With all the doom and gloom surrounding the club at the moment I thought I would look at where we should be aiming for next season.

At the start of the year a lot of us were dreaming that the team would suddenly rise up the ladder. Wasn't to be unfortunately.

However, i firmly believe that we do have a fantastic foundation to build upon for next year. Looking through the team I decided to think about which positions are good for and which ones we need to strengthen.

1. Royston
2.
3. Platt
4.
5. Ah Van
6. Kearney
7.
8. Scruton
9. L'estrange
10. Lynch
11. Whitehead
12. Elima
13. Langley

Keep
Addy
Ainscough
Bateman
Briggs
Burgess
Crookes
Crossley
Diskin
Donaldson
Jefferies
Koppy
O Brian
Olbison

Drop
Halley
Hargreaves
Herbert
Raynor
Sibbit
Sykes
Walker

I think we're about 5 good squad players and 2 key quality players (Centre/Scrum Half) away from being a top 4 side again.

Kearney should be able to play at full back. So to me, we need a quality 6 and 7.

Never be the same again!

I think you're right, there is the core of a group with potential, I agree with a lot of your list and amended it with my own thoughts. But the most important thing is for the coaching staff to nail down the confidence/defence/teamwork ethics and try to get that winning menality, but for this we do need the right players;

1. Kearney
2. Ainscough?
3. Platt
4.
5.
6. Kearney (I know, but its what he was doing well till he got injured!)
7.
8. Scruton
9. L'estrange
10. Lynch
11. Whitehead
12. Elima
13. Addy

[uKeep[/u
Royston
Bateman
Burgess
Diskin
Donaldson
Jefferies
Koppy
O Brian
Olbison
Hargreaves
Southenwood

[uDrop for 2012[/u
Sibbit
Sykes
Walker

[uundecided/something to prove[/u
Crossley (needs to take any opportunity this year to make an impression)
Halley (can he be more than a good squad player?)
Herbert (I think he is and will get better, but how long can we wait and for how much improvement? not a game winner IMO, needs to prove me wrong, I suspect he'd look really good alongside 12 quality players)
Crookes (Stop start bulls career, needs to make a spot his own now or never, should get a chance soon I reckon)
Finigan (loads of potential, can he kick on, I see no reason why not atm?)
Raynor (Good pro for us now, but not sure about next year)
Ah Van? (If we had a more reliable kicker I think his place would be uncertain)
Langley (top player for us no doubt, but are we getting value for cap money at the moment?)
Briggs (looks out of his depth at the moment IMHO, but its early and he's joined a losing team with a big turnover in personnel, still a chance but he needs to do more when he get opportunities)

How are we meant to 'drop' players like Sibbit and Sykes who will still be under contract next season?

I think people are being unfair to Sykes. I would be very happy to have Paul Sykes as backup next season.

1. Kearney
2.
3. Platt
4.
5. Ah Van
6.
7. Jeffries (It's too much of an ask to sign 2 halves in a season, as we've seen, so I'd look for a real quality stand-off to go next to Jeffries. Obviously depending on how he goes.)
8. Scruton
9. L'Estrange
10. Lynch
11. Elima
12. Whitehead
13. Langley

14. Diskin
15. Hargreaves
16. Kopzcak
17. Olbison

Squad Players / Youngsters

Royston
Sibbit
Sykes
Burgess
Bateman
Addy
O'Brien
Ainscough
Crookes
Finigan
Crossley
Briggs
(May have missed some off)

So I think we need a decent centre, a quality 6, and hopefully a winger (but I wouldn't be against Ainscough there).

I'd also like to see a big tough prop come in, but I wouldn't be too disappointed as long as we get a centre and a 6.

Halley will have to do something special to earn a new deal.

Bullinenemyland - Why would you try and drop Hargreaves???

Im sorry but if we're to improve next season the whole backline needs going over.

