We have signed up a number of players on long term contracts. Is this an error? Are they all good enough to win a trophy? I think we need a world class half back, ful, back, pivot, and prop, but that's my view.

There are arguments for and against long term contracts - but most professional sportsman I've been involved with in the past would argue that they perform better with a long term contract than without one.

It let's them concentrate on performances, rather than speculation, uncertainty and commercial debates ( for example Nathans situation each year). It helps produce a settled family situation at home too.

Also, don't think professional sprtsmen then take it easy/ can't be bothered when they have a long term contract - personal and professional pride.

Final point - think we'd be worried about other clubs poaching some of better players who we have secured on LTCs.

cant see any problems with long term contracts at all, all the ones who have signed them i would have wanted anyway, dont buy into that for a reason for loss of form at all.

I agree. It must take a lot of stress of a player's mind knowing that his immediate future is secure. I really cannot believe that our long term people are do unprofessional to slacken off their efforts.

Half Back - who, Brough is probably the best in the League on form.
Full Back - Grix is going fine.
Pivot - Simpson should really be playing there I'm thinking, move Brown to Centre.
Prop - Agreed.

once again someone says simpson should be playing stand off, can someone please please please tell me where the rationale for this has come from, he has never played a 1st grade game there so where does this come from? 5 different people have mentioned this now but not one has backed it up with a reason

I'm starting to think the same.....have these people seen into the future or something?

What makes Simpson a better stand off than Kev Brown...or Eorl Crabtree for that matter ?

The Simpson to 6 thingy apparently came up after a cyberspace 'discussion' with South Sydney fans,some of whom reckoned stand off half would probably be his best position all things being considered.Didn't realise he had never played 6 in 1st grade.

Here's a thought for the day,why not move Kev Brown to 13,let him play the ball handling role closer to the ruck much like O'Loughlin does.Put Simmo to 6 as the pivot.Well many have already written Simmo off as an outside back,so he's got to fit in somewhere.

brett at fullback played as a extra 6 in attack . kev is to predictable dummey run into nearst man or flat pass .we need something different why not try simpson . as for big eorl in needs try off loading again our pack looks soft in attack not getting yards in defence giving to many yards

if simpson when fit cannot prove he is better than the wingers and centres we have then why should be be put in a pivitol ( no pun intended ) position for the sake of it, everyone is whinging about us failing to beat the big teams do you really think simpson at 6 is the answer? Grix has played 6 before for wakefield and at the 2008 world cup for ireland, Cudjoe has played 6 and has the skills to play there, if brown isnt cutting it for you we should be aiming to bring in a quality stand off not try simpson because some south sydney fans reckon he could play there, there is no evidence to suggest it would work and while we are experimenting with that we fall further behind teams like wigan wire and saints who have players like gaskell finch and briers in that position all exellent stand offs and not converted centres who they are trying to accomadate

agree we need a standoff but fridays could be our last game i think we need something different winning 4 out of 13 not good . if wood is going where is the cover for our halves next year

so in a must win game against leeds we are going to put simpson at stand off? that is our plan b? cover for the halfves next year would start with robinson ( was a scrum half all career until recently ) and Grix and cudjoe ahead of simpson, im like a broken record with this but please show me evidence of simpson at 6 being a good idea rather than saying "we have to play him somewhere" NO we dont, if he isnt good enough ( when fit ) he does not play, can someone please give me reasoned opinion like he played reserve grade at 6 ( he didnt ) or he played 6 for the u20's here ( he didnt ) or you have seen footage or in real life of him playing that position to a high level

I'd have Brown, Grix, Leroy...even Mcnally at 6 before Simpson .......nowt against the lad but you cant just chuck him into a position he's never played in his life just to get him into the team !!

thank you finally someone talking sense

Mmmmmmmm SS fans who have watched him most of his career so far reckon 6 would be his best option,but some over here who have seen nowt much of him have already written off his chances of doing owt in that position.Maybe the SS fans were on a wind up.

Who decided Grix could play 6,he was a full back was he not,and so was Cudjoe but he ended up in the centres in the end,why then did Leroy get shoved to 6,did someone see a potential in him to play that position or summat.

Leroy and Bruno have played 6 before Paul, might have been a few years ago mind you

if robo is cover for 6 or 7 that will make us light at 9 if wood is going to me we are asking for troble unless brown see simpson as an opsion as grix and leroy need to be fullback and centre unless we sign a top class 6 then kev can play a 13 cover for 6 or centre as i have said before 4 out of 13 says we have problems

i always remember Leroy playing stand off at junior level and thought he moved to full back then 3/4 line later on

simpson played 34 games at south sydney so from those 34 games these all knowing fans decided that he was wasted at centre and should replace john sutton? and in his limited time here brown who has tinkered with a few players positions hasnt tried that one yet probably tells you that these souths fans may be in the minority, out of intrest was there a massive campaign at souths for him to play at 6 therefore leading you to the belief that it was a trick we have missed? and grix has played stand off for widnes wakefield and nearly all his games for ireland have been at stand off and he also played loose for wakefield, cudjoe was a stand off at junior and accademy level and was put as cover for full back in the john sharp days then as a winger and eventuly a centre in the brown era

Never thought this pieces o paper selection process near the top o SuperLeague was so contagious

...............and the rumours ???
Swap around our half back pairing at the end of a season !!
Move a centre to 2nd row --no maybe not
Move a SO to loose forward
Try a full back at SO ??
Back up ball handler / hooker at loose forward / second row !

.......and to beat it all a lad whos been injured and hasnt played in a certain position ever --at SO

Get rid of Raleigh --most solid fella on the park last Friday
Griffin maybe going??? one of our best forwards early on
Sweating for a half back variation --bye McNally !
Hooker starts at MM- scores first try of season --gets injured --end of !
Ta Ra mate

Bloody hell --and Walt Disney`s wanting script writers !!
...and all this before what now proves to be the most important match of the season to date!
Why not just reverse it from 13 to 1 ?

.......and Kens trying to sell more season tickets to newbies who could well read this! Wow! You couldnt make it up ! Pure magic!

Still believe it all started losing continuity with the shuffling (and its too late now) If changes HAVE to be made - just change those positions that have to be changed - not a wholesale Littlewoods permutation
Nobody seems to know their role in life anymore at times !
Eorls a very lucky guy!!

All it's saying is that this selection of SS fans saw some potential in him that led them to believe that in the long term playing 6 possibly would be his best position.Whether he would ever have been capable of replacing Sutton in that position who knows.

Your last couple of sentences only serve to reinforce my point that certain players have the potential to switch positions,even though they may be regarded as specialists in one.

yeah but again why simpson at 6, have you seen anything in him to say WE should play him there? i saw him play hooker for the u20's and i saw nothing that convinced me that he was the dominant ball player and decision maker we need, i know one game doesnt tell you everything but against weak opposition he did not stand out as anything special, play him at centre and see how he goes if he doesnt work out lets not waste our time trying to make him into something he is very far from being, in training they are not playing him in any ball handling positions so any switch is not on the cards

Tell you where he would fit in.

Seat 22, first flight back to Sydney.

he's only in super league because nobody wanted him in the nrl