As you say Jim, it can be a guessing game with whether young players come through and if they do , are they average or better.

I agree with your list of the three quarters and I think both Lumb and Ned Mc will make it. Simpson has a lot of potential, can he come back from the injury, who knows. I also think Jack Smith has a chance.

I think Littlewood looks like a proper RL player and I’ll stick my neck out and say he will also make it. I like TNW but think he I simply too small for prop in the modern game. The other 3 you mention are very young and have a way to go before can play SL

In terms of the pack, I think the 3 key ones in the next year or so are Ruan, Hudson and Warren. Ruan is a big, strong unit but I’ve not seen much to suggest he is a natural player, hope I am wrong.

I have no clue about Hudson and Warren, I’ve not seen them live.

We’ve invested a bit in recent years in these 3 plus of course Walters , if none of them come through it will be quite a let down in our recruitment.
Eseh looks much further down the track as Wigan’s 9/10th choice.

I’m sure Blease gets all this as he mentioned the Graham Murray pack in the first press conference. I think he knew where we need to go from the outside.

The other 2 are
Of course Fergus Mc and Sinfield, I can see Sinfield being a Harry Smith type. Fergus has a bit going on and a real chance as well.

It would be great for a bucket load of them to all make it.

Agree. I really want TNW to make it because he's a cracking lad and captain material IMO, but he reminds me of Louie McConnell (I think he now plays for Doncaster). He might make a better 13 but there is more competition there than prop.

Sinfield would be in first grade already I reckon except for his D. If he can nail that, he is definitely a chance.

Said it before but I actually think there's a player in Hudson. It's a shame he came to the game so late; it doesn't look like his body can take it. Hopefully he can get and stay fit and we can have a proper look at him.

Want us to sign Eseh; I did before he went to Wigan and I do even more now I've seen him on the field together with Mik. We look very mobile up front with those two on, they complement each other really well.

We'll see if a new coach can drag this squad into better performances this year: but IF we can get the next 2-3 first grade signings right, and our young lads develop, I could see us being up there next year.

Another benefit of having more than one youngster come through at a time is not putting all your eggs in one basket. If Simpson comes back fit and kicks on along with Ned McCormack and maybe Smith, we won't be betting everything on Newman staying fit/not throwing his toys out of the pram. That doesn't mean I'd want rid, but we wouldn't be held to ransom and end up paying overs.

That's why junior development needs to be continual, a lesson lost (amongst many) during the Golden Generation. For every Danny McGuire there are multiple Jordan Lilleys.

I will stick my neck out and say that both Presley Cassell and Zak Lloyd will make first grade. Matts knows the junior set up much better than I do but from what I've seen these lads both have what it takes. There are others too with good chances especially in the younger scholarship side.

A back row in a couple of years with a fit Gannon, Cassell, Lloyd, Littlewood will put lots of pressure on the existing first graders. A few lads that haven't made it in recent years basically haven't been big enough - I think the ones coming through now have a great mixture of size and talent. Would include Simpson, Smith, Lumb (once he fills out) in that mix for the backs too. Hudson, Ruan, Warren and a couple of others are also going to be in the mix for 2025 if we retain them.

Anyway lots of positivity for the future in my view, but we still need to fix up some holes in the squad if we're going to progress next year. If we did sign Eseh permanently, it would take immediate pressure off prop but I still think we need a marquee type proper prop to push everyone down the pecking order.

Replace Goudemand, Frawley, Fus and Momirovski. I realise that it’s not that simple due to contractual obligations. Plus the pack needs strengthening so it’s not an overnight quick fix. Maybe make an effort to convert Momirovski into a winger. Nevertheless for the first time in years I am reasonably optimistic. More than happy to wait a couple of seasons to see a strong foundation set in place. Unlike the last few seasons when along with the majority on here, could see the ongoing shambles unfolding on a weekly basis. Smith was a snake oil salesman of the highest order.

For the sake of British RL I hope Sinfield Jr can do more than just kick a ball high.

Spot on Jim, it's quite stark isn't it when you look at that vs recent years.. we've looked to address that with Croft and Ackers no doubt but it's been hugely underwhelming more often than not. Hopefully Blease will change that

To create a side similar to the best ones in the golden generation would be virtually impossible, due to the salary cap, plus the higher payments in the NRL. Not forgetting the higher salary cap in the British rugby union, who are also losing players to France due to the French having a higher salary cap. The main answer to this problem is spend your money sensibly and grow your own talent. Something we have failed to do over the last few years. Hopefully Blease will adress this situation, assuming hethrington supports him as I fear some difficult decisions may have to be taken.

I think it is possible to assemble a side which costs more than the salary cap - but you have to have a good number of homegrown players and then spank it a bit on your marquees.

Not forgetting a bit of creative accounting. Which has gone on for years.

I rewatched the Leigh game in cold blood last night. I agree with Kaeru that we lack quality, and our forwards are just outgunned as a set in terms of size (actually most noticeably in the back row against Leigh) but also aggression.

However, there were lots of occasions where our lack of line speed in defence was just awful. You can call it passive defence or any term you like, but there were multiple sets throughout the game where the line just stood still and watched Leigh play. This gifts easy yardage, and at times our defence would drift across following the ball, not pressuring playmakers at all. Its so static that even if they messed up a move Leigh could make 10 yards with a player getting the ball from a standing start. There were a couple of times where we also managed to leave huge gaps right up the middle as there was no urgency in players moving across to fill gaps as the defence moved to the other side following the ball.

Combine that with the lack of size and aggression in the tackle and we lose the collision a heck of a lot. It compounds - the defence is static, we lose the collision and the opposition get a quick PTB. Rinse and repeat. Good scrambling goal line defence saved us, but it's going to keep losing us games unless its fixed. We start sets further back than the opposition, who generally try hard to pin us back on our line with aggressive defence while we let them get away far too easily.

I'm not sure we have the personalities who can play a more aggressive defence, or whether its just lack of oomph, but some of those Leigh forwards were loving it. Be very interesting to see what a new coach would look to do, but for me addressing linespeed would be a major priority.

Excellent posting, I make no apologies for once again pointing out the devastation smith has caused . All this is entirely down to smith , the next incoming coach has an enormous job to sort out this mess.

it comes from the lack of power in the pack. That is the new coaches No1 priority. Paramatta have a big powerful pack, BA sorted that during his time there, their team was extremely powerful and athletic in particular the season they got to the GF. Same with Rowley at Salford, they are powerful right across the park

Lads get coached in defensive line all the way through juniors, I don't think Smith has ruined these players or the side, that's just hyperbole.

Agree with the original post, good summary. We need a more aggressive and systemic defence. O'Connor runs out to put a hit on which is great when it works, but other than him McDonnell makes extra efforts for kick pressure etc and that's about it.

Ironically line speed is your ally when you're giving away size/power to the opposition, the worst thing you can do is invite a bigger opponent space to build up momentum.

The new coach and Blease I'm sure will be aware of this. Like I've said before, we likely need both better players and a more experienced head coach. I will point out that nearly every club employee I've seen interviewed has been glowing about RS and sad to see him leave.

There are lots of irritating habits in the side I think. I was nowhere near as rabid as most on here to oust RS but if we get the right man in, I think a fresh voice and some re-focus will do us good.

Interesting regarding the rhinos staff sad to see him leave, as a side issue I know several ex super league players and one super league coach. They all speak highly of Agar. Funny old world.