Quote: No1 Saint "We need to clear the decks for next year and give Brown a chance to shape the squad how he wants. We need to start making the calls on players that we dont want to renew, if some of them are playing for a RL future they might even buck up!
For me
Wello - retire
Gardner - release
Meli - release
TP - release
Perry - release
Hiho - try desperately to sell to the NRL
Gaskell - release
Howarth - dont care
Laffranchi - release
We then need to sign up the clubs future by giving long term deals to Walmsley and Percival for starters - 2 outstanding talents who will be hunted by the NRL and other Superleague clubs in the near future. If we make the calls to let people go we will know exactly what we have to spend and we can start the recruitment process as early as possible. For all the doom and gloom (me being part of that) I feel we have some very talented players still but we need to recruit wisely to get back in the hunt for trophies.'"
I totally agree with all of this to the latter. Our recruitment of new players has been dire over the last few years with only Walmsley being the possible only highlight. We have a dire Front Row at present, Makeshift Half Backs, a Three Quarter line that has no pace whatsoever and we have never replaced Paul Sculthorpe at Loose Forward since the day he retired. Im sick of hearing that we are rebuilding and its not good enough anymore. Our recruitment has been totally dreadful since maybe 2007/2008. If we had of started rebuilding the team when Long, Cunningham and Sculthorpe left we wouldnt be anywhere near this fine mess we currently find ourselves in. Its totally embrassing that a club of our size in Super League has to field halves such as Wilkin, Howarth and Wellens. Wilkin is doing the best he can but surely the club should have seen this coming??? It was allways going to come sooner rather than later that Lomax would replace Wellens at Full Back leaving us a 7 short. Our wingers and centre threequarters havent had any pace since Albert, Sullivan and Newlove and thats going back nearly 10 years and dont even get me started on the pack.
Team for 2014
Lomax
New Winger
Turner (who really hasnt convinced me at all and looks another poor recruitment addition)
Percival
New Winger
New Stand Off
New Scrum Half
New Prop
Roby (c)
New Prop
Manu (When this guy fires he can be frightening but at 32 years of age should never have been signed and has been poor this season when he has played)
Soliola
Wilkin
