Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Wed Dec 06, 2017 6:51 pm  

moto748 wrote:

Kata is like Murrell, except considerably better.

yeah he isnt though, Tonga coach thought so too

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Wed Dec 06, 2017 7:03 pm  

Pieman wrote:

yeah he isnt though, Tonga coach thought so too

Kata broke his foot against Samoa, though.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Wed Dec 06, 2017 7:35 pm  

I bleeding pray Hock hasn’t signed back for us. Sick to the back teeth of this obsession to re-sign players that have left, with the exception (arguably at that) of Joe Burgess they’ve all come back worse players.

The Gelling rumour just isn’t going away and the old “no smoke without fire” springs to mind. I’d be happy with Sau but Jennings would be a quality signing and if he’s available every effort should be made to sign him up.

MM rumour has gone quiet but I’d expect that to be formalized in the coming weeks which should free up cap space for another incoming prop. Wane would be silly not to have Escare starting full back with Tomkins moving into the halves. MM simply has to go

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Wed Dec 06, 2017 8:33 pm  

100% Warrior wrote:

I bleeding pray Hock hasn’t signed back for us. Sick to the back teeth of this obsession to re-sign players that have left, with the exception (arguably at that) of Joe Burgess they’ve all come back worse players.

The Gelling rumour just isn’t going away and the old “no smoke without fire” springs to mind. I’d be happy with Sau but Jennings would be a quality signing and if he’s available every effort should be made to sign him up.

MM rumour has gone quiet but I’d expect that to be formalized in the coming weeks which should free up cap space for another incoming prop. Wane would be silly not to have Escare starting full back with Tomkins moving into the halves. MM simply has to go

A Catalans fan on Total RL says their chairman is telling everyone that they’ve wrapped up deals for David Mead and Micky McIlorum.

I’d be loathed to see MM leave but a swap deal for Bousquet would soften the blow (they sadly didn’t mention that park though).

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Wed Dec 06, 2017 9:14 pm  

If it was a choice of Busquets or Hock it is simple for me. Hock every time.

I don’t understand this clamour to sign a player due to the fact he is big.

We need more than that, Hock provides us with everything we need size nasty raw boned aggressive forward.

If the club are happy to bring Hock back for a season then I would fully support that, they would have the info and discussions behind the scenes. If they can all agree he can come back I’d be in the minority but I’d be very happy.

Bousquets for me is an error machine. Big yes, but lazy and I’ve yet to see him pull up any trees, ever. In the World Cup he was anonymous at best and often poor.

Are there better Props out there than Hock? Yes.

Are they available and wanting to sign for us? Hopefully, if they aren’t however Hock is and he is exactly the type of player we need.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Wed Dec 06, 2017 9:45 pm  

jonh wrote:

If it was a choice of Busquets or Hock it is simple for me. Hock every time.

I don’t understand this clamour to sign a player due to the fact he is big.

We need more than that, Hock provides us with everything we need size nasty raw boned aggressive forward.

If the club are happy to bring Hock back for a season then I would fully support that, they would have the info and discussions behind the scenes. If they can all agree he can come back I’d be in the minority but I’d be very happy.

Bousquets for me is an error machine. Big yes, but lazy and I’ve yet to see him pull up any trees, ever. In the World Cup he was anonymous at best and often poor.

Are there better Props out there than Hock? Yes.

Are they available and wanting to sign for us? Hopefully, if they aren’t however Hock is and he is exactly the type of player we need.

Fully agree with this, that fact that we are in for hock (if true) shows the room we have under the cap. I thought we wouldn’t sign anyone this year with everyone tied up and I don’t think anyone else will leave. If we signed hock would I be happy, no but even he would improve our powder puff pack if it’s for one year, but I can’t see this happening.

Did/do we need any major ins no, I personally think the squad we have is one of the best and it’s down to the coaching/staff/training/tactics that’s needed freshening up, major signing was a quality assistant which hasn’t happened, just hope the tactics change and a bit of luck on the injury front we should be good for next year.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Thu Dec 07, 2017 6:35 am  

100% Warrior wrote: I bleeding pray Hock hasn’t signed back for us. Sick to the back teeth of this obsession to re-sign players that have left, with the exception (arguably at that) of Joe Burgess they’ve all come back worse players. The Gelling rumour just isn’t going away and the old “no smoke without fire” springs to mind. I’d be happy with Sau but Jennings would be a quality signing and if he’s available every effort should be made to sign him up. MM rumour has gone quiet but I’d expect that to be formalized in the coming weeks which should free up cap space for another incoming prop. Wane would be silly not to have Escare starting full back with Tomkins moving into the halves. MM simply has to go Canberra have signed a hooker on a one year deal, given they are reported to be at the limit for the cap I doubt MM is going. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/rugby-l ... 00ngc.html

