I think the squad is reasonably good..lets be honest we can't afford all star players. This team is all about developing, much like Leeds did for a few years whilst St Helens and Bradford ran the league. We have a squad of youngsters with the aim of developing them into future class players...but it is risky. I for one am glad relegation was binned...means we have the time to progress with them, take the inevitable hammerings the next season or possibly one after will bring...before challenging properly for the play offs in 2 years time I believe.

The problem is that on paper our first choice 17 players aren't bad...and we could compete - I honestly think we can - the issue is that we are going to lose about 6/7 of them for lumps of the season through injury...and that is when we always get found out.

If we go into the coming season with low expectations, then all we can be is pleasantly surprised (or get what we already expected!!). I just wish BM would come out and say how it really is and stop trying to make us sound great right now and tell us supporters how it is - we're trying to build a champion squad over the coming years!

Agree with all of this. His defence his very poor.

Clubb has shown he can play centre capably, it's true there are flaws to his game, but part of that is from being shifted around. Let's give him a proper a run at centre and see what happens.

As for Paul Johnson, your eyes must be very tired, he was a very capable 2nd-row or centre in his prime, but he's been mediocre for a while now, bringing in a player on the slide at the fag end of his career isn't really going to help us out.

I remember when we tried this approach: Richard Villasanti…


I think we can make a case to have more than two or three though, which is basically what we have.

I hear Chris Walker's available

Listy - that I agree is the potential downside of the equation but I suspect with our finances we don't have a lot of options. I don't want us to finish bottom etc as you have said but needs must and all that. As others have said 1 - 17 we are not bad and should make the 8 with what we have in there but we won't have them all the time.

If its all about finances then fair enough, otherwise it is madness and delusion. Absolutely no chance of us making the 8.

We are going to struggle to make meters next year with our small pack. I seriously recommend picking up Joel Clinton if he is available. If we don't I see us finishing any higher than 11th.

Think we made a loss of over 1million last year.

You got confirmation of this?

Ban.

Absolutely no chance of us making the 8.

.....prepared for a small wager Listy? I think you will!

Its the same lot that went 10-5 with improvements to the fringes of the squad and a fair number of our team are young and now have a couple of seasons under their belt so should be able to step up. I would rather these young players were of the caliber of say Eastmond/Tomkins but as a we've only really had three years at trying to develop our own so maybe that's expecting too much.

We are the second smallest club in the league and often punch well above our weight. I hope we can grab a few victories against the powerhouses and find consistency against the weaker sides (which given the effect of the cap means that most teams are pretty level)

I dont think wholesale changes every improve anything and imo think it ruins sport. We may have a developing reputation of giving brits chances other clubs wouldnt but sometimes it throws up real gems that come to embody the club, Purdham, Sykes.

Would I like to see a backline of Hayne, Falou, Inglis, Hodges etc, yes. am I realistic enough to know that a club that gets between 1 and 3 k attendences isnt going to attract them, of course. And the NRL mercs are either here for the payday, and best avoided, or for one last shot at winning things, out of our reach.

The club's best chance of getting anywhere is to develop local talent. This obviously takes time. I believe come the second round of francises we'll be challenging regularly for play-offs.

Think You are right. London has the athletes and the club has to find them Simples.

This might sound like madness but what about LMS in the centres- crackers tell me!

I agree with Plum regarding Clubby- having said that I hope he goes well.

Wasn't Gafa on a Maltese passport?

Gafa was on a Maltese passport, but he still counted as an overseas trained player. What McDermott is saying is we'd be able to bring in another overseas trained player (but they'd need to obtain an EU passport, or a passport from a country which has a trade agreement with the EU, such as Samoa or Malta).



We have had stronger squads for the last three seasons (McLindens, Hills, Pauls etc.) and have failed to make the top eight in any of them.

I don't want to sound like a broken record, but I fail to see how we will achieve this with our weakest squad since 2004.

I think I will be. I'll wait until a couple of weeks before the season starts though, I've got this nagging feeling we're going to be signing Billy Slater to bolster our second row.

gold









oh, and anyone who is actually, seriously suggesting we will make top eight - check yourself into the nearest head clinic

Heard a mention that Thackray might be heading your way.

Is he a centre

We need a good prop

Well lets forget Thackray then

Thats what i'm thinking.