He played loose forward

Welcome to Trin Jai having been over this season or part of it Leigh I would anticipate that the initial bedding in of moving around the world will be complete. I really hope he goes well in addition I believe we will see Mason step it up after a season in the UK under his belt roll on next season

So just Hampshire holding out but otherwise that’s probably it.

I don’t think Whitbread will be overly pricy so maybe some cash in reserve for whoever might become available.

Over all I’m happy with that.

Truth is that for now we just need to be a competitive mid table team. Stay clear of relegation, beat Leeds and Cas at home and perhaps a CCup run as a nice add on.

The real battle other than we must stay in SL is the stadium. Without the upgrades we are simply unsustainable as a top flight club and no amount of signings will change that.

I really hope we do great on the pitch and even win something and the potential is there but the two key dates for me in the next 12 month are in two weeks time, planning permission and the new year, first spade in the ground. Without that any on field success is just a last hurrah.

Has the club officially announced him signing, I haven’t yet seen any club announcement, only the one on Yorkshire Live.

Me neither but I tend to believe it as it's not very sensational and if untrue not a biggy. He's a punt but nowhere near as big as Sid.

I have watched a few games when he played for Gold Coast. He is definitely not a prop and tends to be more a loose forward. He can certainly tackle but hopefully because it was the NRL does not have a ball handling game.

Funny ''ve just been watching and I'd say he's the opposite. On this one, it's purely opinions so not our normal issue but looks every inch a prop to me.

We were all lamenting on the loss of Westerman to Cas after the terrific season he had for us . This lad looks like he can make the position fit wherever he’s put , so if confirmed it’s a cracking addition to the team, great pair of hand and a good tackler , what’s not to like . But as vasty rightly says we desperately need to see some movement on the planning/ building front ASAP , hopefully along with a competitive team and a start date for stadium works we can all look forwards to a brighter future at the club

Looks like a prop to me (No 8 and taking the first hit up etc) who has a pass and offload in him. Also an aggressive defender.

Exactly how I saw him. I suppose he's a fabled middle if you want to split hairs but at 6'1'' and 17 stone he's built like a prop.

I also noticed his tackling on his highlights, I know they are fairly unreliable but there were some genuinely good hits, way more than some of our more recent imports.

He`s contracted to Leigh for next season, you would imagine we would be paying a fee unless he has a release clause? Seems strange for them to bring him over to play 4 games, knowing they would be relegated anyway if they hadn`t planned to have him there next year?

He will have a release clause and they would be glad to get shut anyway, a bit over spec for the Championship IMHO. That doesn't mean I'm certain he's joining us but if he does I doubt it will cost, but again who knows.

I thought contracts were for Super League anyway unless stipulated. So relegation usually means you can look elsewhere and get a new contract.

I think that is correct, a bells ringing saying there may be some compensation for under 21's but for the senior players and overseas you are effectively redundant if your team is relegated and thus a free agent. This is as much to protect the clubs as the players.

When we (Leigh) signed Jai Whitbread & Sam Stone from the Gold Coast Titans the press release stated that Stone was signed up till the end of the 2022 season, but there was no mention of how long Whitbread had signed up for. Neither player stood out for us in the short time they've been here, but either might look like a better player in a decent team. To be fair I don't know why we bothered, unless the club will get a fee if either of them depart.

We do seem to have the greatest number of utility players in super league - whitbread prop second row or loose ? Tanginoa prop or sr, Kaye wing or 9, crowther second row or loose ? Pitt’s prop or. Sr , arona prop or loose ? Abi second row or prop Gaskell any of backs if he signs Hampshire same , personally think to use our one remaining quota sport for a development player seems a bit odd ,

Why is he a development players! Why is he a utility player, he’s clearly a prop who has dabbled.

I agree about the utility but we’ve always done that but to call Pitts a prop is pushing it, absolute emergencies only. Kay was a fluke discovery. The rest I agree.

