Of course in one way that is correct--We are RETAINING players from what is a sub standard group as the last few years have already shown us.But you would hope there is more to come from such as Donaldson,I am sure there is.To me Sammut is a luxury,which you can afford if you have class and pace all over the park to compliment his off the cuff Rugby,but we ain't.
Personally I would just need 3 players to add to what we've got(I know we won't get them btw),Brough at half back,this lad has come on a bundle and his kicking game is different class,Escare(Pace to burn wherever you play him)Dixon for electrifying pace on the wing.Add them and you would soon find the rest were playing above themselves coz Brough would actually be creating from Half Back and killing the opposition with his kicking game instead of just giving the opposition the ball back with no pressure.Different kettle of fish altogether then.
You need to take a chance IMO and get that marquee signing at half back,the rest will follow.Then the crowds would flood back in their 000's.You need to generate excitement,we haven't done that with any of our "signings" up to press IMO.

Well, if you want to ask y questions..
Retaining the best of our younger players who are [hopefully] going to get better is central though, and at the end of the day, most SL sides, apart from maybe the top four, are made up of middling, solid players with a few game breakers mixed in, and in our position we aren't really going to be any different imo.

Arsey question? Really?

Agree,the young homegrown players are the core of our future,but whatever team you assemble in an effort to compete and maybe succeed you need the player with brains/guile.the go to man,who can then unleash PACE.To me we still need that to turn this around and get the crowds up to 10k+ once again.The forward signings are solid if not spectacular.

18,000+ at Valley Parade I see.We have a lot of work to do imo.

Well, are the answers y?

I think we were told not to expect 'marquee signings', so it's in line with expectations, to be fair. I think that is the nub though, whilst the odd very quick winger is around, speed alone isn't sufficient to be successful and you really want someone with both speed and a bit of 'nous' and game awareness - and these guys tend to want 'marquee' money. Hopefully Luke George will turn out to be a bargain who fits the bill - I'd guess he's quicker than anyone else on the books?

Yes,George is a step forward and YES we were told not to expect MARQUEE signings,but its a chicken and egg situation imo.Unless you generate excitement,the crowds will not flock back to Odsal imo.
BTW anyone who saw Berwyn Jones play will know,SHEER PACE GETS YOU A LONG WAY in Rugby League.Aussies couldn't handle his speed--lol.

Yeah Kevin Penny's career worked out great You need more than pace in today's game.

Definitely agree about excitement but Berwyn was no rugby 'rabbit' though as he had played union in his youth and had learned the art of backing up etc.

Who was that Olympic sprinter who played for Cas a couple of seasons back? He could do 100 metres before most of the chasers knew he'd gone....but how many actual tries did he score?

We also used to have a kid a couple [or more] years back called Johnson, I've forgotten his first name but he had a brother [Andy, I think] who played in the centres who was actually a much better player, though not as fast. Any way the kid whose name I can't remember could run like the wind and I can remember him, in a pre-season game, running down and catching the speedster on the Leeds wing over about 40 metres - I've never seen the Leeds crowd, who were cheering the 'try' before he got to the half way line, silenced so effectively before [well, not since Vainikolo caught Sinfield's bomb and ran the length of the pitch..
I guess what I'm saying is that speed is a wonderful asset but on its own it isn't quite enough.

But we can't afford Marquee signings. 12 month ago we almost went bust, we're not going to turn into title contenders in one year. It is about adding and improving year on year. Next target is to make the 8 (something we HAVE to do IMO) Then we look at breaking into the top 6 as we are in a position at attracting top players.

Carvell and Ferguson are two great signings. They have come from the top team in the league, and the team currently second. Neither set of fans wanted either player to leave. For a team in 9th to sign them, thats pretty good going.

I'm sure Franny would love to sign the names you've mentioned, but im sure Leeds Wigan Warrington etc what them as well. How do we convince them to join us?

Dwain chambers was banned from sprinting as he was a drugs cheat, dont remember him scoring any but think that was more to do with cas only giving him the ball so he drove into the centre, in a team who would spread the play ue would have had a field doahaimst some teams.

BERWYN JONES on hard grounds JEEZ,the mind boggles.He was too fast for the Aussies, knee deep in MUD--LOL.

Yes,I know what they said and where we are,were,so that being the case,crowds(that generate CASH and the spin offs)cannot be expected to rise until they can sign someone who gets the blood racing.As I said,chicken and egg.Crowds have fallen badly this season for a number of reasons,more expensive tickets being one,so if you think signing Carvell/Ferguson/George(steady as they are)is gonna add 4/5k to the gates then I can't see it.How are they gonna get crowds back to 10k+ then without speculating?
Please come and support us as the team is more or less the same as last year when we failed to make the play offs????
I am just being realistic.

He only played 40 minutes in a friendly against York for Cas.

There is no quick fix for us, we get into the 8 next year then our crowds will go up the next year and so on. It's all about steady progression. I don't get how you are being realistic, how do you suggest we get these players here? Nobody is expecting Carvell, Ferguson and George to add 5k to the attendances, we are expecting them to make the team more competitive and thats the only viable way forward for us. Personally I don't think the crowds have been that bad to say we have not made the playoffs in 5 years. You need to look at the bigger picture.