Dont talk crap hull were not a poor side or in a lull on friday ...are lads beat em up and stayed focused till the end ..are pack were on fire and didnt let hulls pack steam roll us ...give are lads some credit and dont think for one minute we only won because hull are in a lull give over and give your head a shake ..the team put in a performance credit were its due ...

Looking at the list posted by Frosties, I'd argue that there are several categories here (not knowing anything about salaries & long-term injuries etc!):

1. Core of first team that should be a priority to be retained: Rob Burrow (not necessarily in starting position!), Ryan Hall, Ash Handley, Joel Moon, Liam Sutcliffe, Kallum Watkins, Carl Ablett, Adam Cuthbertson, Brett Ferres, Keith Galloway, Mitch Garbutt, Jimmy Keinhorst, James Segeyaro, Brad Singleton and Stevie Ward (not category 2 I hope).

2. Good players to be retained only after a dispassionate assessment of their fitness and ability to contribute in 2017: Tom Briscoe, Danny McGuire, Brett Delaney, and Jamie Jones-Buchanon. Keeping all of these players will surely be a luxury. I included Briscoe here because I'm assuming he'll be one of the better paid players, for whom a ready-made replacement exists in Handley. The other three are already well discussed: in many ways they are the heart of the team, and perhaps it is fine for them to carry on if the club expects them to play a diminished role compared to previous seasons.

3. Fringe players with potential but should not take much cap-space: Luke Briscoe, Ashton Golding, Jordan Lilley, Anthony Mullally, and Josh Walters. Ultimately these players will either break into the side on a regular basis or continue as squad players - I assume there's no big gain in letting them go in monetary terms.

4. Players already leaving or likely to do so: Zak Hardaker, Mitch Achurch, Jordan Baldwinson?

The bottom line for me is that I don't think we need a big clear-out. If an experienced new half-back could be brought in, more the better - either to replace McGuire direct or to replace another big-name player on the salary cap (my choice would be Tom Briscoe, who seems the biggest luxury at present) - that is the only major change needed with Segeyaro now confirmed.

Those who regard Tom Briscoe as a "luxury".

Who do you play on the wing if Ryan Hall gets hurt and you've let him go? If your answer - with any degree of seriousness - is Luke Briscoe or Ashton Golding, give your head a shake.

Handley's an excellent back-up to have around and will get better with experience, but Briscoe and Hall were one of the key foundations that last year's success was built on with their finishing and their work early in the tackle count to get the team on the front foot.

Agree with that Andy.

Also Briscoe is significantly better than Handley. That's not a criticism of Handley, it's just acknowledging how good a player Briscoe is. It's why we chose him over BJB.

Briscoe, Hall and Hardaker were superb for us last season and were a major factor in our success. Their ability to bring the ball back upfield (coupled with their notable skill and ability to score tries) gave us great momentum on each set. Which then gave both the space and extra energy for the likes of Cuthbertson to cause havoc in the opposition defences. That's something we've been sorely missing this season with both Hall & Briscoe injured and Hardaker clearly not "mentally fit" at that time.

I get your point Exeter but you could argue the case for any player being a luxury. For me, Briscoe is integral to us playing our best rugby and we built a game plan on him, Ryan and Zak bringing it out with big gains.

Your point is a good one though in terms of assessing the key members of the squad.

The list of contracts Frosties put up show that rebuilding the team with a salary cap is at least a two-season job. The squad it looks very imbalanced, with too many really average forwards, lack of proven depth in the outside backs Handley aside (especially if Sutcliffe is the primary full back option), only one genuine hooker and a bunch of halfbacks with a lot to prove. In an ideal world I'd lose some forwards, get another hooker (or at least a utility who can properly play there) and a quality halfback. If I was being brutal I'd punt Burrow because he's not a good halfback and we need to get away from the chaotic realignment that occurs when he's hooker.

One thing the recent string of results shows is that whilst returning players have made a difference, attitude matters more. Regardless of how well we may end the season, the highlights reel from this year ought to make very sobering viewing with respect to a number of players, and even moreso the coach. I agree with DHM that what the team really needs is a new coach. Sadly I think we'll survive this year, probably easily in the end, and as a result BM will be given a go at turning things round. I just can't see that being anything other than a wasted year in terms of rebuilding.