Paul Jones... Decent defensive workhorse but the worst player with ball in hand you'll ever see in the top division - he could have played with oven gloves on and you'dve noticed no change in the quality of his handling. I remember one midweek game against Bradford where we ripped them apart with one long flowing passing move after another all night (those were the days) and [ievery single one of them[/i broke down the instant anyone passed it to him, usually with a knock on. If you were lucky he just died with it when he got the ball and I don't think he ever made a pass in his life.

The less you know the better probably

Really positive signing if he's as aggressive and destructive as people are saying which, added to Manu who is an absolute machine, really does give our pack a more formiddable look for 2013.

For all the (justified) criticism the club have copped over our recruitment, they've noticed the weaknesses in our pack and at least made an effort to address them.

Definitely, should be done NOW.

A certain video hosting site shows a glimpse of Walmsley’s 2 tries for Batley v Halifax 2/9/2012.

Nice little dummy to beat the fullback on the second try.

Alex will rip it up in Super League, i will wager anything he's Englands first choice prop within 2 years, ive watched him play since his amateur days and this was the only possible outcome, he is truly awesome and much better than Chris Hill was in his Championship days.

So who do you think he'll play more for next season, Saints or Batley, given he'll be on dual reg?

To be honest, if he gets started with Saints now and has a full pre season with them id say he'll spend more time with you next year and probably only turn out for Batley if he picks up an injury and needs easing back in.

It's been an absolute pleasure to watch Alex this year. I have no hesitation in saying he will be in your starting 17 in no time and we will see very little of him in his dual reg deal. The lad is unlike any prop in the game today championship or SL. Will be an instant cult hero. I train with the Bulldogs comunity touch team, and whenever we train on the Mount after 1st team training he stays out after all the other lads have finished and does extra sprint training. I'd be shocked if he isn't at least an England knight by 2014. Good luck Alex very well deserved.

SOunds like he [imay[/i go back to Batley early on to try out his improved condition and skills from a full time preseason, but won't stay long. I'm very excited.
As I say, I'd hope that if he's playing at Langtree, we could compensate Batley with one of our other good young props on dual reg too.

'The Beast' is an extraordinary talent, and the most destructive, hardest runner of a ball I've seen at any level of the game. I've lost count of the number of opposition players who have been left shivering on the ground in a crumpled, demoralised heap after attempting to stop him.

Out of curiosity, how many minutes does he tend to do? Is he an impact player or a starter?

Looking forward to seeing him play.

He's an impact player doing a couple 15-20 minutes stints if I'm not mistaken. He certainly works hard on his fitness so no worries there.

Pickavance had a decent career as far as I remember - was a regular in the side through the mid '90s. Did he retire due to injury or something? Or get shunted off to Swinton?

I seem to remember him kicking a drop goal at Wigan once.