so its about that time that contracts will get renewed etc who would you like to see still here next year and who do you think will have had their last season in the primrose and blue??

OOCs

briers
morley
hodgson
solomona
higham
laithewaite
O'brien
mitchell
mike cooper
rhys williams


personally i would like another year from brett and lee!

unfortunately i think moz and sol may have had their last year

higham could go either way unsure but the way ts has been grooming different hookers like myler, grix suggests it doesnt look good for one trick.

O'brien and coops must haves on long term deals coops has come on leaps and bounds since the scrawny prop made his debut he has bulked up and now looks one of our better forwards. and O'brien is a class act now let alone with experience under his belt.

mitchell i think we wont be seeing him in p&b again but wish him well

rhys williams maybe again unsure

laithewaite i have only seen when hes played for leigh but looks good so hopefully will be given an opportunity to prove his worth

Due to the injuries they've gone through I think Brett, Moz and Sol might possibly retire.

Briers - Would be worth another year as he's still healthy and still a threat to the opposition
Higham - Hopefully Monaghan can come back and then in addition we have options like Dywer, Myler, Grix even Ratchford could slot in there.
O'Brien and Coops - Gaz has been performing great and he definitely wants to stay (he was on our quiz night table) Coops has really improved this year and really deserves a new contract.
Laithwaite - Watched him at both U20's and Championship level, he's always working hard and impresses, he's worth a new contract.
Mitchell - Watching him last night for Cas he made mistakes and I don't think he is up to our level now. He won't get a new contract as we have better and younger players coming through and he hasn't progressed.
Williams - Not sure if he will make it with us, he would do a decent job for another SL team though. Always seems to be a bit hit and miss.

I think Briers and Hodgson should be given a pay as you play contract for next year. This will benefit the younger kids coming through but also ensures they are there when needed.

Morley and Solo im not so sure about. Always dangerous and worth a place in the team but we havent seen solo yet and morley has not been himself so far this season.

O'brien and Coops deserve new contracts as they have both played well especially Cooper.

Higham? well it all depends on what Smith wants from his hookers next season. M Monas & Dwyer as regulars? if so higham will not be needed even if he has had some stand out performances.

Laithwaite should be offered a new contract IMO. From whats been said about him and how he has performed for the u20's and for leigh. St Helens will be sniffing around shortly for him.

I'm still not convinced about Williams. He's built well and has pace but there is something that isnt quite there, his rugby brain isnt quite what it should be but he always tries.

Mitchell will probably go to Cas at the end of his loan as he has performed relatively well for them.

I'm sure I read somewhere that Briers has signed a two year contract with Widnes. Has that been confirmed any where yet?

o'brien, cooper and laithewaite are musts to keep hold of, moz i think is passed it now, solo through injury, not sure about hodgson, would like to see ratchford at fullback if he does retire. williams, mitchell and higham i personally dont want to keep them for any longer with people like evans, dwyer and currie coming through we dont need them and would like briers but ive heard that he is close to signing for widnes but its not certain yet

I would be shocked if he did join widnes. He's got more chance of silverware with us and he loves the club.

As a matter of fact it has, not sure where you've been.

Widnes coach Neil Kelly expressed his delight at the capture of the stand-off: 'Lee is a player we've admired for many years and we're delighted to have him at the Vikings.'

'Lee brings a great kicking game and is the best passer in the league. We think he'll form a great partnership with Owen Craigie, who we're bringing over from Australia.'

a link? proof? as far as all news i've seen lee himself is quoted as he will end his career at warrington

All sensible stuff, apart from the first sentence. Players of Briers's and Hodgon's talent and rep won't settle for 'pay as you play'. Hodgson showed when leaving Giants that a decent contract was essential, and he could move to any number of SL clubs, probably even get another two year deal. Briers would feel regally shafted to be offered such an arrangement. If Hodgson does not retire, I expect TS will want to keep him playing some games while Ratchford learns the trade in others. Briers will probably get another year and a promise of a coaching position.

