Clubs need to be coaching in schools. Unfortunately, PE teachers and rugby are scarce on the ground.

Unless we get more juniors in the game we are never going to compete with the Aussies. Penrith has more juniors than the whole of the teams in our country.

Bit left field but who remembers Gabe Hamlin? Was a solid forward for us and currently only 27. Did he get banned for awhile for drugs?

2 year ban if i remember correctly. was decent enough but not exactly a 'big' forward

Agreed, academies etc don't get more juniors in the game though.

Yep. Claimed if was traces of coke from kissing a girl in a nightclub who had taken it

Thought he did well for us. Pity how it ended!

Haha blast from the past. Looked ok in the games I saw him play. May be a false memory but I'm sure he was frustrated with the way Wane wanted him to play. He had good leg drive on contact but Wane told him he wanted him to hit the deck quickly and play the ball. The coke on the lips was comedy gold. Think he played lower level back in Aus when his ban ended. Amazed he is only 27 though

Zac Fulton was rumoured on here a while ago, turned down a deal to remain at Bradford in favour or a return to Australia.

I guess with the retention of Isa and the Hirst “project” signing it was never a deal that was going to happen for Wigan.

Sangare to Salford.

Some Leeds fans thinking Byrne to Leeds.
I posted that I don`t think too many Wigan fans would be unhappy if that happened.
What`s your thoughts?

Disagree I think he would be a big loss, still young had a wobble but if he can get consistency he will be right up there with the top props in SL.

I think most would be unhappy but on the basis that you lose the best version of Liam Byrne. When he's at his best, he's a terrific player but it's been a bit too few and far between the spells of him being at his best. He's still relatively young for a prop however and as Jonh mentions below, if he can find consistency, he can kick on and become a very good player. I'd be sad to see him leave without a doubt and I think Leeds would be getting a good player.

I disagree.

Even on his best day he isn't close to that.

He is good squad player but you wonder about his long term future with the likes of Eseh and Hill.

I think if we can keep him hes an extra (big) body to be able to call on but he is too erratic in his performances and is taking the place of Hill who, imo, has shown more than Byrne has

Can people please point to where Byrne has put a run of 3 or 4 games together where he’s been dominant in any area? You can do that for Thompson, Havard and even Mago this year but Byrne, I just can’t think of anything other than one shot on Navarette last year. He’s a very average prop with no major ceiling above where he is now. At least with someone like Hill there’s a chance he could break out given the chance.

We have already lost one prop, no need to weaken ourselves further. Last season is proof that a big squad with plenty of prop options is the way to go.

The coach clearly feels Byrne is the prop he can trust most in our biggest games after Havard and Thompson. He was straight on when Thompson had to move in to the second row in the GF, he started in the World Club Challenge ahead of Dupree, Mago and Hill and he still got a place on the bench in the Cup final, even though I would say his form wasn't the best around that time.

That's good enough for me to want him in our squad and to think that he must be a pretty good player. He needs to find consistency and to improve and I think he will because he's just turned 25 and that is still pretty young for a prop forward.

i posted on the Leeds forum a couple of week ago about Byrne, and that you'd get a mixed response
i personally think he would go well, as he'd currently be starting prop with Oledski, and the main reason you are looking for props is that your current crop arent good enough (taken from Leeds forum) with the exception of Oledski who is being asked to carry the full pack week in week out

one thing that is noticeable with Byrne is that he is better when he starts than coming on mid game, but that hasnt just been him this past season. I think Thompson and Havard are both capable of 80 minutes and at intensity, so he's struggled to get up to pace and make an impact in some games, but that has also been labelled at Mago and Dupree too this season. The main thing to take away though is that when it mattered at the business end of the season, all 3 mentioned had an impact when they came on

Byrne is alright, a very steady prop. He'll rarely miss tackles and hits quite hard - a couple of times has gotten that wrong, although I noticed he went 16 consecutive games without giving a penalty away (since 14th June against Cas) - Havard also has a similar record. With the ball he's your average prop - not 1 offload, break or try in the whole of this year.

Byrne can play long minutes and is probably a player who needs longer spells to get some momentum going. If he is still with us in 2025, I hope we go away from having 3 props and a hooker on the bench and instead go with 2, as well as a second rower and then a hooker. The end of season set up meant minutes were so limited for the bench props and I don't think it helps them and we then lack cover for other positions. We didn't do too badly on it mind

I'll say it again: the size of the 17 squad should be increased, by at least one, so teams can have a utility back on the bench

I disagree.

Clubs can already choose to put a utility back on the bench, they choose not to because it isn't value add.

They choose not to (mostly) not because it has no value, but because it's judged that the drawback of fewer props on the bench outweighs the advantages.

I wouldn't mind some sort of developmental spot on the bench, like a rule where an 18th man needs to have played less than x amount of games (20/30 etc) which could then be used to carry somebody like Farrimond, Kerr etc and get them opportunities when you get an injury or a game is safe/over.