Royston is ok but not outstanding. A quality FB is part a vital part of the machine. Neither Royston or Kearney are that.
Ainscough? Could go ok, outside a quality centre that knows how to get his winger away
Platt works hard and runs his blood to water, but isn't really that smart game breaking centre that all clubs need
Walker, 5 years past his best, better as a backrower rower but not good enough to push Elima or Langley out and I'd probably opt for Olbsion or Whitehead over him anyway.
Raynor - 5 years past his best, lost his pace, but works hard. Could be back up if pushed

Kearney - Poor stand off, mediocre full back, cant defend for toffee and not sure he even offers that much going forward
Herbert - Nothing to say other than worst SH i have ever seen

Briggs and Jeffries, I wanna see how they go for the rest of the year

Ah van - As others have said, if he couldnt kick would he get in?
Halley - as much use as a wet paper bag, poor winger, poor full back, where for him?
Crookes - Wont be long before he's on his way

Finnigan, shown some potential. Would like to see him a bit more.

FB- Not a problem area in my mind. Kearney is the better attacker, Royston is a better defender.

Wings- Ainscough can certainly score tries his record speaks for itself, with a decent centre he'd be high up the charts. Raynor i wouldnt say has lost his pace at all and is a great finisher, age is against him though but it is only a number and if he feels good enough then he will do for me.

Half backs- Kearney is NOT a stand off. Leon Pryce may split opinion here but he would be a great player to have in our current predicament. After reading up on raiders fan's opinion of him, he just simply isnt good enough. know he has not been given a season to assess how he fits in, but we have had enough time to see his raw skills and natural ability and he is lacking. Briggs also may be just simply not good enough at the end of the day.

Ah van i think drives forward well and with a bit more confidence i have faith he could break the line and be another lethal kiwi.

Needed- A strike centre is a must, it would give us more width and would see us scoring more tries. Platt is an average player who works hard consistently and with a better centre with him he would be a good partner who runs hard. A new half back combo which can spread the ball quickly and Leon can run the ball better than most in Super League. Also i feel a ball playing loose forward would be nice it is not essential. Prop could also be assessed, i think we need someone who can drive harder. Lynch seems to stop when he's hit and doesn't draw defenders in which would help the backs.

I think we are only a full back, a couple of wingers, two quality centres, a top HB pairing, two props, an improved second row and a loose forward that is not made of biscuit away from being a top side again....

i.e. - we have two good Hookers.

ME's not too far wrong - ok - possibly a bit OTT, but how many of our first choice side would make the Wigan / Saints / Wire first 13?

Not many, probably the two hookers and Lynchy. Kearney would miss out due to the quality of other fullbacks around - he is by no means a bad player.

OK, a lot of our squad would be superb SQUAD players for those sides, but that is what they essentially are, SQUAD players. We have a team of squad players and no real stars who can change a game.

Of the current squad, I can understand the need to have a clear out, but it might be time to move on some of the old guard who have been with us a while, probably on a fair wedge, but have the LOSING mentality we need to shed.

Langers has been a great servant, but spends too much time off the pitch now. We got rid of Morrison due to this, so why should Langers be afforded a different luxury? The only saving grace is that we get a £50k saving on his salary due to the length of time he's been here.

Sykes & Sibbit are back up for a side in the bottom reaches of the table - that says it all. Obviously their contracts of 3&2 years (or whatever it was) will mean they stay.

Chev seems a good lad, but, his body has broken. It can't hack it any longer. He's given it one last go and it's not worked out.

Raynor is 34? We may as well let Finigan play. It's not as if Raynor gets the ball much anyway!

Briggs early forrays into SL haven't been great. Bit of a worry that we've got him signed up for a few years too. At the minute, looks to be a gamble that will not work out.

Jeffries was a madness/panic signing in my eyes. Hope he proves me wrong, but I'm sure we'll see his usual 1/5 good games.

Herbert, not as bad as people make out, but at the same time he's not looked good enough to guide us around on his own.

We still need some impact off the bench. Can we please sign a wrecking ball south sea islander?

The majority of the young lads in and around the first team are good squad players. At the minute the only one I can see developing into a potential England player would be Whitehead, and he's not without critisism given the number of errors in some games this year.

I've also been one of Koppy's biggest critics, still don't think he's great, but he has stood up and improved. However, as per my previous point, would he get into the Wire 17? No, he's good back up, that's it. Every squad needs those players, we seem to have more than we need though.....

