Are we at the stage now with Gannon where another head knock is game over or does the prolonged lay off mean that next time he has a head knock, his slate has been wiped clean and he can be treat like Handley or Miller were they to have a head knock?

No way to know would my guess,we don't know the particulars

How the club would choose to manage it and the game's protocols might be two different things.
I think the bigger question might revolve around how often the decision needs making.
To quote Barry McGuigan "once you've lost that ability to take a shot you never, ever get it back". I think he's spot on wrt boxing but not sure about RL. My guess is that there are some players that are susceptible to being concussed though probably a lower percentage than in boxing. I'm not talking about Morgan specifically in this last bit I should add - hopefully his recovery is now complete.

I assume he is being urged to wear some form of head protection gear to help reduce the risk.

Headgear doesnt really help against concussion, the brain moving round in the skull is the issue.

One of the reasons why NFL players suffered so bad, as they assumed they were protected with the helmet.

I think there was also something to do with him not yet being 21, and that having a big effect on the long term consequences of head knocks due to the development of the brain. Given the Stevie Ward situation the club are clearly being super careful with Gannon. Hopefully he can start to treat concussions more in line with other players. If he can't get to that point, he ultimately won't be able to be a professional RL player.

My source has been away on holiday and only got back at the weekend so not had a chance to pester them about the on going Brodie Croft saga.

The update they had for me doesn't sound ideal, Brodie Crofts agent is pushing for a NRL deal and a release from his Leeds contract now obviously this isn't good news for us as losing our marquee halfback who we payed thousands of pounds for a release from his salford contract and pay him roughly £350,000 a season isn't great at all especially 2 weeks out from pre season as well.

The club is standing firm that Croft isn't for sale unless St George basically do what we did 12 months ago and buy Croft out of his contract.

It's a shame about this as Croft is a key part in our team and will probably be even better than he was for us under Brad Arthur, however this risk was always gonna be there as Croft and his NRL clauses in his contracts have been no secret. Personally to me it seems like Croft will be leaving if the Dragons are willing to pay for him and let's be honest they have plenty of Cap losing Lomax & Hunt 2 of their big earners plus the NRL salary cap dwarfs SL salary cap as we all know. Nothing is concrete yet hoping to get more updates in weeks to come

This would be no great surprise, and applies to every player at every club in SL. If the NRL come calling, and are willing to pay enough, every player in the league is available, it's simple economics and no club is "rich" enough to say no to a big enough fee. However, I don't really see any NRL club being willing to buy a player from SL, based on the ability and the size of the player pool in the NRL.

If the club stand firm to no release without suitable fee, Brodie will be here this season.

It's actually a compliment that this is even discussed, it shows we are now having better quality players.

It’s now being reported that St George have given up on getting Croft and are now looking elsewhere. https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/br ... ans-future

It’s now being reported that St George have given up on getting Croft and are now looking elsewhere. https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/br ... ans-future

I was hoping for an Jr update, but this isn't the one I'd hoped for. Thanks for your service, mate.

Without knowing anything, I don't think it'll happen now. They've freed cap up with Lomax and Hunt going, but they've already brought in Damian Cook, Val Holmes and Clint Gutherson. Apparently, they've changed targets and are looking at Dan Atkinson from the Sharks. We'll wait and see.

Good news if he's staying.
At least it means we have time to find a replacement if we have to next year.

Maybe he leaves with BA at the end of next season.
Like what`s been said at least it gives us plenty of time to get a couple of halfbacks signed up for 2026.
Not sure what will become of a certain Jack Sinfield.

He needs weekly games

Jack needs to go out on loan for a season, the academy/reserve grade is pretty poor in this country.. he needs to play against full grown men and play most weeks.

YEP reporting that recruitment is done, with Blease saying they might go for more signings if the right people become available.

10 players out, only 5 in - surely we will look to boost the squad mid-season? Although of course if the quality is better overall it can only be a good thing.

We clearly have a little bit of room on the cap, but maybe not the player to spend it on. Maybe best to keep our powder dry and watch the situation at other clubs. I do worry that we are staking a lot on Holroyd and Gannon returning. If not, the pack still looks thin in terms of numbers.

Yeah agree and thats why it will likely leave us short of the top teams. Blease did say a few weeks back it might be another year before we're somewhere near where he wants us to be squad wise. As long as i see good progress this year and get in the playoffs that will be fine for me (how far we have fallen).

We need to start heading in the right direction this year and show clear intent (the offseason so far has largely been very positive in that regard). Though i'd be interested to see how the season ticket sales are going and if recent years failures have impacted..

On the pack, only two new signings are actually forwards, although two of the backs might be better at moving the ball in a yardage sense.

Nothing wrong with a smaller better quality squad until injuries/suspensions bite and we have to play the kids.
I think we are still a couple of signings short.

There's been two major problems in the last 2 years. 1 has been too many signings who were part of the squad, but would not likely be pushing for a starting spot (Roberts, Ruan, Warren, Olpherts etc.). It's created imbalance in the squad where there's too much quantity, not enough quality.

The second has been tactical, and the passive defence that has been discussed to death. The thought of Hall and Sivo bringing the ball back in place of Edgell and Lumb (though both did well for their age/size), coupled with a more aggressive defensive line will massively reduce the workload for our front row.

Our front row bar Oledski didn't do much work that was part of the problem. Agree completely about the yardage in backfield but I would be hoping for increased workload from our front considering in some cases you were lucky to get 15 minutes out of them!

I think Oledski abd Palasia starting with Lisone/ Holroyd / Jenkins on bench will give us a much better all round pack.

The FB and wings all have good go forward early sets and a fit Newman with Handley will help too.

I still think the back row is missing a hard runner but if Gannon has bulked up and health sticks that could be big for us.

We'll have to agree to disagree. The end of the season is when we lost Handley and Miller (and of course Fus for the last game) in the backfield, and where we missed their yardage carries. For that reason, I don't think we saw benefit in the forward pack that we could have if they had all been fit.

The big question for the forwards next year is how Gannon and Holroyd go. I think Holroyd was trying too hard early in the season when he did play. Maybe putting him on the bench will allow him to go back to basics. As I understand the new salary cap rules, if neither end up playing, we may get some relief to look for new signings?

Spot on.
A fit Gannon and Holroyd is like two new signings and the pack looks decent.
If they're both out injured again, we look light.

If you read what the Eels fans say about Siva , he won’t be making much yardage in our half . 10 yards to the try line great , as a workhorse like Ash no .
Massively happy to see Holroyd back , hopefully he hasn’t lost any more weight as I think he got to light last year .