He's not going to slag the pack down as they are his players next year but it is a bizarre thing to say! Finn out! Lol!

I wonder if any of the London pack will be leaving as they’re going full time , parata at loose and I can dream that bienek ( who has a good job in IT) turns down a full time contract and joins us lol

Someone who's not been mentioned for a while but is in my view just the sort of forward we need - Bailey Antrobus at York. Out of contract, no mention of him resigning, has always impressed when I've seen him play against Fax. Can also play centre but looks better to me in second row.

I hate to say it but when Finn was last here pretty much that same pack could have been described as formidable. There was a lot of disruption last season and we saw first hand how poor they were for the most part. Hopefully changing things up a little will have them playing like the 22 pack again.

In his press release statement Finn called the “already” Fax pack “quality” which Douglas would be adding to.

Was he just referring to last years group of players or looking forward to the group he would be working with which included other departures / additions that haven’t been confirmed yet but we’re already in place?

Either way, moving forward it will be up to him and his coaching staff to get the “quality” to become “formidable” in 2024.

Losing Gwaze and Barber from "the class of '22" and their replacements Maher/ King and Doro not happening made a massive difference. So all it needs is a couple of additions, Douglas already made, to beef the pack back up.

The new coaching staff will have their own approach which will be different and bring a freshness to the training side of things and you only need 2 or 3 quality additions to change the entire attitude, approach, dynamics or whatever you call it to the full squad and to the on field performances.

Douglas and Crookes are steps in the right direction and if we can add a couple more to the pack of Brandon's ability and another decent centre then we could be back on track and I'm pretty sure we'll see a different Fax from last year.

Having to wait for confirmation on the playing front is the most frustrating thing.

Hopefully the latter and changes to how our pack attack as a unit under the new leadership..
BTW I don't subscribe to this 2022 love-in..I was critical of the pack all that season and when it really mattered with all the supposed favourable conditions in place it fell miserably.

Yep. Between Finn and Huby they've had a successful season together at the Rams and being former players there should be some understanding of how the backs and pack work together as a unit with some fresh plays for them to employ as well as towards the end of the season even Swinton knew what we were going to do with the 7,6 and 1 moves in the opposition 20.

As you say about the pack, examples to me was the York eliminator of 22 where it showed a demonstration of the Swinton game as regards commitment and being out enthused and out muscled etc, albeit to a less extent but it was there and cost us, but onwards and upwards to 2024.

I still firmly believe we need a game manager like Muzza at 6. Easier said than done I know but the lack has been stark since Scott left and LJ needs challenging for his place as he goes missing and lacks confidence, even Grix was at him on that score. Widdop maybe or try to coax Meadows away from Batley?

I agree with your comments about our pack. Most of our go forward happened when Lannon came on and not just because he played well and made meters especially after contact but his work rate and effort galvanised the rest of pack. Which begs the question why didn’t our “starting” forwards play with that effort at the being of a match.
I feel we need some new hard working props and second row and a centre if wombat goes and Maizen goes to the wing.

Lets get J Ford in

https://x.com/thegamecaller/status/1714 ... KKcNIJrHDA

https://x.com/thegamecaller/status/1714 ... KKcNIJrHDA

I don't blame the board for wanting to make a big marquee signing, I just think that money could have been better spent on improving the squad in other areas. Widdop may put some more bums on seats though if marketed correctly.

https://x.com/rugbyleagueitk/status/171 ... KKcNIJrHDA

https://x.com/rugbyleagueitk/status/171 ... KKcNIJrHDA