[url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbulls/9024258.Walker___s_time_at_Bradford_Bulls_could_be_running_out/Walker playing for future[/url

On Walker, it seems he thinks he might be done with us, three months out, only on a 12 month contract, it would be very hard to justify a new deal. Which the man himself is all too aware of, its a shame the peak of his career has been blighted by these injuries. I wonder if we've already seen the last of Chev in a Bulls shirt?

The glass is definitely empty over in your court!!!

I don't understand how people can be talking about Herbert being a poor half back and can't create anything! In the "creativity" stats on the Superleague site he isn't far behind Rangi Chase who has played 2 more games and has been playing in the form team for majority of this season!

He has nobody in the side who knows how to be a dummy runner without giving a penalty away, half of them cant catch a ball cause they have cows tits for hands and the morale in the club is feeling worse than last year!! He has had zero lack of opportunity to form a decent partnership with any other half back and some people are expecting the kid to carry our team through the season! His biggest downfall is his kicking!

Not a lot of point comparing our lot with who would or would not get in the side of the likes of Wire, unless we can somehow get one of those salary cap booster tokens they seem to have so we can afford players who COULD?

Whilst you're right to a point Adey, we also need to spend the money we do have better IMO. We have cap space this year we have not spent, so its not all about not having the funds even if we don't have access to "extras". We've not spent what we have available by all acos so we could have adjusted the signings to bring in a higher caliber player had we been able to identify and attract such a beast before we needed to start worrying about extras.

FWIW at the time I could see the logic in most, not all mind, of the signings, for instance there was not a grat deal of choice availble at half back when we officially found we needed one, so Briggs and Herbert were a calulated gamble at the time that seemed a decent shot. But as a group its not yet worked, but we've not yet been able to call on the whole group which doesn't help when attempting these autopsies.

I'm never sure about this "we have cap space" bit. So we've not spent up to what we could have on the cap rules but does that mean we had money available to spend on cap items? We've got a limited amount of revenue that must also be spent on non-cap things but still gets included in calculating the cap limit. Or am I not understanding this?

Look towards NEXT year! just wait till this season ends first there is still a lot of fotty left to play before deciding who should go and who stays

I'm just going on the fact we were told the full cap amount was available to Potter to spend on players and we've not spent it all (at least we hadn't before signing BJ, don't know whats left now). So thats a definiate amount set for the playing staff that for one reason or another we've not used, so worrying about spending over this by extra methods seems redundant to me. If you've not filled your petrol tank up whats the point worrying about how to fill up a jerry can with extra petrol?

The reasons for not spending it, and if its being spent on no cap items due to revenue issues, is another discussion I suspect, I'm only going on what the club said about the resources available for the playing staff.

Cheers, that makes more sense then. Was that said at the fan forum?

Players are important obviously but good backroom staff can make the difference between average and good players. I wouldn't have minded if we were spending some money on improving the coaching and fitness side at the expense of some player spending power.

Do we not have to hold back some cap space in case people like Addy, Olbison etc go over their games played limit and count on the cap? Maybe not Addy I guess after his lay off but these were mentioned by Hood in one of the programs.

Fair summation that Duckman - and a lot more balanced than some of the histrionics we see on here - especially from those who professed to be much happier with the squad or the coaching team at the start of the season but now say they knew it/they would be poor...

If we could ever get a decent, settled squad of the best players out on the park for a few games then we might be better able to judge. At the moment, whilst it is easy to observe the symptoms, it is harder to determine causes. Injuries have clearly paid a big part in what we have seen, but I doubt there are many fans now ascribe everything to just that. You only have to look at how e.g Wakey coped with their injury crisis last season to find the comparison striking?

I keep, wondering how much we might have been relying on signing Pryce back for this season, and how disruptive to the plans (as well as explaining the cap shortfall) not managing to sign him has proved? It DID seem pretty clear he was a maijor target?

Jockabull - no. the cap is fixed at £1.65m, regardless of revenue. The 50% of revenue cap was removed some years ago. We were told thatb the club would make the full cap available to the head coach, so either that remains the case and we have just not found the players to spend it on (some will have gone on Jeffries, which I hope may prove a more enlightened sihning than many imagine), or the finances have again deteriorated so that we are unable now to spend the full cap. If it is the latter then we have a big problem indeed. At present I am convincing myslef it must be the former.