All to stay

I agree. These incentive based contracts will only work for players that are stuck without a club and have huge clouds over their injury record so they can't get a club to take a chance on them.

Also how do you budget the salary cap for a "pay as you play" deal? Do you base it on the player playing 15 games a season, 20 games, 25 games, what? What would happen if we had Briers on a pay as you play deal and had left enough money in the cap based on him playing 25 games in the season and he was fit and in form all year, do we have to leave him out in certain fixtures so as not to exceed the salary cap. Does the chairman have to knock on Tony Smith's door and say "sorry coach, best leave Briers out this week, we can't afford to pay him else we're over the cap"

Alternatively we could budget for him playing every week....in which case why not pay him that as his contract anyway...?

briers = worth another year
morley = worth another year
hodgson = worth another year
laithewaite = longer term
O'brien = longer term
mike cooper = longer term
The rest = Mitchell will go, Higher too hopefully, Williams may have to go.

OR

Whatever Tony/the Club think is in the best interest of the club!!!

morley
hodgson
solomona
higham
mitchell
rhys williams
Are the one's i'd let go.

Briers Another year please
Morley Mmmm I feel a traitor but.............
Hodgson Another year please
Solomona Another year please
Higham Another 2 years please
O'Brien Long term contract
Coops Long term contract
Williams Long term contract

I think that would be my pick FB but I would have Williams on short term.

are you being serious? we dont need higham when we have a good youngster like dwyer coming through and he is well passed it now, makes to many unforced errors and waste chances!
williams is not needed either with players like rhys evans back fit and going to the be one of the most exciting young talents in superleague, he dont need either, they can both go

Yes off course I am serious. I would not joke or take risks with something as important as our team.

Mickey is a quality player with vast experience. If we had let Mickey leave at the start of this season what would we have done for the past 11 games that Monas M has missed. Please don't say play Brad because he is young & still learning his trade, what I have seen of him is good but that's for the future & not now.

With regards to Rhys W he has not made many starts this season and he is not currently my 1st choice winger but he does deserve another contract.

At the moment I would consider releasing Morley, Hodgson, Solomona and Higham but I'm open to changing my mind on any of them. I think we need to make sure we don't hold onto players a year too long and they are all on my 'at risk' register of that.

If moz thinks he can go another year,then sign him up. It's an honour to see the guy captaining our side.

I love Dwyer, I think he will be great in a few years, BUT he needs time to develop and keeping Higham around seems a good option to me. Lets not forget Monaghen is also ageing and we can not expect him to be injury free in the next year or two. As for Williams, he is a good stand-in that allows other players a rest. Why should we give him away ? Sign him for 1/2 yrs and sell him on for a modest fee. After all, we developed him.

After I typed it I realised do pay as you play contracts exist? and sally is right how do they fit into the salary cap? im not sure if they even do fit into it. If so Briers and Hodgson should be offered an extra year, but I have a feeling they may want longer contracts. The incentive of a coaching position at the end of their contract may sway them.

I think there's a dilemma with Higham. Before the start of the season most would want him shipped out but he's played his best rugby while with us so far in 2012. Thing is Dwyer isn't our only other option, a certain Simon Grix has being doing a pretty nice job at hooker lately. It's a tough call on quite a few but I would let go:

Solomona - Getting on a bit and with the emergence of Currie and apparent arrival of Bateman we're well stocked here. You never know though, could show some real form when he's back from injury and he really offers something different.
Higham - See the main bulk of the post
Mitchell - Not up to it and don't think he ever will be
Williams - Occasional flashes of something good but not sure he's up to it. God seems to rate him though so I wouldn't be suprised or that disapointed to see him here next year.

While I'm 50/50 on:
Morley - Would wait until the end of the season to see how his body and form is
Hodgson - Again I'm worried that he's injured a lot. Would probably give another year and give a bit of extra time for Ratch to learn at FB

It's nice to have such a dilemma in a way though, better than debating whether we should give Paul Noone another year.