We need a prop (or 2) and a pukka scrum half would be nice too. Hardly signings needed "all over the park"...

I was messing.

I think we are in dire need of two props and scrum half. I'd also like a good centre, not a lad been thrown in at centre who was a stand off but a centre that can make a break and give to his winger.

I was having a meal in the hospitality suite last week before the Catalan game and they had Paul loughlin as a guest speaker and I was just thinking he's just the player we could do with. Top class centre!

Wheeler doing a great job at the moment and I like him but he's not a out and out centre.

Well we will have to differ.

Still not seen the match in full, but out attack did not seam to be struggling too much, neither did the half backs
Wheeler to managed an intercept and a Meli barge over.
After watching the Catalans tries there was a lot of ball going to ground, that just seamed to bounce the right way.
TP seamed to go well but apart from that, not much else from the Props. In that senario it's amazing we where so far ahead.

I can conceed at present it looks like we are 2 props light not just the one. Glad we kept TP. But apart from that the rest of the propage are yet to impress.

Agree on all points, but there simply aren't very many Dobbins around these days. I think our current centre options are realistically as good as they could be and as good as practically every other team in the league overall. Prop/SH are much higher priorities - Meli/Wheeler/Shenton would be vastly more dangerous if they got a pass on the move from a #7 every now and then...

Im ok with shenton and wheeler but in a ideal world I'd love a centre like loughlin, he was the perfect centre.

We desperate for two props and a good experinced scrum half.

It wasn't and they weren't. Our forwards were the problem. They weren't taking the ball forward with gusto, shall we say, and they were lazy in defence too, some of them. We need an aggressive prop or two who will make yards for us. Perry should have been that man of course but so far he's been a bit wimpy really. But I'd go for a prop if I could only choose one and had to choose for this season.


That was far better than any barge over Meli has ever done. It was very courageous and he spun around to protect the ball and give himself more momentum. Meli just uses his weight and runs forward. He could be a fine prop except that he would go missing in defence.

I'd have Ellis in a heartbeat. He'll probably go back to Leeds, but if many NRL experts still think he is the best second row in their competition and Wests felt like he was worth at least another year, he would still be brilliant in our league. If a player that good becomes available I think you'd have to be mad not to be in the mix for him.

Plus, he's bigger than most of our props anyway.

IMO we need a winger, left centre, a scrum half and 2 big props. I'd say 5 out of a starting 13 is pretty much all over the park.

Sam Tomkins & Gareth Ellis

Cobblers. We're as good as we could reasonably be expected to be in the 3/4s given the salary cap and the level of talent potentially available on the market. I get a little weary of the constant calls from the kneejerk brigades for the quick fix signings of all these new Newloves and Sullivans that simply just don't exist in our game anymore and that strangely enough noone else in the league has either... I can't honestly think of another 3/4 line in the division, except for perhaps Warrington's, that would be worth swapping with ours. That to me is proof positive that our backline is fine as it is.

I'd say we need 1 prop.

You may say we don't have International class in every position but then what team does nowa days. In terms of the top sides we have pretty much comparable standard of play in all positions but Prop.

You are in very great danger of becoming the official voice of reason on this board. I'd be very careful if I were you

I know it's slightly off topic, but of those who were available last winter, who could we have signed to do a better job? It's one of the joys of the salary cap, every team has got strengths and weaknesses.

Back on topic, I honestly can't think of a prop aged under 30 in SL who I think would improve us greatly, so I'd go for that James Graham bloke from the NRL plus Watkins from Leeds.

It's not just a matter of doing a better job. ie replacing a player. It's about adding to the current roster not taking anything away. We where in for a few props but could not land them. The big question is if we could not land a prefered prop, why not get one less prefered, even if on a 2 year deal it would not be a total waste if the player was a disaster.