with the greatest respect Jools - its what the club values them at (in comparison with other clubs )- and how they perform in relation to that in your and other fans` eyes .We could sign/buy a rookie who for the package hes on is playing out of his skin - and he`d be player of the season at a lower tier club --but if not yet ready to slot in at superleague standard -- its all for the future
Great if you can afford that luxury - but the truth is the performance and results "here and now " !
Then again isnt this something thats been debated on here at least once before...........
and on the other topic ....are these freebie folk really gonna come back wanting more when you tell us your own youngster didnt want to wear his team shirt just a short while ago .......Just a thought!

They may come back wanting more if they enjoy the experience. The team need to perform. Kids want to watch a winning side not a losing one-the fact we haven’t won consistently for a long time is the reason our support hasn’t increased.
Mamo hasn’t been value for money. Even if he’d played most of the season I’m not convinced he’d be value for money. He’s a poor fullback- Just my opinion

We have half a team full of those who don't meet those criteria though, It's not just about their ability's on the field so much as there ability to actually get on to the field.

Where do the likes of Lawrence and Ferguson ect fit in the reckoning.

NO probswith that Jools, but its supposition as hesnot had regular game time / dont figure he tried to get injured / so well never really know ! when he was fit and available then why didnt they try him on the wing Coaches have options and Jerry wasout ?
As for the other points you make thinkyouve answered the question yourself in your first sentence Cant think any of us have in all honesty been doing that eh?

lawrence and ferguson are both injury prone too, lawrence gets away with it though as hes homegrown and has the club at heart . ferguson when on the field is a quality player... but hes also injury prone...

one of the biggest disappointments this season has also been ollie roberts, may be hes hungover from the world cup still of may be he got his new deal and tapered off

Take all your points Brierley. Lawrence is a case in point, For the past 2/3 seasons he has brought nothing to the side other than tackling , He has no go forward and don't hink he will have passed the ball three times in that same period ( maybe the way he has been coached ) for some i know that is enough but for me if you are going to keep such one dimensional players you have to have others that excel in other area's, sadly we have so few of those.

Roberts is another, we all know what a prospect he was ( maybe still is ) He was another player who people wanted signing long term, He is mediocre now and that may hopefully be temporary, but i think it's stretching things to say he may not have got over the world cup, It's a bad sign if true.

Anyway we have what we have for now, and whoever does the hiring and firing will do what they do, It's a bit early to start judging Woolford , We all know we can play better than that but we have to wait and see. I'm hoping he has more of Brown in him than Anderson, but again to some it's all about winning things rather than the style, I would say the dwindling crowds are showing their preference, but to be fair considering the way we have been going we have done well to keep what we have, but if you going to virtually pay people to turn up it must be desperate.

the crowds thing isnt just a giants problem.

its rugby league in general, look at the attendance for leeds v leigh in the cup just over 3k and thats the champions playing!!

why arent leeds rhinos having nearly sell outs every week? their attendances have stayed same if not dropped, same for the rest too

Def not just the giants i agree, but that's no consolation. I think the fact is Rugby league is just slowly going down the pan, It takes some understanding why such a great sport is so poorly supported country wide.
A popular explanation for this is the very poor way the sport is governed and run, i agree about that but there has to be more as well, there is for example little interest in the challenge cup now compared to what there used to be, Its now all about Sky, the problem with that is if Sky pull out it's goodnight one and all.
The whole sport has a poor image , from shambolic grounds to shambolic ref's to unsporting antics on the field.

linking up with matchroom may help sell the challenge cup and magic weekend better, they are in talks

latest?

4 injured
1 banned

lawrence off the list

roberts on it!

Is Roberts injured?

Or is it a straight swap?

not sure.. someone said illness but wouldnt be surprised by a straight swap or an injury both reasonable to expect

Thanks for clearing that up.

clough on the list

first game hes missed since a signed i think that!

We will have a fully fit squad in three weeks!
Clough and Fergi will miss this week (they could both play this week but they’ve missed some training and no need to risk them) taai will be back for FC game and Mamo the week after!
Praise be to Bumper!!!!

Shannon Wakeman operation today on knee, that’s him done with club, been paid out and will go on holiday when knees better

oh dear

well have to say he was a failed project overall for us

Oops yes- forgot all about Wakeman!

What did he do to it? Was that 2 games he played this year? He played pretty well and scored a decent try to be fair to him

A problem he had when he came over, been playing through it, no Medicals in rugby so you don’t know someone’s injury until they are your player, ditto symonds, Gaskell Et al

There are medicals in rugby.
But medicals aren’t premonitions.

Of course you know better

Wakeman came with his injury
Symonds came with his injury
Gaskell came with an injury
Mamo came with a history of injuries

Name me a rugby player who doesn’t have an injury history!

Brough has a dodgy ankle- but plays on. Robbo dodgy hips- played on for a long time.....
LOD had been an ever present at his previous club prior to joining us- we couldn’t get him out on the field.