Having heard the injury news today, our current position has definitely taken a turn for the worst.
Our injury situation was bad as it was but now with Manfredi gone for the season, Greenwood missing this week and most likely next and no Sammut for 4 weeks, it’s even worse.
If we have to go into the next two games (Wakefield & Saints) without Manfredi, Sammut, Flower, Greenwood, Clubb, Powell and Farrell, I’d say we’re looking down the barrel of two more defeats. Then it’s Salford and Cas so we desperately need some reinforcements or we could end up played 13, won 3. I’ve remained calm so far but now I’m getting a bit nervy!

Edited for accuracy, I forgot Lockers!!

We need to sign a couple of players, that is the answer.

Maxed out on the cap, not going to happen.

Something like this for wakey I imagine

Hardaker
Davies
Sarginson
Gildart
Burgess
Williams
Shorrocks
Bullock
Tommy
Navarette
Paisley
Isa
Lockers/Partington

Smithies
Bryne
Flower (maybe)
Powell

Don't forget the loss of Hamlin. He's still on the books and until the process is completed will hold cap space, assuming a negative outcome.

Potentially we could be missing a full pack. Clubb, Powell, Flower, Farrell, Greenwood and O'Loughlin. No team can be without that many of their 1st choice pack.

We're in trouble - no doubt about it. I feel for them as they've done very weIl to make significant improvments very quickly, only to get kicked in the gut with yet more injuries.

I guess we can only hope London keep losing but they have home games against Catalans and Salford coming up. Leeds won't stay bottom.

When Greenwood went off at Cas it meant that our 8-13 were all missing. We all know what followed.

We’ll be ok and in the long run the games Byrne, Partington, Smithies etc are gettting will stand us in good stead. The season will more then likely not bring any silverware but if we can use it to develop some more players and bed in a new style of play, that Lam may then continue if he signs a new deal, then we will have gained plenty from the year.

In the short term I really do think the club should be looking to sign an experienced forward, even if it’s just on loan. It’s great that these young kids are holding their own but you don’t want to run them in to the ground. I know he’s a lunatic but I wonder if they could potentially borrow Jamie Acton from Swinton for a month. He is a very decent player when he controls his aggression and it may not hurt us to have a niggly player like that to throw opposition teams off their game at a time when we’re severely depleated.

Probably no silverware this season but if we can get something like the first team pack on the pitch for the last 10 matches we'll be fine and the young forwards will have picked up valuable experience.

Hell, the coach might give Escare a game!

It’s a funny one with Escare.

He’s a fullback who can cover wing. He’s not as good as Hardaker so rightly doesn’t get picked at FB. He’s not as good on the wing as Burgess or Manfredi so right doesn’t get picked.

Manfredi not out for the season so it’s a toss up between Davies, Marshall and Escare. I’d pick Davies.

Escare has been used at scrum half but he’s a bit like a headless chicken so I prefer Shorrocks.

He can fill in at 9 but TL has been good and now Powell is back.

I’m not sure where he’d fit in other than cover and rotation over Easter.

agree fully

I'd have both Marshall and Davies before Escare on the wing. I can't seeing him getting a game unless we have more injuries ( pray not)

With you there NK... Perhaps something akin to the signing of 'veteran' Peter Smethurst in 1972-73 season? His experience and leadership certainly saved us from the drop that year.

Adam Tangata could do a decent job till the end of the season. He would add a bit of firepower up front.

When Lam took over I am sure that he said that he wanted a couple of extra bodies. Sammut would have been one, but the suggestion was that there was money to bring someone else in. Most posters reckon that we must be somewhere near to the cap but hopefully there will be enough wriggle room for us to plug the hole. I just hope that we do not end up with the Bothams, McAvoys or McDonalds of this world on loan like we have in the past or even worse being forced to give longer contracts to journeymen who will be a drain on us next season. Perhaps it is better to flirt with relegation and be able to rebuild for next season or the one after that if things go wrong.

Escare just isn’t very good. Terrible under the high ball, terrible one on one defence (grand final aside). Doesn’t link into the line well. No real passing game. Undersized gets dominated in the tackle. No long range speed ( got caught several times last year).

He is what he is, a decent back up full back.

Fans obsession with getting him in the team is bizarre

Correct.

To be fair Botham was alright for his couple of games as was McAvoy.

still shudder at them signings, then think about Macdonald, Withers and Millard and it depresses me

Of course it is not as though our fellow strugglers can go out and find a quality NRL standard prop either, oh wait

.

true

MacDonald was no good, neither was Wilkes or Withers, Jordan James tried hard but lacked quality and Millard weren’t too bad.

And yet Jordan James scored more tries in 23 games than Stuart Fielden did in 139 games, He offered better value for money than Fielden ever did