[url=http://www.bradfordbulls.co.uk/news/4810/SYKES%20EXTENDS%20BULLS%20DEALClicky[/url



So when's the good news?

If this is the "good news" touted then PMSL!
Your board are taking the pi$$.

The "good news" snippet came from the T&A reporter, not from the club.

HTH.

Just the news we were waiting for! Just hoping they announce his imagination transplant soon and give him a 'guide to last tackle options' that doesn't include 'if after kicking it off the pitch or up in the air repeatedly you are still behind, try giving it to a second rower and hope they do a better job'.

More seriously it makes a lot of sense in terms of keeping hold of a home-grown utility player, but I would have preferred it to have been Langley signing on the dotted line.

It says in the T & A that Langley could follow suit by agreeing a deal in the next few weeks so it does suggest a deal is close.

I bet he flipping is! I wonder if he would have been retained if he didn't count under home grown?

Let's be honest - there are worse players. He does bring some utility value ie, he can fill in at fullback, centre and half back. Don't forget, he's also our goal kicker at the minute!

OK - we'd all prefer to have Billy Slater or Greg Inglis but those players are not available and are not going to come to our club.

I wonder if the new "coach" is aware of this deal and approved it........that might be more interesting......

Oh. My. God.

As someone said...when's the good news coming? Soon I hope.

As he's one of our better home grown players it makes sense to sign him up. TBF he's got a heck of a job at SO given he's little experience of that position. Being an on field organiser isn't easy when you're not used to it. So he's not Henry Paul but the club hasn't got much other option at the moment.

We need 8 home grown players in the squad next year. Looking at this year's we have the following IIRC:

Sykes
Langley
Halley
Southernwood
Reardon
Kopczak
Whitehead
Donaldson
Addy
Olbison
Wardle
Burgess
Burgess
Crossley
Crookes

i actually signed up just to say... this is disgraceful. Sykes is crap. every aspect of his game is crap. in fact if he spent as much time not being crap as he does crying to the ref, we might have an alright player.

this re-signing is exactly the below average type of player for some reason our club now seems to be accustomed to and its not good enough.

i hope you all realise that this means we won't be getting a new 6 and will either sign someone just as average or play Matt Orford again next season at 7... if hes still here.

i for one am very pleased with this as i cannot think of any other non quota centres that i would prefer tbh: he has a great kick off and is cover for a number of positions if need be. As long as they have signed him as a centre im happy. now for me we need a new powerhouse prop to come off the bench maybe paleasina, a classy stand off (perhaps leon pryce back - duno how i feel about that tho tbh) and a good winger i.e. craig hall. get rid of worrincy sheriffe reardon and crookes.

Would you prefer them to be signing Lockyer? So would I.

Can't think why they aren't doing that.

It's a disgrace

We should also be signing Sonny-Bill Williams and enticing Israel Falou out of his AFL contract to come and play for the Bulls.

I think there are some that believe that is what we should do!

Incidentally Connor Murphy has just tweeted that Langley is expected to follow suit - good news!

i cant tell if this post is a wind up!!!!

we should be aiming to Use Sykes' best attribute only once in a match. The more kicking off he does is because he and some of those around him are conceding tries by not being able to tackle!

He is at best a squad player. he is also a full back. We need news on a coach now! because if this signing has not been sanctioned by the new coach, it is a joke. if the new person sees a role for PAul, then good luck.
the amount of information coming from the BUlls is laughable. i remember the days when the club used the media to attract fans!

After all the bad news, bad luck and bad performances this is hardly the news that will get the stay aways flocking back is it? The next good news will be Worrincey, Sheriffe and Reardon have all been given an extra 3 years. Followed by Macca staying on as Coach!

I think Peter Hood's comments about Sykes versatility give an indication why he's been re-signed. I'm a little surprised it's for 3 years but am not unhappy to see him stay. It also adds stability to the squad which has been non existent for about 4 years.
If we follow it with Langley (and if Sykes gets 3 years I'd expect Langley gets longer) it gives us a good base for the new coach to add his own touches.

Sykes may have signed for peanuts for the security of a three year deal - not saying he has - but this might explain the length of the deal to a degree.

If people are annoyed at Sykes re-signing they need to wake up. Who else can the club recruit? Are their better backs out there that are free agents at the end of the year? You can forget about us paying a big transfer fee as we don't have the money.

Fact is there are precious few players available. Those that are can ask the earth because they know this.

The cut in the overseas quota and the home grown rule means clubs have to develop their own which takes time.

All SL clubs are fighting over the same youngsters too. Take one kid who signed up recently was being chased by 6 other SL clubs all offering great deals. We're not always going to be successful in getting them either.

As a result we have little option but to re-sign the likes of Sykes.

Well it isn't exactly the big news we were all hoping for but I do think it's a sensible bit of business. He ticks the box for homegrown whilst covering several positions and probably won't be costing us the earth either. I don't see his long term future at 6 though, so I hope his signature is as a good value utility rather than our 1st choice stand off for the next 3 years.

Who [ido[/i you see as our first choice stand off for the next three years?

I think Sykes will be there for next year at least unless we pull off a coup in signing a stand off who's a free agent, who's available though?

Consider also the dilemma the club have in whether they re-sign Menzies. If they do it means they can't go down under for a stand off or a centre or anyone else.

That'll mean we re-sign Nero (that should get some flak on here!). Or we try and get a free agent centre.

Some have mentioned Hall and Goulding. I'm not even sure if they're free agents. Hall is ok going forward but defensively suspect, especially if you paired him with either of our wingers. Goulding is steadier but probably more costly, and that's taking for granted he would come.

I can't see too much room for manouvre in terms of recruitment this year unfortunately. Just hope the kids are ready next year.

It's a real shame we haven't managed to keep hold of some of our homegrown players who are now at other clubs. If we'd known the rules as they are now and how important these players would become I reckon we might have tried a little harder to keep a few of the following:

1.
2.
3. Chris Bridge
4. Ryan Atkins
5. Karl Pryce
6. Leon Pryce
7. Paul Deacon
8. Stuart Fielden
9.
10. Jamie Peacock
11. Lee Radford
12. Sam Burgess
13. Mark Flanaghan

14. Rob Parker
15. Richard Moore
16.
17.

I'm sure there are others but can't think of them at the minute to fill up the team!

I appreciate some of the players who left did so before they were established ala Bridge and Atkins, but we may have perservered a little longer had we known of the dark times that laid ahead.

Personally I don't think we've done too bad really when you add in the lads who still play for us on a regular basis as well who are homegrown:

Dave Halley
Paul Sykes
Stuart Reardon
Jamie Langley
Craig Kopczak

Bridge was obliquely described by Noble as "cancer in the club" when he was let go, so I think he'd passed the point of no return. He does seem to have matured a bit now though.

I'd happily have kept the others (apart from Iron Karl) but I guess events led to them being let go. If only it was so simple to have just kept them.

We have plenty of home grown players in the squad now, and the quality is improving when you consider Whitehead's progress and Donaldson to a lesser degree.

Think we could probably do better than Reardon and Kopczak, unless they have a much better end to the season.

I guess we're all hoping that Southernwood may come good! Sykes can cover stand off but I don't think he is good enough against the better defences in SL.

I think this is a good signing for us i would not like to see him go to another club.