Surely it would just mean kear at FB, which many think is his best position, and Blythe coming in?

Two of them kids have only just turned 17 and Medley said they weren't physically ready to go on loan in the Championship let alone play SL.

This is the real fear for me. We have 3/4 very promising back rowers who are able to do real damage on the edge but if your props are losing they will get dragged into the middle both to defend the ruck and to drive it out which would be a terrible waste.

Paul Medley re Naugton Wood Roberts:
We don’t want them exposed to an environment that they might not quite be up to physically.
“Our aim is to get them playing Super League in a couple of years’ time and we’re going to put them on a programme of development through Tom Clough, our new conditioner.
“To do that they need to play in their own age group and be comfortable.
“We don’t want them to be playing against men and getting bashed about in the Championship, meaning that their bodies spend more time repairing than growing.”

I don't think we will. I got the impression that Sammut was given dispensation because of the uncertainty over Purtell.

Sammut was given dispensation regardless of purtill was due to clubs circumstances.

I would move kear but liklihood is we will lose more than one player at once - kear,bk,gale and sammut all had a month out consecutively admittedly it would be bad luck to lose two of the four quickly but I think it could be a reality.

Also looking at giants boards and they mention Mason as redundant or sacked (allegedly) and even hints at going to court - so may be a cheap temporary option before he moves postal address

I see Kear as more of a full back than a winger so he'll probably get his chance to play there with injuries to BK/Gale/Sammut.

It's been confirmed that Mason is now a free agent, with Wakefield and Bradford as his most likely destination.....

[urlhttp://www.loverugbyleague.com/news_10598-mason-set-for-huddersfield-exit.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter[/url

Decent replacement for Elima in the pack.

And we can't afford to dismiss any player out of hand.

I'd hope we'd be interested in any decent quality SL experienced Prop forward.

We should be pulling out all the stops to get Mason signed up IMO. Experienced, will take the ball up and is certainly aggressive in defence.

I concede he does give a few penalties away but so did Elima.

Cas also in the hunt for Mason. Maybe the fact that Lee Gilmour and he are mates will convince him to go there? I hope the OK and FC can convince him to come to the Bulls.

He'd be the ideal bloke for a club in our position, let's hope Franny can persuade him to come.

[urlhttp://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/sport/rugby_league/s/1594229_joel-moon-exit-is-set-to-eclipse-reds-rescue[/url

Wigan may be sniffing round lulia now according to paragraph near end of this article. Would hope we'll give them same response we gave leeds at this stage of pre-season. Cant see them offering more than the 250k leeds are rumoured to have for a position where they already have decent players in place.

Has there been any clarification on the salary cap situation. Ryan, Vilpin, Gerry, Omar all saying we have the fully salary cap whilst Franny says one more player (22/23) will take us to the budget?

There always careful to say we are 'able' to spend to the cap. Pretty certain the budget franny talks about and the salary cap ate not the same figure. There's nothing like 1.6milllion of value in the squad as it stands IMO.

Can anyone remember anything of significance that Mason has ever done on a rugby pitch that didn't involve anything illegal?

Wigan are likely to be desperate to sign someone else decent, especially if Hock leaves. They have lost a great deal of talent this season and the replacements so far do not appear to be of a similar calibre.

At centre they have lost Carmont - arguably one of the best value imports in recent years. Lulia would seem to be a good like for like replacement, and might help quell the dissenting voices amongst the Wigan speccies.

If you have a budget, which by definition you have to stick (close) to and that budget figure is less than £1.4 - £1.6m, allowing for a bit of wiggle room, you're self evidently not 'able' to spend to the cap. This isn't knocking your point which I agree, appears to be the position (x2) of the club. It's merely pointing out that even with careful wording and a generous reading, they clearly don't add up to the same thing, which your last sentence alludes to.

Just for referance purposes on the Leeds Rhinos squad list, does anyone happen to know Liam McAvoys DOB, as I cant seem to find it online. much appreciated.

Moon's exit from Salford creates an ideal space for Platty.......

Or Martin Gleeson...

You seem to assume a rigid budget, which no business can afford to do. A flexible budget, which allows for up and downside risk will have within it the ability to spend up to the cap, if season ticket sales and sponsorship go through the roof, or to have 22 players in the squad if season ticket sales are slow etc etc.

Most important is the qualityh of the squad we do have, and so is Joel Moon to Leeds the first step on the way to another experienced prop per the rumour?
martynp has beaten me to that comment!

A budget so flexible is meaningless and suggests the board are telling FC what he can spend on a week by week basis. This isn't supported by FC's remark about being 'up to the budget'. Similarly with the salary cap, when stating FC would have it to spend, none of the aforementioned persons added the rider that season tickets and sponsorship needed to go through the roof. I'm guessing they're a lot more together on this, have made a forward projection, included various contingencies, and set a budget.

Someone at the club told me Senior is on the verge of signing for Salford.

= flexible budget. But flexible does not mean infinitely flexible, its the major risk factors that are varied. The biggest risk factor at the moment is income.