Players have a salary cap value set at the start of the season, so I'd assume that we'd not have to keep cap space back for the circumstances you described. Addy and Olbison They were in the 25 so they always counted on the cap. I'd have to have another look at the Rules to remind myself how the likes of Burgess and Bateman are treated.

You DO seem to be able to acquire Cap Power-Booster tokens from somewhere, if you have the money. However, we don't seem to have found out from where yet.

I've posted something similar on another thread but it bears repeating here. One of the biggest problems with recruitment was caused by Matt Orford not being honest about his intentions when he went back to Australia in the middle of last year. I don't think we should underestimate the impact of this, if only he'd said he wanted to leave and negotiated his departure properly, both him and the club would have been in a better position to sort out the start of the current season. Incidentally, I'd suspect that is a fair part of the reason why we still have/had cap money available.

As it was, he was still on the Bull's books until very late in the day, which made it difficult/impossible for Potter to sign a new scrum half earlier in the day when there might well have been more unsigned halves available. This isn't to knock Herbert though, who while he hasn't come in an been a rip roaring success, hasn't been the damp squib many are trying to paint him as either. Without a regular partner and behind a depleted pack which has never really set much of a platform, he's been OK, but not outstanding. Maybe it would be unfair to expect more.

I'd agree that I would have liked to see some bigger names too. Though I accept it was never going to be as easy to attract top players as it used to be when we were lording it at the top end of the league. Hopefully, in the remainder of this year, the coach will be able to instil some confidence (maybe our biggest weakness?) into the side, and maybe have some better luck on the injury front (it must be a three year injury jinx by now) and we can get into the play-offs, or at least look as if we might do next season. Maybe we'd be a bigger attraction to players if we did. This time Mick will be able to spend all his working hours on the recruitment for next year, which should be an advantage too.

Who? Come on now, name names and show us all proof who did this.

Otherwise you will be shown up to be a liar. Such disappointing behaviour from such an upstanding member of the board.

www.thisishullandeastriding.co.u ... ticle.html Dobson and Pryce would a very good half back pairing and both have been coached by Potter before. Saints have been linked Waterhouse and Bryce Gibbs but apparently have no quota/non fed spot. This is the type of player we should move for.

www.thisishullandeastriding.co.u ... ticle.html Dobson and Pryce would a very good half back pairing and both have been coached by Potter before. Saints have been linked Waterhouse and Bryce Gibbs but apparently have no quota/non fed spot. This is the type of player we should move for.

How are we meant to look positive? With the were watching week in week out.

Kearney would be top of my keep list every day of the week - he was playing out of his skin before the injury. i'd be more than happy to keep him at 6 if we cannot sign Pryce or AN other, but definitely at fullback.
Platt's a decent defender and always put in the effort, I'd retain him, but we are missing a 'strike' centre I feel, someone like Hape was.
Ah Van I think has potential, we don't seem to be using width much in open play at the moment though.
Royston I like as a utility back, keep him on.
the forwards are half decent, Lynch, Scruton, Hargreaves, L'Estrange, Diskin, Langley, Elima would all be in my team.

I'm not sure about Herbert, Ainscough (puts in the effort but is he good enough? maybe if theres no one else) Walker (possible second row squad player, not at centre though) Raynor (again if theres no one else, then keep him on) Whitehead, Donaldson, Kopczak, Burgess, Olbison, Bateman I'm not sure.

the rest can pretty much go for me.

Underestimation there I think. For me, you can split the team into two divisions fairly easily; forwards and backs in terms of 'good enough' or not.

The pack at full strength is as good as any in Super League. Seriously, it is. You just can't argue with:

Lynch, Scruton, Hargreaves, Kopzcak, Burgess
L'Estrange and Diskin
Langley, Donaldson, Whitehead, Elima, Addy, Olbison

The strength in depth is there without doubt, but, it always has been.

The problem is the backline, there's no class out wide and the halves are struggling. To be honest, from what I've seen so far, I aren't overly impressed with most of our backline acquisitions (apart from Royston). All of them have mitigating circumstances in whether they're good enough. When you take Kearney out of the backline too, we're a hell of alot worse.

Basically, the forwards are amongst the top three or four packs in Super League. The backline is amongst the worst three or four. As eluded to, a strike centre is what is needed, maybe even two.