100% Warrior wrote: I bleeding pray Hock hasn’t signed back for us. Sick to the back teeth of this obsession to re-sign players that have left, with the exception (arguably at that) of Joe Burgess they’ve all come back worse players. The Gelling rumour just isn’t going away and the old “no smoke without fire” springs to mind. I’d be happy with Sau but Jennings would be a quality signing and if he’s available every effort should be made to sign him up. MM rumour has gone quiet but I’d expect that to be formalized in the coming weeks which should free up cap space for another incoming prop. Wane would be silly not to have Escare starting full back with Tomkins moving into the halves. MM simply has to go Canberra have signed a hooker on a one year deal, given they are reported to be at the limit for the cap I doubt MM is going. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/rugby-l ... 00ngc.html

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Thu Dec 07, 2017 7:51 am  

jonh wrote:

If it was a choice of Busquets or Hock it is simple for me. Hock every time.

I don’t understand this clamour to sign a player due to the fact he is big.

We need more than that, Hock provides us with everything we need size nasty raw boned aggressive forward.

If the club are happy to bring Hock back for a season then I would fully support that, they would have the info and discussions behind the scenes. If they can all agree he can come back I’d be in the minority but I’d be very happy.

Bousquets for me is an error machine. Big yes, but lazy and I’ve yet to see him pull up any trees, ever. In the World Cup he was anonymous at best and often poor.

Are there better Props out there than Hock? Yes.

Are they available and wanting to sign for us? Hopefully, if they aren’t however Hock is and he is exactly the type of player we need.

Bousquet made 14 errors and gave 10 penalties away all season. If you compare that to a few lads he’d be competing against here (not that he’s coming mind)-

Nuuausala-23 errors/16 penalties
Tautai-14 errors/18 penalties
Sutton-16 errors/10 penalties

In comparison Hock made only 2 errors but gave away a whopping 16 penalties! He only played about half of Leigh’s games as well. His average gain was well less then Bousquet’s as well. I’m not totally against Hock but you can’t bag Bousquet and praise Hock when you look at the hard facts. Hock was a machine a few years ago but he’s overweight for me and well past his best. Add in the potential for off field issues and it’d be Bousquet all day long.

Another thing highlighted from them stays is that Nuuausala really is dreadful. The excitement of him potentially leaving earlier in the off season has been replaced by that realisation that he’s happy enough sitting on his salary here.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Thu Dec 07, 2017 8:06 am  

NickyKiss wrote:

Bousquet made 14 errors and gave 10 penalties away all season. If you compare that to a few lads he’d be competing against here (not that he’s coming mind)-

Nuuausala-23 errors/16 penalties
Tautai-14 errors/18 penalties
Sutton-16 errors/10 penalties

In comparison Hock made only 2 errors but gave away a whopping 16 penalties! He only played about half of Leigh’s games as well. His average gain was well less then Bousquet’s as well. I’m not totally against Hock but you can’t bag Bousquet and praise Hock when you look at the hard facts. Hock was a machine a few years ago but he’s overweight for me and well past his best. Add in the potential for off field issues and it’d be Bousquet all day long.

Another thing highlighted from them stays is that Nuuausala really is dreadful. The excitement of him potentially leaving earlier in the off season has been replaced by that realisation that he’s happy enough sitting on his salary here.

We laughed at the Saints fans when Nuuausala signed for us over them (allegedly) and look at us now. He really is dreadful

[Wigan6/Leeds1 Andy]

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Thu Dec 07, 2017 2:16 pm  

IF the club is remotely considering signing Hock then people at the club who are accountable for recruitment really need to consider their positions.

Remember this is a player who:

1. Failed a drug test while playing for the club.
2. Was banned for two years while playing for the club.
3. Despite the support offered and new deal given, played the victim and agitated for a move as soon as possible once he returned.
4. Is a penalty machine (and we already have enough of them).
5. Isn't that good a player anymore.

That's before we even consider this obsession of signing old players that has been a disaster for the club in terms of quality of players and the massive restrictions it has placed on us in recent seasons in terms of the cap. Having lived in a WN postcode at some point in your life shouldn't be a consideration for employment with the club.