Hardaker is likely to be the only loss in quality from this season into next. Dwyer had already been passed by O'Connor, Sutcliffe was blah and may yet be replaced by an upgrade (supposedly MacDonald), and the other departures (Briscoe, Mustapha, Thompson etc) were squad players anyway.
Its interesting that a lot of these new young players are joining on quite short deals. It feels like Rhinos Got Talent - no doubt not all will make it, some will end up back in the Championship, but the aim is to unearth a couple of gems.
The cap has been managed horribly, not just in wages, but overlong contracts have really bitten us. It feels like the club is starting to play hardball with players, and about time. That is far easier if we have young, hungry squad players wanting to get and stay in the first team.
There are some enormous recruiting decisions for 2024. We might even see some big(ger) name signings.