[quote="Another Cas Fan":9xtwey70]Again with respect , and that may be the case in a year or two , but I'm not sure many (other than Wakey fans) would consider him better than Niall at the moment. Yes , he's looked good this season , but there is a massive gulf in quality between SL and Championship rugby. Niall is proven at SL level and has been for some time now. I think Max has the ability to be a top class FB in time , he's just not there yet and needs regular SL experience to further improve and reach his full potential , something I am sure he will do in the future.[/quote:9xtwey70] One thing we never really struggled with in SL was full back. Max has always been fine at SL level. You’ll be very hard pressed to find any Trinty fan who see Max week in week out even consider a swap for Evalds or Brierly. That’s more to the point that Butcher was making. Other fans don’t see him week in and week out like we do. He’s already SL standard but to reach England level he just needs to tidy up a couple of areas. He’s not far away at all looking at the lack of English fullbacks in SL. There are certain parts to Jowitts game that would improve Evalds and vice versa at this time but hopefully Max can start to really shine this next few years and show the rest of SL what a lot of trinity fans believe he’s capable of.

its the first week in January... negotiations take time... whether to leave or stay in 2026... that takes time... however: - I see no speculation on possible suitors in the RL press - all the signings and retentions have been announced at a time that is strategically beneficial to the club - Currently MAX is an icon at the club... his performances in '25 with either enhance or break that status. - his most recent form has been as a standout player at championship level I kind of like that we don't have to be scared of players leaving or staying for money any more... if its right for both parties he will be a Trinity player in '26 and beyond... if it's not right for both parties then he won't.

Nothing to do with being a doom monger, just stating - discussing the current points, personally I am a big fan of max & I do hope we sign him on a 4 year deal in line with our team building. I also think that our full back line would be very potent with him. Up the trin.

Spook / Start, you are both correct. Plus for all we know, the deal may already be signed. What will be will be.

@Trojan Horse, @Pop Tart and @Butcher Will reply as one I think all of your comments are fair enough . I have no axe to grind and agree that he is a good player who can still improve . I also take note of your comments being different to other clubs who haven't seen him play week in and week out , and again you are absolutely right . With little or no coverage of the lower leagues , we weren't able to see his performances on a week by week basis . The one thing I feel that I have to mention is his outstanding effort to reach 500 season points and break the record . A fantastic achievement even at a lower level . The fact that he is even being mentioned as a possible England Full Back is testament to the progress he has already made, although at 27 it could be argued that it is difficult to measure at exactly what level he should be at now . I still have my own doubts about him being ahead of Evalds (in particular) and also Brierley , but that's just my opinion to be fair , we're not all going to agree . Perhaps I was being unkind to say that he hasn't yet reached SL standard , on the basis that you spent a season in the Championship and prior to that were at the lower end of the table during Max's earlier time in SL. I think we can all agree that it is going to be interesting to see how he goes this season and I wish him all the best (except for the 3 games against Cas of course.Hope he has a few off days against us haha)

Max was outstanding in 2024, has persevered when the likes of walker Hampshire et al were picked in front of him. However if he’s second in line as gb full back think it says more about the dearth of quality in British game. Championship player of the year is nice but both max and the other former championship player of year walmsley have a lot to prove at sl level. Realistically think we are the team most likely to give him a good deal, personally think talk of other clubs is just that - talk! Am sure he’ll be announced before long along with atoni