Quote: St pete "It's the three signings he's made this year that's going to be the long term problem. Im not saying lance, laffranchci and flanaghan ain't good players but they have been put in positions that they can't play.
It's obvious we are in dire need of a scrum half and prop but where they going to come from? He should have signed a scrum half instead of a fullback and a prop instead of a backrow.'"
Just out of interest, go onto the superleague website and compare Laffranchi's stats againts Adrian Morely's this season (both have 7 games recorded), and against some of the Props you would have had us sign this year instead. I know statistics don't tell the whole story, and I'm not saying his stats will necessarily be better, or in some cases match, but I think you'll find they don't suggest he is struggling.
The fact is props in the current game simply aren't like they used to be, they aren't simple battering rams anymore and the rare exception that are generally useless after 10 minutes. There is very little if anything physically between the front and back rows these days with athleticism being preferable over sheer bulk, in fact there's little in terms of size and shape to differentiate between players of most positions anymore which the Aussies have exploited for years. I'd also argue that it's much easier for a 2nd Rower to adapt to playing prop that any other position having to adapt.
