I'm not sure when I insisted that.
The quota rules continue to confuse me unfortunatley though.
I do know that the O/S trained player limit drops from 6 to 5 next year though and with Kearney, Ox, Hall and Heathcliffe still under contract that leaves us one short of the limit and with 2 O/S trained players OOC(Nero and Beaver)

As far as I'm aware Nero counts as an overseas trained player given he was trained in Australia, so how does he suddenly become not overseas trained?

you seemed quite insistent on the t&a forum the other day





nero is a kolpak player who was playing in superleague before the new quota rules came in in feb 2007. as such when he signs his next contract he'll be re-classified as federation trained. same loophole that various clubs are using to get more than 6 overseas players this year.

I didn't insist anything, I was speaking as I understood it. But as you've cleared that up then thanks.
So Nero isnt on the O/S quota this year, just the O/S trained quota?

The quota rules are a load of shat IMO, what's the point in having these rules to reduce overseas players and then making seperate rules so that after a few years they can become British trained players?

It's pointless.

you've got it right now. we have 5 overseas quota players ( menzies,hall,l'estrange,orford and kearney) + 1 non federation trained player ( nero).

next year we're allowed 5 overseas in total. all 5 can be overseas quota or we can have any combination of overseas quota + non fed trained as long as we dont go over 5 in total. we already have hall,l'estrange,orford and kearney signed up, so theoretically we could reatin menzies or bring 1 overseas player in to replace him. Nero, if we re-sign him, wont count on overseas allotment at all.

your right about this loophole being a bit stupid but once all the players who were playing in SL in 2007 have retired it will cease to exist so its only gonna be an issue for a couple of years ( and could potentially allow us to bring big les back in the meantime I think

)

Sykes at full back? No thanks, I'd sooner see Kearney at FB with Sykes at SO, he's not good enough in defence to play full-back.

Newton injured already?

I just cannot believe that Worrincy is still in the squad!!!!

Hopefully he will drop out.

Typo corrected

From seeing your squad the bulls are very thin on the ground. Quite a weak bench compard to a lot of teams. A few injuries and you are in real trouble.

I hope that is the view of a lot of teams about us this year. There is no doubting we have less experienced players in our squad this year but I reckon the relative 'unknowns' like Whitehead and Donaldson will shock a few this year. In fact I reckon Donaldson will be our starting 13 by the end of the year, I am extremely excited about him and hope he continues improving.

I think the bench is key to winning games, I think you will struggle around the 20 and 60 minute mark in games, with a few injuries even more so. I just don't see any proven game brakers on your bench to swing things your way. As you say you have donaldson and a few other youngsters that are quite unknown and unproved who could be you game changing/winning introductions. can the players that dont make your 13 come on and change the game week to week? I'm in doubt but time will tell

Hmm...not really news...the Head Coach fully accepts (and the fans fully appreciate) that we are running lighter than ideal in some areas, wing threequarters especially, and the squad is a bit leaner than he would prefer. But he is completely happy that within the resources available he has the best balance in the squad that he possibly could have. Wing was in his view the area where, if we had to run light, this was the safest area to do so.

The thing is too, we have a great crop of youngsters coming through, a number of whom are further up the career ladder than most outside of the club and the more knowledgeable fans seem to appreciate. They may not be household names in the competition right now, and so their places in the squad may not impress those not in the know, but there is a very good chance that it will not be long before a number of them may well be. And, for one or two, that may come a lot earlier than many people expect.

This club is planning and building for the years to come, even if that means we have to be a bit patient still before we see a full return to the heights of the past.