LifeLongHKRFan wrote:
I thought Sandercock sorted our pack out and under him in his last season, we had on paper a big pack with the likes of Taylor, Weyman, Poore and Walker in the front row along with Costigan in the back row. The problem we had was that we never replaced Dobson and had to put up with Kris Keating and Travis Burns. We seemed to have no problem rolling down the field but couldn't score when we got to the oppositions line and of course our defense was poor.
Taylor’s last season with us was 2012. Walker was effectively his replacement. Weyman, Poore and Costigan arrived for 2014, along with Langley. Even though Paea left, that felt like the last time we made a conscious effort to stop being bullied. Rugged as they were, their impact was pretty brief, as age and injuries caught up with them.
2015 we lost Weyman to retirement, and Ryan Bailey, having played 300+ games for one club was just starting on his new mission to play one game for 300+ clubs. That left us scrambling a bit.
Clarkson has been a good servant and Mulhern has matured really well, but 2016s forward recruitment seemed to be aimed at maximising opportunities for Kieran Moran.
That a 35-year old Danny Tickle has been a massive breath of fresh air tells its own story. James Webster’s pre-season ‘mobile pack’ quote was deeply dispiriting at the time. But we survived, and this looks fairly promising imo:
Masoe
Lunt
Mulhern
Greenwood
Tomkins
Lannon
Jewitt, Lee, Hauraki, Lawler.
Plus a few more re-signings and new signings. Hopefully Josh Johnson will come on a bit.