Lowes was unwanted by the coach! ask him!!! we forked out on a player with some experience but who was by no means a top class signing. I am trawling through my memory banks for players who we signed as genuine "stars" before they came to us:

Paul Newlove
Shaun Edwards
Henry Paul
Brad Mackay
Lesley Vainikolo

we had some useful NRL players who'd been regulars at their clubs. The fact they became big stars over here shows more about the difference in standards between SL and NRL than anything else. I'd include on this list
Hape, Vagana, Gartner, Meyers, Bradley, Donougher, Boyle, Lestrange, Kearney, Henderson, Ben Harris

We also got some stinkers, who came with big reputations from down under, and ended up disappointing: Zisti, Orford, Hall, Rigon, Brooker

the key was taking unfancied British players, perhaps ones who'd gone stale at their clubs, had potential to be better as full time pros, or who had been relegated as a part of the advent of SL: Forshaw, Spruce, Anderson, NAylor, Graham, Mcnamara, Calland, Cook, Scales, Paul JOhnson, Pratt, KNox, Dwyer, Nickle, Loughlin

and i cannot believe some of the players ive missed off!!! Danny Peacock FFS - a legend! TV!!! Morro, McKenna

and of course we provided a decent crop of youngsters from our academy!!!

Leon Pryce
Stuart Fielden
Jamie Peacock
Paul Sykes
Rob Parker
Richard Moore
Stuart Reardon
KArl Pryce
CHris Bridge
Brett Ferres
Matt COOK
Jamie Langley
Ryan Atkins
Dave Halley
Sam BUrgess
plus the current crop

actually, this opens up another debate.... have we produced enough homegrown players compared to other similarly successful clubs in the last 15 years of SL???? I am thinking Leeds, Saints, Wigan

Lowes wasn't a star at Leeds but his departure was certainly a devastating blow as everyone there knew just how good he was - other than Dean Bell anyway.

He came to Leeds from an unmentionable abomination of a club in South Leeds after Leeds beat the abomination in the Yorkshire Cup in Sept or Oct 91, in which he was the best player on the park (playing at half back). He was Leeds' first choice hooker 92 to early 96 when, bemused by Bell's decision that he should, in fact, be playing second row, he headed west to find fame and fortune.

Ah! The good old days when Leeds recruitment policy was hopeless.

OK if you want I substitute the and a request to try to stop being so bleeding precious.

What I was making was a rather obvious way of pointing out you haven't said anything, at all, to contradict my point. But tell you what, if I give you Joe Vagana, will you be happy?

Technically in this case the recruitment policy was exceptional; it was the retention policy that let us down

Wasn't that the season of the Hall for Cook swap too?

I remember Lowes being solid, a bit nippy when we first signed him but after that pretty unspectacular. That said I was disappointed to see him go.

Jimmy was definitely 'solid', he was also a good acting half who seemed to know [iexactly[/i when to attack the line and he also had that winners mentality, that determination not to be 'bested', which from an opposing crowds viewpoint (I speak with experience) comes across as arrogance or even nastiness, but which all fans like to see in [itheir own [/iplayers.

I don't know why he blossomed at Odsal, maybe it was because he felt wanted (he said he didn't at Leeds), maybe it was having an ex GB hooker like Brian Noble as coach, maybe he was just the right man in the right team at the right time, I dunno to be honest. I do know that in his pomp he was one hell of a player.

Jimmy Lowes, joint best Hooker in the super league since 1995.

On his day he could rip teams to shreds and fight Barrie McDermott, Terry O'Connor and Wayne McDonald

Just wanted to add the late Terry Newton to the list of stars signed by the bulls in recent years. Highly regarded as one of the best SL hookers at the time a signed him.

Newton was a good servant for us but was past his best and mired in controversy. Wigan could have signed him but instead preferred Higham. But on the point we're discussing, "one of the best SL hookers" is damning with a bit of faint praise, isn't it? He would at that stage of his career have got nowhere near any NRL team, for instance. But anyway I really don't see though how you can class signing a player who can't even play for you for another 6 months due to being banned, as "attracting the top players". "Taking a punt" would be nearer the mark.

Talking about good signings. Best bit of business the Bulls ever did was recieve £250,000, Bernard Dwyer, Sonny Nickle and Paul Loughlin from St Helens for Paul Newlove.