old Corrie Star last seen doing a soap powder ad





I won't miss the Andy Lynch of the last two seasons nor his Captaincy, but will miss the Andy Lynch of earlier seasons. It is to be hoped that MP can get hold of a decent prop while in Oz, but there aren't that many available in the NRL in the mid to late 20's range.

Given all t&a interviews come via club seriously doubt they would have allowed walker to say how important it was to replace lynch in today's paper if they weren't planning to. Think Connors given Ross a few tips on keeping people guessing on twitter before he left.

Langley is a big player for you. When he plays you play better. He is a big lump and would go well in front row

I think most (on here anyway) would agree with that, the main danger being that he's missed quite a lot of game time through injury over the last couple of years, so he may not be reliable, in terms of being available as often as we might like.

TBH in that sense think a move to prop could benefit langley. couple of 20 minute stints instead of 60+ minutes every week should help in terms of him picking up injuries less frequently.

Maybe so but if Langley's off the field for 40mins and Lynch is gone we're either going to need to recruit a grafter or get the others to share the work more.

goes without saying. but just say we had choice of recruiting a solid but not necessarily fantastic prop OR a top quality second row/loose. which way would we go, given we have 4 props in squad already and possibility of moving langley into props too.?

Everything I've heard suggests were looking at a direct replacement for lynch but could see above scenario playing out too.

I'd go for a player of real quality every time. We need someone who can lead the pack and who demands the respect of the team and who can show the way to younger players.

Sort of depends how he's used. If, as in your scenario, he is picked as prop and just does their rotations then I'd agree, but it may be that he's picked as SR or Loose and pops into prop during the game,to give someone a break or to cover for injury. To be honest this tends to be the way older second rows are 'gently' introduced to
the rigours of propping.