Thoughts on this.

He was reasonable when with us the last time. So im sure he will add something, certainly a bit more agression

Whar are the impacts on the current squad? Is back row an are we needed to strengthen? Garside has been poor in the games hes played so Roche coming in certainly knocks him further down the pecking order, or will he play more as a middle forward rather than on an edge?

JK has obviously brought him in to play so i wonder where he fits in the side?

He’s a backrower primarily but has played a bit of prop. With the interchange numbers coming down he could be useful in that way. Mikey Wood has been excellent but will need a breather occasionally.

My slight concern is that Roche is not so much a Wilson replacement but possibly a replacement for another departure if the rumours of SL clubs being interested in Storton is true. I think that would take more explaining that Wilson’s departure.

I read somewhere that Garside had asked for a release. Don't know if it's true. Can't remember where I read it either.

Anyway, back on topic. Colton Roche is probably going to play more this season than young Olly will do.

You’d expect so. But it depends if we have been paying rent. The last figure I heard we were paying the RFL was around £70k a year but that was back in 2012. A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then. It may be that we pay the same, less or nothing now.



That’s true. I can see us playing against Olly though either this season or next as he’ll be on duel reg in no time.

Is it good idea to cash in on any young players that we can considering we are where we currently are?

Can we keep this thread on the topic of Roche please.

As intriguing as the politics and economics surrounding the Wilson deal undoubtedly are, the signing of Roche could turn out to be just as important in the long run.
He immediately strengthens the side and, unlike Wilson, will be in contention for selection every week. Hopefully he will prove to be a shrewd piece of business.
As for his effect on the team, Garside looks like he will slip even further down the pecking order. Quite how that affects his long term future with the Bulls remains to be seen. Roche can also fill the gap if persistent rumours about Storton attracting SL interest develop into a move for him.

Interesting record for a 25 year old.

Years Team Pld T G FG P
2009–12 Leeds Rhinos 0 0 0 0 0
2012–12 Oldham 2 0 0 0 0
2013–13 Sheffield Eagles 19 0 0 0 0
2014–14 Featherstone Rovers 1 0 0 0 0
2014–15 York City Knights 34 5 0 0 20
2016–16 Featherstone Rovers 17 1 0 0 4
2017 Bradford Bulls 25 3 0 0 12
2018– Huddersfield Giants 8 0 0 0 0
2018(loan) → York City Knights 5 0 0 0 0
2019(loan) → Workington Town 2 0 0 0 0
2019. Bradford Bulls

Let’s hope we benefit from him having some confidence in a longer term deal at one club, if it’s true he’s here next year too

I always thought it a strange signing from Huddersfield. Perhaps they just feel obligated to sign every player they can from us, it certainly seems like that!

He was decent enough when he played for us before - but he hardly seemed like SL quality. And that's been shown to be the case, as he's hardly played and gone out more on dual-reg

Oh well, hopefully, he'll be a useful asset for us...

100% agree. Whilst he was decent for us it wasnt exactlyy hard to stand out in that 2017 side. It was probably the worst ive ever watched (my first year was 1989). But he was no where near SL standard.
Lets hope with a bit more development in him he comes back better than he was. Hopefully he goes from a steady / decent Championship player to a very good one. I wish him all the best.