Re: Recruitment rumours and links : Tue Sep 24, 2024 2:01 pm  

Flaming hell Wire71. Who did we sign as a PR exercise to make up for us losing to Hull?

Re: Recruitment rumours and links : Tue Sep 24, 2024 2:30 pm  

Smiffy27 wrote: Flaming hell Wire71. Who did we sign as a PR exercise to make up for us losing to Hull? I never said it was to make up for losing to Hull FC. I said "it was Ok as we had made a PR signing". In the absence of Google, IIRC we signed a player called Andrew Johns (after a chance meeting at Lords Cricket ground between Moran and his agent) for the final 2 games of the regular season plus 1 playoff game that we got stuffed in. There was much excitement about signing a living RL legend and the PR that it generated. There was a loophole in the SL player registration rules that allowed this. The first of our stunt signings which predated Karl Fitzpatrick. Garndiose claims of pushing for a title, created a big hoo-har at the time and, as usual, Wire fizzled out in the playoffs after finishing 4th. Johns went on to sully his reputation by making a racist remark about Greg Inglis, "black c***" (https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2010/ ... reg-inglis) and admitting to taking recreational drugs through his playing career.(https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2007/ ... ugsinsport) Like I said, fingers crossed we are on the right path now.

Smiffy27 wrote: Flaming hell Wire71. Who did we sign as a PR exercise to make up for us losing to Hull? I never said it was to make up for losing to Hull FC. I said "it was Ok as we had made a PR signing". In the absence of Google, IIRC we signed a player called Andrew Johns (after a chance meeting at Lords Cricket ground between Moran and his agent) for the final 2 games of the regular season plus 1 playoff game that we got stuffed in. There was much excitement about signing a living RL legend and the PR that it generated. There was a loophole in the SL player registration rules that allowed this. The first of our stunt signings which predated Karl Fitzpatrick. Garndiose claims of pushing for a title, created a big hoo-har at the time and, as usual, Wire fizzled out in the playoffs after finishing 4th. Johns went on to sully his reputation by making a racist remark about Greg Inglis, "black c***" (https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2010/ ... reg-inglis) and admitting to taking recreational drugs through his playing career.(https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2007/ ... ugsinsport) Like I said, fingers crossed we are on the right path now.

Re: Recruitment rumours and links : Tue Sep 24, 2024 3:02 pm  

Ah ... I understand now. I quite enjoyed the Johns bit & didn't link us losing vs Hull to his signing.
The fact that we got Big Sam as coach shows we still like to aim high. Long may it continue but still work hard on development of our young stars too.

Re: Recruitment rumours and links : Tue Sep 24, 2024 3:11 pm  

The Hull game was Johns's last game for us. Hull fans were singing "He's going home ".
It is obvious with some of our less illustrious recruits that they have come for a holiday & a last pay day.

Re: Recruitment rumours and links : Tue Sep 24, 2024 3:59 pm  

Smiffy27 wrote:

Ah ... I understand now. I quite enjoyed the Johns bit & didn't link us losing vs Hull to his signing.

No I am not suggesting for one minute we lost against Hull due to Johns. We lost against Hull FC because Paul Cullen was a very limited coach who could not get any consistency into his star studded side.


Johns was the "distraction" signing. Club focussed on big PR ego signings whilst taking the eye off the main price (if it was ever on it)

Re: Recruitment rumours and links : Tue Sep 24, 2024 5:01 pm  

Wires71 wrote:

No I am not suggesting for one minute we lost against Hull due to Johns. We lost against Hull FC because Paul Cullen was a very limited coach who could not get any consistency into his star studded side.


Johns was the "distraction" signing. Club focussed on big PR ego signings whilst taking the eye off the main price (if it was ever on it)

Being a little unfair I think, several clubs made high profile signings that year I think? Bradford signed Morley, seem to recall Hull FC signing someone? Johns was a good signing who was due to sign a full time deal with us later on following his short spell, but injury put pay to that.

Re: Recruitment rumours and links : Tue Sep 24, 2024 5:08 pm  

Alffi_7 wrote:

Being a little unfair I think, several clubs made high profile signings that year I think? Bradford signed Morley, seem to recall Hull FC signing someone? Johns was a good signing who was due to sign a full time deal with us later on following his short spell, but injury put pay to that.

Yeah maybe I am. But he was always going back to Newcastle for 2 years after his 3 game stint with us.

As it turns out I got all knee jerk animated by that Genge crap and it brought back some bad memories (Inglis, Burrell etc).

Re: Recruitment rumours and links : Tue Sep 24, 2024 8:14 pm  

Fantastic Mr Catpiss wrote:

Is a fishing competition really that bad of a thing or is this a snobbery issue? Would it be alright if someone attempted to sign someone at a cricket game for instance?

We have history here, as Kevin Penny played cricket locally at Appleton, prior to wearing the P&B.

Re: Recruitment rumours and links : Tue Sep 24, 2024 8:23 pm  

Captain Hook wrote:

Genuinely I didn’t know “Strictly come Angling” was a thing. As for televised fishing, I thought it was trawlermen plucking crabs from stormy oceans.

I'm certain that if Paul Whitehouse, Robson Green and Claudia Winkleman are sat in the North Stand on Saturday, then the Sky cameras will no doubt locate them very, very quickly.

Re: Recruitment rumours and links : Tue Sep 24, 2024 8:37 pm  

Wires71 wrote:

Yeah maybe I am. But he was always going back to Newcastle for 2 years after his 3 game stint with us.

As it turns out I got all knee jerk animated by that Genge crap and it brought back some bad memories (Inglis, Burrell etc).

A neck injury curtailed his career, so we'll never know whether, or not, he would have honoured the deal it was rumoured he had signed with us. I'm with you on Genge, it would just be a distraction signing, whereas the Johns one definitely had good media impact at the time.