in my opinion if the bulls are ever gonna climb the table in the near future we have to get rid of the following from saturdays team

platt
crookes
herbert
donaldson
patrick

undecided on one or two others but im afraid these offer absolutely nothing,and i would of played diskin for 80 minutes instead of putting addy on

Great plan, cut the squad size by 5. That'll do it.

Who would you replace them with?

He left a few years ago. Looks pretty good at the Giants TBH.

think we all know where we need quaity,hopefully lulia will solve one problem,luke gale?? dont know, desperately need a ball playing loose forward

platt - Inglis
crookes - Hayne
herbert - Orford
donaldson - Pele
patrick - Muhamed Ali

I'd also like to add to that the addition of a few others - Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, Roger Federer, Babe Ruth, Lance Armstrong, Don Bradman, Carl Lewis and Michael Worrincy.

In all seriousness though a wholesale squad change is the last thing we want this next close season IMO. I personally think the priority has to be to sign 2 quality centres and a proper scrum half. Hopefully, we are a third of the way there with Lulia - at least he plays in one of those positions full time.

Would keep faith in Donaldson, he's not the player he was before his injury but i believe he'll come good again. As for the others, i think Herbert and Ah Van could be going..not sure on the contract status of Platt and Crookes?

It's hard to judge the attacking ability of our backs when they are receiving such poor service. In all the games Crookes has played, has he ever been put away by his centre or had some clear pitch in front of him? No.
Similarly with Platt, we're so slow getting the ball out wide he has no time or space to do anything worthwhile. Fair enough he didn't have his best game on saturday, but I think he's worth keeping. He has a decent amount of pace, often looks for the offload and his defence is normally satisfactory.

Crookes and Donaldson are contracted to the end of 2012, and Platt to 2013

Whatever you might think about that, the fact is that unless someone is willing to take them off our hands they will be here next season

You should have done some research before making your opening post. Its not hard, there's a Squad thread on this forum.

I hope your 'sources' for the Luke Gale 'signing' are a bit more well researched.

I would also keep donaldson. very lively on his feet and tackles well. in a couple of years, him and whitehead in the pack should be a good 2/3 of our back row.

was dave halley not under contract

and sorry i didnt put this on the right thread for you,idiot

Platt, despite his scapegoating, has survived to become one of our more dependable, enthusiastic and effective backs. He isn't Greg Inglis, but he isn't a problem either. He's got more pace than most in the side, has improved his defence a lot and makes few errors.

Crookes has done nothing wrong. I don't see any reason why he should be got rid of at this stage. He is another hard worker and very enthusiastic, and deserves a place in the squad.

Herbert can't go because we have nobody else. He is what he is, he des not dominate games but does a lot of shrewd work and provides assists for half our tries, so unless there's a Matt Orford or something in the broom cupboard, getting rid of Herbert would be stupid in the extreme.

Donaldson - well, words fail me. Before his serious injury, this lad looked like he was going to rip up trees. We would be absolutely bonkers to let him go, he has already showed us as much potential as any of the young 'uns and needs and deserves a chance.

Ah Van - in for his kicking, which is no great shakes, I am not his biggest fan but tell me who else better we have to do his job and I'll consider it.

What he said.

I'd also like to add:

Platt - We need 2 quality centres IMO to add to the squad not replace Platt. I'd let Walker go personally.

Herbert - If we can sign a top Scrum Half I'd keep him to play stand off unless the new SH was an Aussie or a proven Stand off is available in which case I wouldn't offer him a new deal.

Ah Van - Looks ok on the Wing. No worse than Vainikolo in his first season. Again depends on who's available.

what does donaldson offer to the team,somebody please tell me cos all i see is him doing is driving the ball in and hes too small for that, never passes or beats a man, a smaller version of langley