Very quiet on here isn,t it everyone... Just thought I would throw this one in to see if anyone is interested.... Although it is probably too early to judge, and we will all have our own thoughts, my take on it, as it always has been, is that we need big forwards(which team does,nt), but we have been far too light for a long time which contributes to our league positions recently. It,s not the only thing, obviously, but I think we have the flair players, but not enough grunt. The old adage, the forwards win you the game, and the backs decide by how much still rings true.. So with that in mind, the ones I would keep would be: Crooks, Brierley , Dagger, Parcell, Peteru,....Unsure just yet, Ellis, Gee, Rooks, Huaraki(but Huaraki ..probably) Not keep..Murray, Trout... Really liked the way we through the ball around and the inventiveness, but the defence, as always is a big concern...Big if, but if we can land a couple of quality players I have real hope we could be really competitive, and start winning more than we lose....Which would make a pleasant change and boost the supporters.It,s time it happened.....Anyone bothered?

Peteru went ok for his first game. Murray form seems to have dipped but was good last year. Gee has the size but not seen much of him? Mulhern the senior prop now Mose and Garbutt wont be in the new seasons squad. Trout gives his best.Storton really could be very good and Lawler looks capable of anything? Very good young team in general but lacking size and most importantly aggression. The game now seems to be going away from monster packs with the new rules etc and Salfords on paper outmuscled pack tore apart a star studded FC team. Lannon set the tone in smashing Mau with a cheap shot which didn't get punished by ref or the opposition.Not saying we need to be dirty but for a long time been very nice as a team and get our bellies tickled far too often. I'd like to see our forwards batter other pack then do the expansive Tony Smith plan? I really believe with shrewd additions at prop and maybe a new half it could get us on the right path. Pride in defence and line speed needs instilling much more than recent years or we will be cellar dwellers yet again. We attack as well as most but without real steel in our defence and consistently top of missed tackles we can play attractive but ultimately lose the game. Back to basics then worry about entertaining but Smith with no relegation will press on with the Harlem Globetrotters stuff which is fine in the rest of this pointless season but if relegation returns then that's where it will lead. The best 2 examples in recent times imo FC beating Saints in the cup through brutal forward play then the backs cut loose and looked like world beaters and Sunday's performance by Saints blasting Leeds up the guts then fatigued players leave gaps in broken play and Grace and co run riot.RL is such a simple game when the basics are done. We are trying to go wide without bending the line and it just wont work against good sides. Anyway that's my view on it.

Watkins held talks with us and Salford.

Been a good player but centre is least of our worries.
Be a sizeable wage id expect? A player of that quality certainly would be nice but will wait and see if he arrives?

I think all clubs will need to wait & see what happens with the rules once we are back to normal, I think the six again & the possible ending of scrums will happen & it may make the big bad prop an endangered species.
The one thing I don’t get is last Saturday we all could see the class that the wolves had across the pitch, my question is as we have spent up to the cap up to now, how come they get a star studded team on the pitch for the same salary cap?

Tbf, their wage bill will be a good bit higher than ours.
Then...
They can offer greater security (much lower risk of relegation) and the opportunity to play alongside other good players, win games and compete for trophies.

A problem with our long-termism is that it seems to come at the expense of the short-term, and good players in their prime want to sign for good teams rather than teams aiming to become good when their prime will be coming to an end.

Their wage bill cannot be greater than ours, as the cap is the same as ours & every other club. I thought up to this year we had spent up to the limit.

I thought we were quite a bit under the cap though I may well be wrong.

The cap rules are very complicated and opaque.

Warrington will be able to get better value from what they do spend by being able to offering success, security and transfer fees.

There have been plenty of cap exemption rules over the years (tbh, I lose track but I know some are still in place e.g. relating to new talent pools). Warrington, by virtue of having more money, have been in a better position to explore and exploit some of those opportunities.

Then there are the things that just aren’t mentioned in the rules or by RL community generally. I tend to assume that if something isn’t in the rules then it can’t be against them. For example, it was (and maybe still is) stated that clubs couldn’t registration-carousel overseas players to beat the quota but nothing was said about doing similar with other players to beat the cap. For a while, I assumed this was happening - more recently I’ve started to doubt it. The point is, there’s potentially some ambiguity in an apparently simple statement about spending up to (or not beyond) the cap.

The line Rovers take publicly is a difficult one. Say we don’t spend as much as other clubs and some fans might take a chequebook out attitude. Say we are spending the cap, and questions will arise as to why we spend it so ineffectively. I recall that this year NH said we were unable to spend the cap simply because we couldn’t attract that calibre of player, or they weren’t available - or something along those lines.

That last line certainly makes a lot of sense. We somehow need to break that cycle.

The only way to break that cycle is to win more games and get up the Table but that is not easy if you do not have decent players

No player will ever pick KR over FC, the same as no player would chose FC over Leeds, or Leigh over St Helens, either Hull team can win one off games in the CC and possibly lift the cup, but I doubt we'll ever see a side from Hull winning a Grand Final. Not so long ago NH wanted out of KR, Covid has made things even worse, especially with your lost revenue from concerts etc.

With no relegation I expect both NH and AP to keep their wallets shut for the foreseeable.

Wanted out? That certainly applies to one of the owners in Hull.
Hudge actually said he'd step aside if someone came in with more cash.Big difference although I'd say 2016 certainly tested his resolve.

While we are at it il take the bait. An RL player will take the most cash over the most years offered hence Ellis joining a less successful side than Leeds or Cas who he had real affinity for. Lee and Litten signing for KR whilst staunch B&W followed the cash.Throw in Taylor and Crooks to that bracket. Short career and i dont blame any player for their choice if given multiple offer. Nice attempt at a sensible post with 2 digs and a smattering of untruths

Aye, it can feel a bit catch-22, can’t it?

We can get out of it - others have. However, when you feel that the gap is to the top 8, say, rather than the top 4 it might have to be something transformational.



it is more complicated than our black and white chum suggested imo too. Players might also choose a less successful team for more game time. The issue with not having success as a selling point is that you attract players who can’t get game time elsewhere or who are relatively more interested in the money than winning or whatever.

Quite agree. Was a fishing excursion I nibbled on but enough truth to appear harmless. Almost upto his Mistresses standards.

It wasn't a wind up, it is the truth.

Michael Dobson

You would think that cycle will be very hard to break now. I am not sure how the club will budget for next season unless some stability can be obtained. Then there’s the question of who would come. It would be real nice to see the local junior and amateur pools grow and offer a better product line for both our clubs. I really wish the council would invests more in youth sports. It’s a known fact that kids really active in sports are less likely to end up in trouble.

nice to see your diarrhea has cleared up

Looks like Jamie’s Ellis to Leigh is doing the rounds today. Can’t really blame him. I’m sure he had bills to pay like the rest of us. Just wonder if the delay in negotiations and the uncertainty around the club will lead to an exodus of first team players.

Would hope he would be released whatever state our finances?
Wish him well but ultimately no longer a SL standard player.
I suspect come Sunday teatime you will have flounced off here which will be nice

I agree that he’s not the greatest super league player but I still think he’s decent at this level. There’s really not a lot of quality half backs around unless your willing and able to pay good money. He can at least a slot over some goals and drop goals that increases his worth. Could be tough to attract a better replacement with all things considered.

indeed hes not, in fact only marc sneyd rates below him on this years efforts

I know you are trying to divert the conversation away from your clubs crisis but as a matter of fact, I don’t rate Marc Sneyd very highly either. His kicking is second to none but as a half back I don’t rate him.

So back on topic, who do you think you’ll replace Ellis with?