Again fella, I don't disagree with either of your points.

Bill would give us more right now but I believe Newman will be better and play for us longer though naturally there are a lot of maybes and risks in that.

Greenwood has potential but no more so than Marti, ward and mellor so while I don't disagree he would be a useful addition I don't believe he would make us materially better.

Boyd keeps cropping up and a player like that would have offer something the pack is lacking currently. We do need a centre but probably more a utility back than bonafide centre.

If Boyd's not keen on coming then we move to another target who is. Should have learnt our lesson on this.

Agar saying he's already spoken to an NRL player when he was down under just waiting for Martins PNG passport to be confirmed. The interview is on west yorkshire daily.

Let's hope it's a quality big hitter

Anyone know who Boyd's agent is? It would appear Agar speaks to him regularly....

Peter Smith has just posted an interview saying what we are not linked with Shannon Boyd and we won’t be. Also we might not make signings before February! Seems that Martins Passport is holding things up aswell. What British player could we go for though? I would say Greenwood is the only one really that we could realistically get and is good enough.

I’d rather start the year with the squad we have and see which NRL players become available mid season

I agree someone HG like Greenwood to compete with Martin, Mellor, Ward etc in the back row now Merrin is gone would be decent.
Save the current OS spot for a utility back, someone who can give us some real explosive presence either at wing or centre.
I think with Ava, Prior, Cuthbertson, Crosby, Oledzki and some of the development lads, we’re probably ok for props now. Look to add again once Cuthbertson’s deal expires.

I thought Merrin was only leaving should we have a replacement lined up. Prior is not Merrins replacement. It appears Merrins timing has left us in a difficult position

Greenwood won't come cheap and it might mean if a marquee player comes available we won't have enough cap space.

We could do with Crosby fit for the start of the year ideally - if nothing else to assess whether he's a keeper or not.

I do think we lack punch in the middle; Holroyd is our best prospect in that regard but he's very young and coming back of several injuries (already).

Our back three is much more mobile than last year (which is good) but they're not impact players.

We look light on a wing still for me, and that's an area we're arguably weakest with the juniors too. We have the pack conveyor belt almost sorted for now, and a couple of lads who'll put some pressure on Walker, but a couple of injuries in the back line and we'll look thin quickly.

Will also be interesting to see the team perform in terms of Agar's input: this is much more his team now than the one he inherited, playing his way and so it's a big year for him as coach in 2020 too.

Very good post. Agree completely

Same agent as James Graham

He is actually Agar's own agent also.

I think Agar has been very open and honest about most transfer things, and I appreciate this new stance from the club. They said Merrin might be going even though it was later than anticipated and even said they were in for Prior.

Having said that, I wouldn't be surprised if we had already got someone lined up in Aus, but just waiting on the passport situation. Hopefully we'll find out who in the new year.

In terms of an non-overseas back, who is available?>?

Just on this, coaching ability aside (and we'll see how he gets on this season) I've been really impressed with how Agar has gone about his business, seems open and honest, not afraid to criticise players when it's needed and seems a good guy. I really hope he can prove some of the doubters wrong and gets the team firing next year.

I still see his time in charge as coach as a short-ish term thing. He's here to steady the ship. put some processes in place, sort recruitment out and handle this massive transition and clearout.
Whether he's the right man to take us to the top again I'm not so sure - time will tell.
What does seem clear is that he's done a very good job with what he inherited, and most of us would agree the club is moving forward. I particularly like how he isn't afraid to identify weaknesses in the squad even if it puts someone's nose out of joint.

We pay a fee for Niall Evalds

Cant disagree with that Chris & ill happily be proven wrong if he leads us to success or even lays the foundations for success ala Powell.

I get that your name is krisleeds, but are you actually Niall Evalds? This post is getting waaaay to regular for you not to be...

can't see it as this is a deal that would have been done earlier in the off seasonWhy would Salford sell now when there is little chance of a replacement?

We don’t even have an assistant coach, let alone a finished squad. Competing will probably be beyond us. Pretty poor really, from the messsges they put out before season ticket deadlines.

However, do think we will win some of the type of games we lost in last few years, if in same position. More direction and game management about us.

Chev Walker has been confirmed as the assistant

I like Chev but I'm underwhelmed by that. I'd have liked someone to improve our creativity like the Fev coach did when he came in.

We were told we were getting new blood and a proper assistant. We went for Carr who did a great job helping us out of the poop last season. If we have gone back to someone who has been involved with the failure for last three years, then that backs up the point I made.