The fact is SL is not an attractive option for NRL players anymore and the few with any known quality are snapped up by clubs with deeper pockets than ours. Truth is there is very little out there in our price range and fans need to accept that.

This lad looks like one of the best of the rest and is available and most importantly as someone else noted is already here and acclimatised. He should be a useful addition, he may be a Korky, he may not.

It’s worse noting that Korkidas when he arrived with us had just been voted by Roosters fans as the worst rookie ever. You just don’t know with these players.

I'll be honest I don't know anything about him, but he sounds like the type of overseas player we usually get good service from.

Thinking along the lines of Slattery, MacGillivray, Henderson, Arona even Poching himself.

Pretty sure Pitt’s played 3 years largely at prop for London , fair comment re development player comment - what I perhaps should have said a more established. Player.

Wasn’t really criticising the club because with a smaller than most squad we need them

I think the point I’ve been trying to make and heaven knows I’ve been wrong in the past is that the day of the specialist forward is being eroded.

Even Saints don’t run with the six out and out props some on here want, total props like Walmesley are becoming quite rare.

I think it’s part cost, part the way the game is now played and part a lack of big men with big hearts.

I think most clubs are happy to have 2 or 3 out and out props and the rest as the so called middles which is where Pitts comes in. I suppose at London he was propping more often but much of that was Championship I believe?

In a way it’s a godsend for teams like us. Only two types of forwards. The bigger men up the middle the slightly smaller more agile down the channels. Middles and wides I suppose you call them.

A key change for us is ball handling, usually the job of the LF. We now have a number of forwards who can handle the ball and create. Arona, Pitts, Walker, Crowther and apparently Sid and Whitbread to name a few.

Will it work? It better! The theory is sound imho but if it’s not executed with commitment then we could be in bother.

Anyway that seems to be the route we’ve gone so no turning back now.

As for the Aussies then this lad is a punt like Sid all be it one with a bit more prestige attached, but the days of signing top players seems to have gone for most clubs.

Now watch us sign a superstar somehow

I genuinely think the game is changing hugely, especially with the game speeding up and rule changes ie 6 again etc. Before going to the NRL, Luke Thompson was head and shoulders above anything in SL at just over 16 stone and 6 foot. Paul Galen has a similar stature and would muller anything over here even in the later stages of his career. JakeTrbojevic playing prop in SOO when throughout his career shows that being a prop is a lot more then just lumbering up. Although Walmsley is the best and one of if not the biggest in SL, I think that’s also testament to him being in an excellent side like St’s who use him to great effect. That said, there are still some proper monsters in the NRL, who are ridiculously athletic ie big Nelson at the Storm.

There will always be a place for the huge forwards but they will have to have more than just size.

We've just let go of a player who is the epitome of why the 'big' men are going out of fashion. Chris Green is a huge man and he can play when he wants to, but that as shown was pretty rare. There are far too many like him and I think WP and other more enlightened coaches are sick of them, I would be. A smaller more versatile player who is 100% all the time is worth ten Greens IMHO.

I'm hoping the physical arms race is dying down and coaches look for players who can play and are committed and don't depend on two stone of extra muscle to get picked.

Nothing better for me than a huge forward swotting players off on a barnstorming run , would hate to see the game turn into a one size fits all where all the players look like they’ve come off a production line Nothing better than a little half back running rings around the opposition ( rob burrows)

I agree, but size does matter in the pack. These days you need skills and fitness too, but if you have a big pack who can handle the stamina side of the game, you'll have the advantage.

People on here often talk about Belly or Richard Slater. Great players who gave their call and were vital to their respective teams.
But if the whole pack was made up of Richard Slaters, you'd lose every game.
It's all about balance.

There is no doubting that saints successful season is in no part to a great team running behind a big mobile go forward pack , and walmsley being a major part of that go forwards and if defenders were not totally committed they were left in his wake . In the forwards at least a good big un has the upper hand on a good little un everyday of the week in my book . It’s no coincidence that les cats trampled all before them with a big forwards pack and good half’s which other teams just couldn’t match for grunt