He'd be actually i reverse if he slowed down any more

However, replacing him means we need a goal kicker of his quality, a tactical kicker of at least his quality and a team general of his quality.
Not just a scrum half with some skills, whether they are faster than Finn or not.

One day wakey will be linked to quality players and actually sign one rather than jyst stupid rummers all the time

Finns been decent this season and a key part of our run. Calling him a "Passenger" on the back of 2 defeats is a bit poor taste imo.

That said, with his age and whatnot, we should be looking to replace him. Kelly wouldnt have been the right fit though for me. Him and Miller would be too much of a liability in defence.

Wonder if Jamie Soward fancies another crack at SL?

Doesn't strike me as our kind of signing to be honest

What is our kind of signing.

If we want to progress further than we need to address the signings we have made. At the moment we have a number 7 who is of championship standard and last week it showed.

If we want to be regular top 8 material and even challenge the top 4 we need to look at bringing in players of a higher calibre.

I would have been happy with Soward but just think he may just be too old now. I think when next season comes round he will be something like 32. Having said that look at Kurt Gidley and he is about the same age. We may be better off with his half back partner Wallace who is a bit younger and can play 9

A few years ago it was said that Soward was the quickest no 6 in NRL.

Could be worth a punt on either if these two.

If Soward does come to SL, he'll go to a bigger club.

And I agree that it's in poor taste to label Finn a passenger - slow or not, he's been a key part of the upturn in our fortunes this season. That said, we do need a successor - and I'd like it to be someone younger, who we can build around. Is Hampshire sick of being messed around at Wigan yet?

Hard working forward i.e. when it suits him

Ideally yes. We do need a younger half to take over the reins.

However Miller is only 23 himself and still very young. A young raw half back alongside him could increase presure on him affecting his game.

Really for me I think someone about 26 or 27 who knows their game with a few years left in the tank would be ideal.

If we went down the route like a Wallace or Soward why not bring in a young English one who can learn from them.

I dont recall too many halves coming available in Super League at the end of the year.

Why is it that, when we lose a game it's because Finn is old and slow but, when we were winning every week (almost), he was a decent player ?

We've certainly had a lot worse down here over the last number of years and the bloke has won plenty of games for us this season.
His kicking alone, helped us beat Catalan and he held his nerve better than Pat Richards on that day.

I've no argument about looking to the future but, the last 2 defeats lay firmly at the feet of our pack (plus the sin binning's at Salford).
If the forwards don't win the battle in the middle of the field and our ball control doesn't allow us 50% possession, we wont win.
It really is that simple.

Scrutton, if he's going to KR can be replaced but, he's been very good and one of our most consistent forwards this season and his boots are going to be hard to fill.


Talk of a mystery 26/27 year old English half are basically fantasy, there isn't anyone out there that either fits this mould or, is available to come to Trinity.

This. As CC has said we need more size and grunt in the middle which if we are successful Fafita will hopefully provide with his 6 foot 4 tall 19 stone frame. Signing up Keegan Hirst for next season would also bolster the pack. Every forward signed needs to compete and contribute during a season and some of this current squad aren't.

I wasn't really singling out Finn as a scapegoat for last week. Think there could have been several from last week TBH. I was just comparing the two number 7's. Overall he has gone OK for us and yes, his goalkicking has won us several games, and his tackling can not go unnoticed. There has been a couple of games though, especially early on, when he looked a bit out of his depth.

Somebody on here earlier this year said that Daryl Powell had a knack of bringing some players to Cas short term, to do a job, but then knew when to offload when the time was right, in order for the club to progress. Think this is a prime example, and maybe we need to follow the same route. Hate to say it for us to follow the lead of Cas, but I think we are now where they were at about 2 years ago.

If you look at every super league club, I think they all have three or more half backs in their squad, and we have two. We do need a third one, but whoever it may be has to be good enough to play at this level, and I aren't sure as to whether just bringing someone out of the championship is the right answer.

Imagine with Finn and Miller hadn't worked at all together, and they had been poor all season. With two, we would have no choice but just to continue, like we did with Tim Smith. With a third, you have the alternative option. Competition, in all aspects of life is healthy.

A couple of weeks ago, I checked on the Zero Tackle website, to see which SL half backs were off contract, and the ones that are, that I'm not too sure have since been tied down are Thomas Bosc, Jamie Ellis,Kyle Wood, Dec Patten and Luke Walsh. As I say this was a couple of weeks ago, and since then some of these could have signed new deals.

Where has this myth come from that Finn can tackle? His defence is awful. 9th highest missed tackles in the entire league. Guess who tops the missed tackles count? Miller.

Finn tends to make contact and then lets go. Watch at the next game. I don't think Finn is a bad player. He's okay. Some questions to consider?

- Has he got a running game?
- Has he got a decent attacking kicking game?
- Has he got a good passing game?

The answer for me for the above is not really to all three points.

We need a better halfback because we rely too much on Miller. Miller has been off the boil the last 2 games and it really shows because otherwise we don't look capable of scoring tries.

Miller redeems himself with ball in hand which makes him worth his spot. He has 5 tries, 13 try assists, 1168 metres and 45 tackle busts. Compared with Finn who has 1 try, 11 try assists, 448 metres and 11 tackle busts.

Regarding Finn's tackling.

If you look at the Super League Stats page, and filter by team, Finn is also the 4th highest tackler, only behind Ashurst, Scruton and Anthony Tupou, with 390.

