Lance Hohaia Good signing for them in my opinion.. obviously losing Eastmond is a blow but thats a very good replacement. news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_l ... 047007.stm

Lance Hohaia Good signing for them in my opinion.. obviously losing Eastmond is a blow but thats a very good replacement. news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_l ... 047007.stm

Very good signing, at 28 he has done it all and has plenty left to give.

That's the sort of quality overseas signing all teams should be looking to emulate. Kind of puts Ben Cross into perspective doesnt it :\

Never rated the guy. More concerned in that Saints like most other super league clubs do their business early, and therefore more chance of getting who they want for the following season. We will as usual wait until Hetherington wants antother holiday, then end up with whoever is left.

Enough NZ coaches seem to have rated him.......not seen enough NRL to comment on his week in / week out form.

They might well do, doesn't mean to say I do though. Better halfbacks hence why he was playing fullback, and IMO better fullbacks. Doesn't make him a bad player by anyway, but just personally never rated him.

I see what you're saying here Gotcha but Saints already have a gaping hole in their salary cap for next season when Eastmond is leaving. The only cert to leave Leeds is Senior, and his position could theoretically and hopefully be taken by Watkins.

For Leeds to make moves in the transfer market now presumably requires some bold decisions to be made over the fate of the current playing squad. Making space for an international regular from the NRL will require Leeds to decide NOW to get rid of one or more of the likes of Burrow, Lauitiiti, Webb etc who will be on a large enough salary to attract someone of quality. I'm not saying that this shouldn't be happening, just that it is unlikely so soon into our new coach's tenure at the club and at this stage of the season.

Looking at the Warriors site, he has been used more as a utility player than in any particular position. Played at halfback recently and had a stormer but has also been dropped recently for an 18 year old.

Either way, he's won stuff, has experience and we have a dire situation at halfback. To get any experienced halfback at all is a bonus given that they are in short supply; to get one with his kind of experience is just great. I hope he settles in here. We have a little Kiwi type community going at St Helens! (And this is another name with too many vowels in it that I'm going to have to practice spelling)

We surely have more places to fill next season than any other club in super league bar Widnes? surely that is the case? if not then we are seriously going to be taking this club back.

Agree that we should be having a fair bit of movement in the squad. If that actually happens is another matter.

Does concern me that we don't seem to get in there early and as a result maybe have limited options. Ie hauraki for us to replace Eastwood. Yet Wigan and hudds both recruit quality back rowers.

Yet you're lying 2nd in the table with only 2 losses & have Pryce to come back.
I'd take your dire over ours.
We seem to have no one in our Academy to rate with Lomax or Gaskell who are both only 19 or 20. I think Hohaia has been signed for his utilty value.
I have to say that had we signed him I would be underwhelmed, but then our greatest need is in the front row. Though a top class 7 to put real pressure on Robbie would be an asset.

Good signing for you mate. The club has done well there imo.. Kiwis tend to settle well in this country (Eastwood apart lol)

We could take a leaf out of Saints book at the moment regardign recruitment. I was resisting calls for a clear out but I feel there maybe no alternative.. but we shall see once we get a fully fit squad..

See, signings like this really put our recent recruitment into perspective.

We can't afford to bring in marquee signings such as this as we currently have crocks like Lauitiiti tied into long term deals despite being past it. We also waste a quota place, and I'd hazard a guess a lot of money, on a 32 year old prop forward who has offered nothing so far.

Who is to blame for this poor mismangement of contracts and poor recruitment of players?!

Calm down. Lets not get too envious about their wonderful recruitment policies. They've signed a good player but they've been reactive because they were left with no recognized, experienced halves for next year.

Hardly a shining endorsement of their recruitment policies.

Still, it's nice to have the option of recruiting such players, we don't have this option due to offering stupidly long contracts to players who now offer very little, hence the signing of Cross.