Re: Next Season : Mon Jun 30, 2014 7:46 am  

Hard to argue with those who would say that Wakey's current form suggests they won't be finishing bottom next year. Webster seems like he's doing a great job over there.
It will certainly be interesting to see how SL1 shapes up next year and who ends up in the relegation playoffs.
Could you imagine if, for example, Hull FC didn't make the top 8? It's not beyond the realms of probability and I can't see the FC fans reacting too well to making trips to Leigh, Fax (and hopefully us) etc.

In some kind of twisted way, I'm quite looking forward to it.

Re: Next Season : Mon Jun 30, 2014 8:10 pm  

There is a consensus that our pack is just not good enough. It's hard to imagine that many of the current forwards will be in demand from the top 12 teams. Perhaps a couple of the younger players may be seen as decent squad players with time to develop.
Jimmy Lowes will have a strategy which starts with a decent pack and I'd expect that the club will ( must ) start with at least 4 props.. Looking at the current props at those teams who are likely to be in the 2nd tier with the Bulls,, I think there are a majority of teams with better front rows than us.

Re: Next Season : Mon Jun 30, 2014 8:19 pm  

I think in terms of a recruitment policy the sooner the club can accept relegation the better. For totally different reasons over the last few years there have been times when we recruit much later than everyone else. I would hope the club are having conversations with key players to decide who would be willing to play in the championship. We can then start recruiting a pack and some half backs - hell a whole team really! We don't want to miss out on recruiting good players for the championship because we are in denial about going down.

Re: Next Season : Mon Jun 30, 2014 9:06 pm  

Whilst the current squad may not have many takers when they are released I don't think the supporters would particularly welcome many of them staying either.

Re: Next Season : Tue Jul 01, 2014 6:06 am  

It's been said the ChampionSuperLeagueship2 quota limit is to be moved to 5 (currently 1 in the Championship), that has Adam Henry staying written all over it.

Re: Next Season : Tue Jul 01, 2014 7:34 am  

Well the club did try to resign Leon Pryce, but he's gone for a SL contract with Hull. Can't blame him.

O'Brien has said in today's T&A that he wants to stay even if we go down.

Re: Next Season : Tue Jul 01, 2014 8:59 am  

Adam Henry would be fine for SL2, I'd have no qualms with him staying if he wants to.

[Pumpetypump]

Re: Next Season : Tue Jul 01, 2014 9:34 am  

Nothus wrote:

Adam Henry would be fine for SL2, I'd have no qualms with him staying if he wants to.

I read that twice to see if there was some subtext I'd missed. If our only criteria for keeping players is that they will appear marginally less crap in a lower division, then we are buggered.

Re: Next Season : Tue Jul 01, 2014 9:38 am  

Pumpetypump wrote:

I read that twice to see if there was some subtext I'd missed. If our only criteria for keeping players is that they will appear marginally less crap in a lower division, then we are buggered.

Henry has scored plenty of tries this year to be fair.
Just his defence is poor. We have to be realistic, we're going down a division which means we aren't going to have quality players. Players on the cheap who can do a job for us in SL2

Re: Next Season : Tue Jul 01, 2014 9:44 am  

Pumpetypump wrote:

... we are buggered.

Edited for brevity