Where's Clarkson ??

I must confess I thought Rob would be playing hooker in 2012 as that was the way McD thought it suited his skills. However with McShane and Hood getting 4 year contracts it now looks different. Thought McS was on the outside but obviously things have been made up. So I agree it looks like Rob will revert back to half-back. I agree we need a couple of good signings which add to the team. No need for a replacement hooker now so I would have thought a ball carrying second rower and a quality centre as I see Hardaker on the wing with BJB at full-back and Webb covering that position and half-back. I think Smith will be off-loaded. Is the Griffin signing now dead?

i hope so

Plus the other point, we have Amor back, Ambler back we have signed Richard Moore, plus Bailey, Peacock, etc etc, how many props do we need next year?

I agree with most of that, but I think I would be tempted to give Hardaker the 4 shirt for next year and let him establish himself as a centre. Since he moved there a few weeks back he's been excellent, and if it's good enough to keep Ablett out of the position for Friday night, enough said for me!

Seconded.

Moore is surely the last of the crap signings.

Seen nothing to suggest Griffin would be any better than Amor/Ambler.

Where do you think the team needs strengthening for 2012?

As you say, a good pacy ball carrying second rower, and maybe a versatile back who can play in a couple of different positions equally well. I do feel that as well as Brent Webb has done at FB, we do really need a bit of competiton for that spot next year to send out the message that Webb has someone who can and will take his spot if he doesn't play well consistently. What will be interesting next year is to see if Mac continues to utilise Robbie off the bench as an impact player, and if so will Sinny likewise be still utilised at SO. If so, maybe look at bringing in a quality loose-forward type of player to take a little bit of the pressure of Chris Clarkson.
We'll have plenty of competiton for places, plenty of options, and a fair bit of cover for injuries and suspensions etc, so hopefully we wont be bemoaning an injury crisis to contribute to another inconsistent season.

I agree with your comments and hope Gary H also does! The Rhinos are obviously interested in Adam Cuthbertson who is a really good player and I hope we win the race to sign him but I think he will probably stay in the NRL As regards a versatile back I haven't seen any names mentioned. Brisbane Rhino was pushing the quality of Tony Williams of Manly who is also OOC but he thinks he will go to another NRL club. He can play centre, wing, second row and loose foward.No doubt we'll find out in due course!

Where has the cuthbertson rumour come from? What makes anyone think Williams who is in the form of his life is gonna come to a second rate comp?

I reckon much will depend on the outcome of Friday night and maybe next week if we are still alive. Maybe GH doesnt want to upset the momentum at the moment while we are still fighting for the GF, before making any recruitment announcements. Given his comments a couple of weeks back when he stated on the club's website that we would be spending up to the full salary cap again, he must have something in the pipeline, given the amount of cap space we will have with Senior, Lauatiti, and possibly Buderus leaving the club this year.

The Cuthbertson rumour came from an Aussie paper quoting his agent as saying he is not going to be retained by St George due to other salary cap needs and that it looked like he may have to move to England and that he was in talks with us, Saints and I think the other SL team was Hull KR.

There is a link somewhere within this thread to the article.

My 'reading between the lines' brought me to the conclusion it was the usual agents ploy of trying to create interest elsewhere in order to broker a better deal in the NRL?

Time will see, but if the rumour is correct I think he could be a very good signing

I would imagine sheer hope rather than any real insight!

I would actually have reservations about signing Cuthbertson. No doubt on his day, he's a good player. However - up until the last year, he was always a bit over weight, and his form was erratic at best. He strikes me as the sort of player who needs a really strong coach, with disciplined structures. If he joined us, I get the feeling things would be alot slacker than they are at the dragons, and there's a real possibility he'd not be as disciplined with his diet and training regime, or be as selective with his offloads to be effective.
As for Tony Williams, he is absolutely in the form of his life, and the step up into the pack has seen him be a revelation. Again though, he is playing in the Manly team that has one of the most structured attacks in rugby league which creates the space/time for him on the edges to get a full head of steam, which then see's him skittling over defenders for fun - He certainly wouldnt be as effective in the Leeds team, as we play a much flatter attack, with alot less time to wind up on his run.
Both would have the potential to be great signings, if the coaching and structure is right - However, both have the potential to be disasters. I'd say it's about 50/50, and I'm not so sure it would be worth the gamble for the money that they would undoubtedly expect.

Thanks for all the background info. It's all gone quiet on Cuthbertson so I don't know what is happening but other NRL clubs were after him as well. You say he needs a disiplined coach well I would think that McD falls into that catagory.
Tony Williams is OOC and I've read other NRL clubs were keen to sign him. I'm not sure even if the Rhinos are interested. His form is terrific and he is close to being called up into the international squad. I don't think he would disgard that by playing in SL I hope I'm wrong because both players would be great signings for the Rhinos

Agree I can see Williams in a rhinos shirt next year

I mentioned Williams because he's exactly what we need - but not what we'll get.

I've read that several NRL clubs are chasing him and if he wants to play for Australia then he has to stay down under which is a shame. What level will we get?

We could have exactly the same with Ryan Hall, if we made the switch.

6'4'' 18st 8lbs Ryan Hall? Exactly the same?

Agree a back-row difference-maker is what we need post-Ali. Ryan Hall is not that man.

I was talking about a powerful wide running tackle busting back rower. Ryan Hall would be exactly that if he played there.

Much the same as Williams has become there having been switched.

At the moment I see no reason to move hall from the wing, especially into the pack.

He would be fairly effective running wide, but think he has had a good year on the wing and personally wouldn't move him

Stupid. Ryan Hall is the best winger in the league, leave him on the bloody wing.

In your opinion.

And I was responding to



Not suggesting we had to do it, but that we could repeat the same thing Manly have done.

I wouldn't rule out the chances of Hall moving into the pack at some point. Lee Gilmour, and Luke Lewis have both been moved into the pack despite being very good outside backs early in their career. I'm not sure Hall has the pace to succeed long term as an international winger. It could be similar to Chev Walker, a very good SL winger but his attributes are more suited to the back row at test level.