Re: WESTERMAN SIGNING CONFIRMED : Thu Oct 28, 2010 9:11 am  

Westerman is a good player but to be fair last season he wasnt very impressive for cas whether or not going to hull will make a difference only time will tell and cant see Rangi Chase jumping ship unless there is something going on at Cas that only the players know about very imnteresting.........

[Kosh]

Re: WESTERMAN SIGNING CONFIRMED : Thu Oct 28, 2010 9:17 am  

Big Dave T wrote:

Depends if he wants to be a bit part player or if he has the ambition to nail down a 13 shirt somewhere. Disappointed he's not been given the opportunity here.

Whiting is possibly the best utility player in SL. I personally don't consider that to be a 'bit part'.

Re: WESTERMAN SIGNING CONFIRMED : Thu Oct 28, 2010 9:17 am  

Willa wrote:

Get a grip. £150'000 is not a lot of money for what we are getting. I think Cas are the ones who have come out worse, £150000 basically pays the wages of a couple of average players for 1 season.

Get a grip!!!!

RL is a sport where transfer fee's are few and far between, 150k for someone who only has 1 year to run on his contract is alot of £££££'s imo.

I like Westerman and hope he does well, but if things don't work out for him pretty quickly then that transfer fee could be an issue for both him and the club.

Re: WESTERMAN SIGNING CONFIRMED : Thu Oct 28, 2010 9:23 am  

Absolutely cracking signing. When we first enquired and Cas wanted a big fee i honestly thought we wouldn't stump up. Well done Rule/Kath

So, where will he play? I've got a feeling he'll be our back up half for this year whilst covering Fitz at 13. Then taking over in 2012 from Fitz at LF, although i hope it means Fitz to prop. There's also the option of putting Fitz/Westerman in the second row and moving Lauaki up to the front row.

What does this mean for Washy/Whiting? For me Whiting will be our utility back on the bench as i see Houghton playing 80 mins more often than not and i'm sure Whiting could spell him if needed. If Whiting is happy doing this, which i think he is, he'd be there week in week out for me.
As for Washy, well, can't see him getting another deal tbh. It's a shame really as our style of play and injuries over the last 2/3 years has brought his development to a stand still. Still a very good 13 IMO, maybe the best thing all round would of been for us to offer Washy in the Westerman deal and drive the cash outlay down.

Re: WESTERMAN SIGNING CONFIRMED : Thu Oct 28, 2010 9:24 am  

Rangi Chase of to leeds doing a swap with Burrows............

[Mild Rover]

Re: WESTERMAN SIGNING CONFIRMED : Thu Oct 28, 2010 9:25 am  

Potentially a good signing for Hull, no doubt about that. Although they'll put a brave face on it, on the back of losing Shenton, it isn't good for Cas. £150k is a drop in the ocean compared to the costs of a stadium. If they lose 400 off their gates, about half of it will disappear anyway. Still, Smokey approves of their model.
No reason you should care, just thought it'd be a bit cruel to put it on their board at the moment. Off to the Wakefield board now - my word the franchise system is morbidly fascinating.

Re: WESTERMAN SIGNING CONFIRMED : Thu Oct 28, 2010 9:26 am  

Kosh wrote:

Whiting is possibly the best utility player in SL. I personally don't consider that to be a 'bit part'.

He's not first choice for shirts 1-13 and will be in a scrap to be 2nd choice for most of those roles. I'm not questioning his utility value but ultimately been 2nd or 3rd choice for shirts 1-13 makes him 'bit part' imo.

[Kosh]

Re: WESTERMAN SIGNING CONFIRMED : Thu Oct 28, 2010 9:26 am  

chico's nose wrote:

I like Westerman and hope he does well, but if things don't work out for him pretty quickly then that transfer fee could be an issue for both him and the club.

Why? We can afford it pretty easily.

Re: WESTERMAN SIGNING CONFIRMED : Thu Oct 28, 2010 9:26 am  

On the positive side:
1. He's young
2. He's Super League standard (and potentially international standard)
3. He's British
4. He's another goalkicker

On the downside
1. We really don't need another back row forward now (although we will when Fitz retires)
2. There are question marks over his attitude/temperament

Did anyone notice that in the club website article it twice refers to his experience at stand-off? I hope he isn't going to be our back-up half back but it makes you wonder when you think about the fee we've paid and the fact that he's likely to be on a good contract.

Sorry if any of these points have already been made but I can't be @rsed to read all 5 pages of the thread.

Re: WESTERMAN SIGNING CONFIRMED : Thu Oct 28, 2010 9:27 am  

Nobeerineasthull wrote:

Did anyone notice that in the club website article it twice refers to his experience at stand-off? I hope he isn't going to be our back-up half back

I noticed that. He may well be our 1st choice half back!