Yeah, and that replacement became available and we couldn’t get the deal done but I know what your saying, certainly no guarantee a top half will be available in 12 months time.

Don’t think Leeds fans would mind you signing Gale. Just doesn’t play enough games since his Achilles went....
I wouldn’t even mind us signing Tommy L for a season. We need a hooker that can pass! You can have Dwyer too...

I’m not looking for an argument but the point still stands . Two great players playing on perhaps one more year than they should one in a good team and one in a struggling team.

Is Leuluai a great player though? I'd say he used to be a good player, now he's a below average player. Roby was world class, and is still a great player. Leuluai has been a great servant to the club but is not, and never has been, on a level with Roby. If we had Roby I would absolutely want another year out of him.

Have to agree with you if he’s staying on and he’s fit he will play non of this reduced games nonsense,which is worrying to say the least

I hear he's one one of our highest paid players.

Thats a very vague statement

One of?
One of how many?
One of the top 3, top 5, top 10, top 15?

And "You've heard"
Whoever told you, can you ask them to just give us the top 10 earners please and their yearly salary ?

Cheers

If TL is going round again it should be as a 9, no way is he a starting halfback these days

Our captain/starting halfback being one of our highest paid players? Surely not.

Get Rocky back out of contract and cheap.

I'd be in favour of that to be honest, but whether he would come is another question.

does anyone think we are going to see a 'left-field' 'meh' kind of signing like the Sammut one of a few years ago?

along the lines of...
Rocky?
Gigot?
Rangi?

I, personally hope we go for an young Aussie, struggling for game time, with something to prove.....

The alternative of, no signing and Tommy round again, with the utility options of Field and French, doesn't exactly light my fire.
Still need +1 and a recognised one at that.

Everybody has gazumped us in recruitment. Huddersfield have just announced Danny Levi. Thats a great coup. Even Salford look like they have signed a good cheap half back, Brodie Croft. We give Leauluai a new deal

Thing is with those signings is they'll be 2 or 3 year deals. We perhaps want a quality replacement for Hastings there and can't currently get one. With that in mind Tommy as a stop gap is perhaps our only option.

Or maybe we're just looking for cover in the halves and going with a Field Smith combo. In which case Tommy as cover isn't a bad option.

Admittedly this should have been sorted ages ago though. we knew Hastings was leaving at the end of this season 12 months ago.

How long were we talking to George though and expecting him to be the replacement?

And looks like Hull are signing Peats. I like Powell but I feel he needs to be surrounded by good players, when it comes to creativity he must be towards the bottom in Superleague hookers and with our likely half back pairing next season I think we need that extra spark.

I get your point and I do agree - I’d be shocked if Levi or Croft are either with those teams or even in SL in 3yrs and perhaps that’s the motivation behind not moving for a young, out of favour but talented NRL half. Personally I’d go for a half such as Jake Trueman. Transfer fee or not. He’s a longevity signing IMO and would, at most clubs he’d go to be honest, create a long lasting halfback legacy.

But it includes spending money, a lot of it. That’s why it’ll never happen, even if he was OOC. Why we haven’t sorted this the moment we knew Hastings was going back to the NRL, which was approximately the second the ink dried on his signing contract with us, we should have had a plan, a target(s). It just seems to me we’ve stumbled into it and offered Tommy a deal because we’ve ran out of ideas.

Tommy playing on looks to be official. Him and Kris Radlinski have spoken to the WEP saying he’s signed on for 12 more months, as it’s only right he goes out on his terms and not on an injury. I wonder if Rads thinks comments like that through sometimes. There is no room for sentiment in sport and even though I sit here thinking Tommy signing back on is because they’ve stuffed up the recruitment of a new halfback, that makes it sound like we’ve actually shelved the plans just to let Tommy play on. It all feels like the Tony Clubb deal again.

Incompetence, mismanagement and a lack of planning on an industrial scale spring to mind.

You can bet season ticket sales will sky rocket with this news…

If TL is playing at 9 next season then fine, if he's our main halfback then another long season beckons

I try to back the club wherever possible but that is poor.

Same.

No worries not making big signings, spending under the cap, cutting our cloth etc but you have to still be organised, put your irons in the fire well in advance and box clever. Tommy has been a fabulous servant but all good things come to an end and as a halfback, I think he should’ve called it quits at the end of 2020. I understand that they felt it was best he carried on this season due to Lockers retiring but it should’ve been more as a hooker, with occasional cover at seven and then with us looking to move him on to the coaching staff at the end of this year.

We really need to up our game on squad shaping and not letting personal feelings come in to decisions. We did it with Clubb and it feels like we’ve done it again here. I hope I’m wrong.

I see no pointers suggesting he will be 9 just more of dire fare he served up this season awaits

Yeah, I'm like a few of you, I think: Tommy as cover at 9, yes, I can live with that. As our starting 7 for most of the season, that would be terrible..