So we’ve been rumoured to be looking at/signing a bunch of London players. What does anyone know about them quality wise? Are they going to improve us?

Jon Magrin – Prop/Loose Forward
Iliess Macani – Wing/Fullback
Mark Ioane – Prop
Alex Foster – Second Row

From what I've seen of him, Alex Foster looks a decent player, but another in that mould that we've seen before. Probably not quite big enough to be a really impactful second rower and not quite quick and skillful enough to be a centre.

That being said, he's a better option than Blythe. who currently fills a similar role. Probably a decent squad player and maybe a good bench option, but I'm not convinced he's good enough to be a starter week in, week out.

Iliess Macani, I don't understand. Reminds me a lot of Will Sharp and will probably end up in a similar position. Bouncing around Championship teams, scoring some tries because of his pace, but never really setting the world alight. I don't think he improves on Moss, Clare, Caro or Ryan though.

Macani & Ioane I can't say I've seen enough of to really form an opinion.

I worry a little that Rohan's former London links are swaying his thinking. Although it could equally be that those links let him know there's a couple of gems there that have yet to be properly discovered.

No disrespect to any of these players , but I think you should be getting better players than these lads ,2 of them played against us on Saturday and did nowt to impress me, Bradford are still a big Club in my eyes and you need a couple of real quality players, not blokes London don't want.

Macani I think is a pointless signing and I just don't get. Agree with Hamster, he'll probably score some tries due to his power. But I don't think he's much skill or great defensive. More an thelete rather than a rugby player.

Foster I think is a tackling machine.

Ioane I think is a decent prop. Hes helped London finish second at the end of the day.

Margrin I think is a young player with potential.

Don't get the Macani one. I know it's not as straightforward as this but I'd have gone for someone like Garry Lo at Sheffield or Dalton Grant from Dewsbury instead.

Charlie knows.

Have we ever recruited anyone genuinely decent from London?

I still have nightmares about Michael Worrincy.

mark Ioane is staying at London
Alex Foster is missing home, talking to a few clubs and would be an excellent signing
Magrin and Macani are both London lads not offered new deals

In general I like the idea of a coach who can sign players nobody has really particularly heard of, having seen something in them that he thinks he can develop.

Smith seems to know potential when he sees it on the very limited evidence we so far have, and these lads certainly fit the first half of my description. I'll have to rely on Rohan for the second half, as I wouldn't recognize any of them in the street.

I suppose I am worried that we are dredging the bottom of the pond for makeweights that individually aren't up to much. Again. But maybe we can't afford owt else, and we won't know what Smith can make of them until he tries.

As for big club-big names - nice of Charlie to say but I doubt our bank manager, or HMRC accounts department, would agree

I think that's not far off where I am with this too. It's hard to say which way it will fall until we've seen these players in action for a few games at least.

I think supporters problems stem from the teams we had in the past. Now because of our more recent history we find it hard to be impressed with any prospective signings.

Roger will have seen all these players this season, let's hear what he thinks. Over to you Roger!

Am I getting confused? Wouldn't he have been watching more Sheffield than London this year?

I saw more of Magrin and Macani last season when my lad was on loan at London. I liked Magrin at prop, thought he was decent. Not so sure about Macani, as has been said he's got loads of pace, but so did Richard Francis for those of us old enough to remember, if you get my drift.

My lad is good mates with Foster, played in the 19s at Leeds with him, he's filling out now and I think he could be a good signing if he comes. Nothing flash but a good hard grafter

Don't know too much about the other one

One name mentioned on here I would love to see in a Bulls shirt is the Sheffield winger Garry Lo. Playing in a poor Sheffield team, he is very exciting to watch when he's got the ball, very explosive in the Henderson Gill mould

I wish I had watched more London games this season, instead of Bulls and Sheffield games. I've watched twice more crap this season than anybody else

It's a duty bound job I wouldn't wish on anyone. On the bright side, you'd probably still have had the same experience had he stayed with Leeds.

Garry Lo, 22 year old PNG player. Do any of them have birth certificates out there?

Ha yes probably. His move to Sheffield hasn't worked out the way he was hoping

Who cares get him signed.

My lad told me that Garry Lo told him back home in PNG if they are wanting to marry somebody, they have to buy her family a cow before they can get married. I'm sure we could adopt a heifer in PNG as a signing on gesture for his parents

So he can't catch then?

A mate of mine ran into Richard Francis a few years back while on business in the middle east. Seems he's doing alright.

There's a few on the terraces we could donate.

ha I wouldn't go as far as saying that, maybe sometimes you need more than just pace. I don't want to be pouring cold water on any new signings before they have even arrived

I believe that he lives in Abu Dhabi. He works in the Oil and Gas industry.

Doubt smith is being influenced by the time he spent in London.
When he was an assistant there the lads being spoken about were still in school.