Well, you know what they say about opinions

I think 2012 will be like 2011 recruitment. We'll struggle to sign quality players because there will be better options available to them in sides with more chance of success who play a brand of rugby the player will likely want to be involved in. The only way we will pick up players others want is either by paying transfer fees or offering a fair bit more cash

Westerman would be a great signing, only 20, English and loads of potential.

Who cares how much money he costs, if we have it this is the type of signing we should be making.

Be good to play with a ball handling LF, which will improve our attacking play.

A starting pack of

Fitz
Hougton
O Meley
Tickle
Manu
Westerman

is as good as any starting pack in the league IMO.

There doesn't seem to be any decent halfbacks (or props) available so we might as we sign a player like Westerman,

We should still have money and a quota space if any players become available (like they often do) during the season.

Digby wrote:What are you basing "Green would walk into our side" on?

Genuine question. I follow the NRL as comprehensively as footage allows and I can't recall ever seeing him play. I'm not saying he wouldn't walk into the team, just wondering how you've seen enough of him to form that opinion.


He's bog standard, he'll do well in sl and will move to 7 when Dobson leaves.

But a top signing? Nope.

From the Westerman thread
Not a top signing I agree but most of Morgan's signings seem to be part of a logical plan that creates balance whereas we sign who is available and then try to fit them in. Judas was the exception of course but not down to him I think.

So you would like us to sling the ball about,play great rugby and play with 1000% passion and commitment but get beat week in week out....thats would win us nothing.....

I understand peoples' frustrations about signing a quality half back but looking at the bigger picture, we have Long, Fitz and Berro probably all moving on at the end of next season, that is a massive chunk of the salary cap freed up to nail a world class half back for 2012.

Player of the year in a team that finished 2nd bottom. He has talent but I'd be amazed if he were ever as good as raynor

I didn't say that 2012 recruitment was going to be easy, just that it offers our best opportunity in some time to really improve the squad. We still have to make the most of that opportunity and IMO what we do during that recruitment/retention phase will give a clear indication of how focused on success we really are.

For me the most critical factor next season is not which players we may still bring in but how we make use of the squad that we have. Agar needs to prove that he can step up to the next level or else he needs to go.

Given that Rule has banged on about how close we were to 4th, and that he would have been happy with that, though, I get the impression that unless we fail to make the 8, Agar will be retained, which will mean he's in charge of the crucial 2012 recruitment. Compare with Wigan. Noble saved Wigan from relegation and took them consistently to play-off wins, but Wigan (some might say ruthlessly) got rid, recognising as far as Noble had taken them they needed a change to actually win something. By contrast, at the end of next season Agar will have had three and a half years in charge and if we make the 8 IMO is likely to be retained, regardless of whether or not we win a single play-off game in all that time.

Exactly and that's what splits most opinions on here. Some are happy with that , I'm not. I want us to be ruthless and to be a genuine challenger for trophies not a pretender.

Westerman would be a cracking signing, would allow us to use Fitzgibbon or Lauaki in the front row.

Westerman is a better player than Whiting and alot better than Washbrook.

Pack would look something like this for me :

Fitzgibbon
Houghton
O'Meley
Tickle
Manu
Westerman

Whiting
Lauaki
Radford
Moa

I would be pleased with the signing of Westerman , But it goes against the grain of Agars previous selections at 13. Maybe he's seen the light.

No he'd just play him at 6 or 9

even agar isn't daft enough to sign westerman and play him anywhere but 13. for me that would be addressing an issue with our gameplay which the is the lack of options in attack. hopefully we can play a more exciting brand of rugby

i've always preferred our game when washbrook is playing 13 so westerman wouldn't be any different if not better. If we sign him that is....

Some Cas fans say we have paid £175K for Westerman?

nobody on the forum will know for sure so speculation if rife. i'm not really too fussed how much we're paying for him because i think he would be a good signing long-term

Bookmarked.

IMO we'll struggle to make the 8 next season unless Agar manages a significant improvement in our play. The squad is unlikely to be significantly strengthened which will mean getting better performances out of the players that we have available. For me that's the test of a good coach so we'll get to see if Agar has what it takes or not.

I also happen to think that regardless of public pronouncements or popular opinion on here, getting to finals is important to the BOD - if only because it's another income stream and a significant boost to sponsorship and merchandising sales. If Agar looks like he's incapable of delivering finals then IMO he'll get the bullet.

What other teams are better than us...take away the top 4 and anything is up for grabs imo.....il wait until the "signings" are made and hope to god our half backs stay fit and we do have a back up 1....maybe then il make a prediction.

I agree, but I guess timing is everything, and these days there seems to be less movement of coaches mid season and more planned moves at season ends, announced mid season. Going by previous years' marquee signing announcements, we're probably well on with replacements for Fitz, maybe Berro and Lauaki, so this is likely to be Agar's work. If we make a reasonable start to the season, and let's not forget 6th was our lowest position this year, and we were 4th for much of it, I just wonder what the thought process by the BOD will be. I suspect the same as this, ie we're doing OK, top 4, in with a shout in the play-offs, maybe still in the cup. If we then fail to win a play-off match again, we're at a disadvantage IMO if we [uthen[/u decide to get rid after 4 seasons of not winning a play-off, compared to say Huddersfield who know Brown is going and will be on the front foot, if they're not already in advanced talks with coaches right now.

Am i not allowed to change my opinion?

When i was positive i genuinly believed we had the squad and the set up to go places. 3 years later i've changed my mind based on what that squad and set up have served up.

We'd win a lot more than we'd lose playing decent rugby. Thats my point really.

Would we?

Nothing is guaranteed

If you look back at the sides that have won the competition over the last 10-15 years none of them played boring rugby and ground out titles did they?

Does that mean Agar will be gone before 2012?!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Until this imposter has been removed, or made to take a back seat, then I do not expect any 'big years' for the FC.

With our current team i would be surprised if we didn't make the 8, I could see only Bradford overtaking us from the teams that finished below us after the play offs.

I still think we make a couple of signing hopefully Westerman and a quota halfback/FB.