16yr old Matt While from Cumbria....www.nwemail.co.uk/sport/barrow-b ... -1.1080115

16yr old Matt While from Cumbria....www.nwemail.co.uk/sport/barrow-b ... -1.1080115

Look forward to seeing how the lad gets on!

Josh Sunley has been released too.

And Liam McAvoy.

Be interesting to see how many more if at all are retained out of this u19 batch.

He didn't last long.

Another 'promising' youngster signed in a 'fanfare' of how much potential he was going to have and 'another for the future'

Joins the ranks of other similar young forwards brought in/promoted over the last few years only to be shown the door.

That's the problem with this new system - if they've not made it into the first team by the age of 20 they have to go.

Strange how in this modern, cashed-up by Sky millions SL era, the clubs have no desire to invest in anyone beyond the age of 20 if they haven't already made it. Yet in those awfully dark, skint, badly-run, wintry, muddy, boggy bad old days in analogue black & white which pre-dated SL, the clubs managed to run 'A' teams alongside academies.

Really surprised about Sunley. He was your standout player in the recent U19's game v Wigan.

Maybe a contributory factor to the financial ill health of most clubs in those days - just think how bad it could have been if they actually had to pay them as well.

How many of those players were full time?

The Alliance saw the likes of Dean Lawford and Patrick Entat make more appearances for the club in that arena than the first team.

I'm not sure whether the above statement is a good or bad thing!

You've posted an awful lot on here since the CC final about the winter rugby days. I agree with alot of what you say, but it does you no good whatsoever to be so nostalgic about an era that is in the past and will never return. We have to make the best of the current situation, stop looking back and start looking forward.

The super league era isn't the saviour of the game as sky like to make out, but the winter days are gone forever, accept it.

Way the game's going, I guess. Hardaker's got the full back berth and is likely to have for some time. BJB or even Watkins to cover if/when he's injured. We have a core of players who've been present throughout our recent "glory years"; we now seem to be moving back to the situation where the bulk of our team either are, or are likely to be, long term local incumbents. Rather reminiscent of how the game used to be when you could name not only those players that played for your team in most matches and their positions but also those that played for everyone else's teams too. Or perhaps this is just an age thing

In stark contrast to other successful professional team sports where a number of top class players can be competing for the same position, and their employers can afford to pay the requisite wages to maintain the size of the squad.