We didn't recruit Finn for his tackling, and other teams will target him, which is why his good and bad stats are so high.
He isn't a weak link for us.

I would obviously like a younger faster version of him, but right now, his pros far out weigh his cons.

They absolutely do - and most SH's will be targeted in defence; you see it week in week out in every SL game - it's a basic strategy to have the big bloke run at the little bloke. In this regard, stats are often a false flag - I'm no coach, but in these circumstances, the HB's role will be to make first contact and hang on until the players around him arrive to affect the tackle, which can create the impression that he's 'dropping off' the tackle.

Finn has been a crucial wheel in our much improved machine, and I'd concur that the last two games have seen him and Miller appear much less effective - because the forwards haven't done their bit.

Of course he has no running game, no one ever claimed he did.

He's got a very reasonable kicking game, don't know who you are watching.

Are can't believe you are seriously questioning his passing game.

The only myth on display is your bogus statistics.

For a start you need to compare attempted tackle made not just tackles missed for that stat to have any meaning at all.

As others point out he's a targeted player as are all H/B, you can't expect them to take down every 17 stone forward.

Finn is an organiser and that's why we signed him. His whole game depends on others doing what they are supposed to do - when they don't he looks like a bell end. Same problem Smith had though he never tackled as well as Finn.

Maybe you should just be grateful that a player at the fag end of his career who has never been a superstar has joined us and given his all and has played a huge part in all our victories this season - just a thought.

Why should I be grateful that a player is giving his all!?

Is that the depth to which your standards have sunk?

Is Finn's defence efficient for you then? His kicking game is good enough? Or are you just arguing for the sake of it 'cos you seem to have a massive liking for Finn. It's very unusual for such an average halfback.

Finn is okay. We need better because at the moment there is far too much pressure on Miller. Other clubs know if you keep Miller quiet then all is fine because Finn isn't going to hurt you.

Pretty much sums you up - of course you should be grateful to anyone who gives 100% even if they are limited. I don't know what world you live in but in mine it's absolutely full of people who don't give a 100% or even a toss for that matter. So when I find the occasional Doctor, Nurse, Shop assistant or Mechanic that does comes along I'm generally grateful.Clearly you must be perfect as you seem to expect perfections from others.

Anyway back to rugby, as for Finn, I do like him and I think he's right for us right now. You see unlike you I'm a realist, I have some idea what level of players we can get and what the other players around them need. I also have a good idea as to what we can afford and how we can't afford a Thurstone. I'd have him any day over Finn but that's not ever going to happen is it. So you make the best of what you have and Miller and Finn are pretty good for what we offer players. You really need to become more realistic or support a big spending club like Leeds...oh wait.

I can't believe anyone is trying to blame last weeks defeat on our halves. The game was lost in the first 15 min by our back line failing to execute the simple catching of a ball, johnstone,s was forgivable as he was in a contest, but Tupou and Hall simply let the thing bounce all leading to try's.
Our halves have generally been pretty good this year and far far better than for the last couple of seasons. They work well as a partnership. Finn has been far quicker than Tim smith with a better kicking game and at least as good in defence. Also he will pass the ball to Miller, which Smith simply would not do for some reason.
Hopefully this week we can see the team return to a more familiar looking back line and start to move forwards and then another big improvement when Moore is back after that

I know lads who play eastmoor that would give 100% dont mean they are right for us.not knocking finn he is what he is his kicking game is not has goud as aome people seem to think hes defo too slow and he wont win us a game like some other 7s.cas got rid for a reason and the problem is we no one to rest him with and he has looked tired over last few weeks

He won't win us a game?


His goal kicking has won us a fair few games this season.

Still 2 defeats in a row and the dummy rattlers are out in force

I was a big fan of Smith when he was on song - his passing at the line was, sometimes, unplayable; but it was far too rare an occurrence.

I did make much of his inability to kick and I was right about that - he was also a shirker in defence and seemed to recoil from contact; Finn beats him in both those areas, and is far more consistent - slower and less skillful at the line without question, but way more rounded as a player.

He isn't Jonathon Thurston, but he's a solid, dependable HB who has done a great job for us; I'm sure we'll replace him, but I'm happy that he's earned his corn.

Wow. "Won't win us a game"
What game are you watching?

His goal kicking alone has been the key difference in quite a few games in the winning run and I remember some of his passes to the likes of Ashurst that completely split the defence being as good as anyone else in Super League.
He isn't perfect. But as Vasty says, he is perfect for us right now.

He'd be my captain to be honest

True I'd much rather a genius giving us 20%



Finn is not a match winner that's probably true. What you don't seem to grasp is that he fulfils a valuable roll within the team that allows others (mainly Miller) to do so. It works for us because we can't afford a superstar in every position, in fact we can barely afford a superstar in any position.

You will never see Finn perform like Albert Kelly did, he played an absolute blinder that night. But he doesn't play like that all the time, I doubt he'll get that much space in a SL game again this season. Injury or not he made no impact in last years CCup when HKR really needed it.

Now if you want Kelly over Finn I'll be more than happy to see that happen. All you need to do is pop down to BV and hand over 150k of your own money and while you are there explain to his new team mates why he's worth between two to four times more than what they are. Then take out an insurance policy so we are covered for his inevitable injury crises. Finally put a little bit aside so we can afford to pay that hundred per from Eastmoor to cover for him because he'll be all we can afford