yep i agree, crabtree doesnt need to be aggressive, he more than makes up for it in his performances

Is Larne Patrick moving on? (Without trawling through the thread)

Not to anyone's knowledge

He's gone to Wigan and Giants are getting Jack Hughes in exchange and Taylor on loan for 2015

Well that's a poor looking trade imo

Still means Larne can play for England now

He'd better be an outstanding player to replace Larne.

Scott Taylor won't let you down his go forward is excellent.

As for Jack Hughes he has some good attributes, bit of pace, decent hands can read play well, but does have a tendancy to have some pretty impressive brain farts which you will get to see.

I'm hugely disappointed. Also find the giants article an insult. They think we are stupid if they truly expect us to swallow that tripe.

Scott Taylor I could accept- but it looks like that's not the case.

Very, very strange.

What makes it more annoying Ivor is how the wool has been pulled over our eyes- larne wasn't leaving according to the club- is it any wonder fans won't commit when they arent told the full truth. Getting sick and tired of this now.
A lot haven't renewd their tickets before the early bird deadline this week- this isn't going to help the cause but the club are too stupid to do things the right way, they moan about lack of numbers then pull a stunt like this- strengthening a rival by shipping out a crowd favourite and getting in a player who constantly makes mistakes to make him into a better player---- then hand him back.
The word MUGS spring to mind.

Exactly, i renewed three season tickets on Friday last and i must admit i would/might have given it second thoughts if i had known this was coming. Lack of ambition again by the club to feather someones elses nest.

come on look at patricks stats last season, compared to taai and ferres in the same position he hardly had a good season.. i think we need to get behind jack hughes..may prove a better player for us next season as patrick looked like he had his mind elsewhere all last season!

As I intimated above, I don't know the ins and outs of why this happened.

I am a fan of Larne's, but I would just like to point out that in this season's HGSA Wagstaff Trophy vote [loose criteria being 'who would you least like to see leave the club', Larne received only one vote.

Yes, we are traning up a youngster for Wigan, but they are reciprocating. If all goes according to plan, we shall see a stronger LP playing for us in 2016 [his contract runs out at the end of that season.

As people on this board are often saying, 'in Baloo we trust'.

We shall see.

You honestly think Patrick will be back in 2016 Ivor?

Really?

Come on. He's gone.

If he's not back for 2016 then we shall receive a huge fee.

Huge fee?? knowing our club we will let him go for nothing

Agree with brearley above - let's stop kidding ourselves that Larne Patrick had a good season. He didn't and his stats bear that out. Anderson knows more about his work rate in training etc than us and I guess you've got to kind of go with that.

As for getting Jack Hughes for a year, not sure about that. He will add some depth in the back row/centre but don't understand the value in improving other clubs young players for them - aka Lee Mossop in his spell with us. (Although circumstances were different back then)

Interesting reading people's thoughts on Thewlis.

So, have we to ditch every player who has a bad season regardless of how many good ones he has? lots of players had bad seasons last year, it doesn't mean they are bad players and we should be getting rid of them !!

As for the Hughes part of the deal, as decent a player he seems to be what benefit will we get out of improving him and giving him match experience once he goes back to Wigan ?

Baloo isn't exempt from judgement either. He failed to raise them for the biggest games of the season. He didn't improve them as the year went on and we were as dumb as we always were as the season progressed.

I'm not going to just trust in Baloo.

Which part of Patrick's stats are poor. 95% tackle completion rate and 7.65 metres per carry.
Hughes has similar defence stats but is only making 6.85 metres per carry so is not given the same level of attacking threat as Larne.

Well, all in it hasn't been a great day to be a Fartown fan IMO!

Despite the loss of Larne we are still a top squad and well capable of 4th at least next season. What we need, which we still haven't rectified and isn't easily sorted, is a proper inspirational leader type player.
Hopefully Huby will give us something different in the pack and will teach Mullally some stuff so that he can push on as well.

Leroy has to do better next year and if Joe maintains his levels then we have a couple of cracking centres. Smurf at FB and we look safe as houses at the back. Grix to fill in there depending on opposition etc. We have options.

We are still strong but we need to play smarter and tougher this year. Over to you Anderson. Over, or out. It's now or never.

I suggest you contact the club over this. I have been in touch and was told something which I don't know whether it was in confidence or not so I won't repeat it. [And no, it isn't "I know something you don't". Ask the club yourselves.



The early bird discount doesn't end until the end of November. Numbers are up on last year at this point.

I would suggest that the club haven't pulled a stunt.

No they just need a decent media manager

So just misinformation again then- and there's the issue! as when I asked at the ticket office the response wasn't particularly positive Re numbers!
And it's no good telling YOU something then expecting everyone to personally "contact the club" for the same information-as has been said before-we shouldnt have to! Until the club start to recognise this nothing will improve and numbers won't increase significantly. if you have been told something and it wasn't explicitly said it was in confidence then please tell us- as chairman of the supporters club isn't that the point! Rather than several hundred people all request information! We keep being told to go via the supporters association- but it's all one way traffic!!!
It was said at the meeting last week larne wasn't going- a week later he is- is it any surprise that folk are a little miffed!!! Then -as chairman of supporters association- you come out with, well I was told something but I can't say.... Any wonder people have no confidence - it all reeks of an us and them mentality with thewlis leading the charge.