I couldn't agree more the drop off in quality in who would fill in the halfs role if we were to lose a first choice halfback to a long term injury would seriously harm our chances for promotion. And the only problem if we went down the loan route would be the player getting recalled which as happened to most sides. All in all it will be interesting if we do bring in a few more players as to what positions they cover and are they on loan or not.

Not sure there's a realistic solution to the extra half back problem - we had 3 really good halves on the books last season - I'm sure when Corey Aston signed he would have believed he'd have a good shot at being one of the starting halves. Problem now is we're going into the season with a very successful established half back pairing so any new signing would be coming in knowing probably his only chance of playing would be injury. It was great having the luxury of Cory as backup last season, but I don't think the club can afford the luxury of having one of their higher earners sitting on the sidelines for most of the year. I know sods law means almost certainly one of halves will be crocked on day 1 - don't like loans in such a pivotal position but that may be only alternative

You make a valid point and it is a bit of a conundrum. I see the options has

1 keep it as it is and rely on existing players to cover ( woodburn hall , wood and inman )

2 Bring in another half possibly a young half who is hungry and ready prove himself and challenge for the jersey.

3 We know Grix likes versatility so maybe a player that can play in the halves and fullback ( Keyes did really well last season and played nearly every game but the he was injured a bit in previous seasons, woodburn hall always looks one step away from a muscle strain )

4 Duel reg / loan , as already stated this wouldn’t be ideal for multiple reasons.

Reading between what Matt shaw said and Grix intimated after the departure of Martin there could be room for one more ( I believe the maizen deal was done before Martin left ) so isn’t relevant .

Shh Don't mention DR, I was hoping everyone had forgotten about that. I think we're about there with the squad and really think we can have a great season. Lindley Liberal Club, Rat Brewery, The Snowrat 4.5% Mmm! Up The Fax!

So Arundel has departed,no great loss never looked interested for whatever reason..can we use this and the Martin saving to find a new south sea islander,the new Tuilagi...someone who can bulldoze to add to the undoubted pace we have in the backs.

I was hoping Joe would improve this year but going on last years form he is not a big loss but from a squad point of view will need replacing. He seems to have struggled with the transition from full to part time rugby which is fair enough. It does say in the Christmas message from the board that they will be backing simon to bring in further quality players over the next season so as far as replacements go we will have to wait and see.

Its been rumored for a while now and I got the impression when he or a close family member used to post on here things were not going smoothly. I imagine he would have been on decent money and its not unrealistic to think we could bring someone else in cheaper without losing anything in performance. Hopefully he can turn it around wherever he ends up.

While he definitely improved towards the end of the season, if everyone fit and on form think he would have struggled to get in this season. That said having lost both first choice centres from last season, plus perhaps even more importantly Ed Barber think we do need some cover in the backs- ideally someone with potential like Tibbs prepared to bide their time until inevitable injuries kick in. Glad we've still got Mcomb who offers great cover at centre and wing.

Aye, although I haven't seen that he has gone it's not a great disappointment. He looked very anonymous early on, and although he did improve slightly he wasn't of a standard to help take Fax to a higher level. Let's see if we bring anyone else in. Up The Fax!

Pretty early on it looked like he wasn't fitting in with the SG mould which know doubt was pointed out to him during the year and inspite of a late improvement it still wasn't quite there so not surprised to see him move on.
His departure and that of Joe Martin will have us looking for another back.
Maybe with Scott being at Leeds there may be someone come available such as former Siddal player Levi Edwards who was on loan at Batley in 2021 and York last year as a possibility linking it in with the "pecking order" at other clubs reference from SG.

On the Bulls pages they recon Arundel is going to sign for them. If that is true that says to me we have let him go as apposed to him finding it hard becoming part time. The Bulls are part time so what would the difference be. Maybe our training regime is more intense and harder

Yes mick gledhill put a tweet out saying that Arundel ‘ might’ sign for Bradford . He also mentioned on the full 80 minutes we have a signing lined up to replace joe Martin but it’ll be sorted in January, he also mentioned that IMG have said finishing in the top 4 this year will help in getting a higher grade and this has led to a few championship clubs going back into the transfer market ( including fax ) given the fax xmas message, Grixs’ recruitment comments on arundal leaving and having a squad of 24 I suspect a couple of more additions in January, I’d prefer permanent signings but given the wording from Grix one may be a loan signing from a superleage club as faxcar mentioned .

What ever happens as long as we get 3rd or above in the league I’ll be happy.