I dunno, maybe the people who have been paying him a very sizeable wage for nothing in the months before he came to realise this?

Anyone else got any idea why this newly-arrived individual tossed this one in here? And why he/she/it should pick me out (and in a first post too) when I have not even posted on this thread for three days?

Is it something to do with your attitiude towards root vegetables?

Let's keep on topic shall we? I've done some trimming. As for our newbie. Come back when you can stay on the subject for discussion, we'll have no biatching on here thanks.

assuming we were looking at a couple of halves and maybe a backup half. maybe we've shifted our focus a little. Diskin became available unexpectedly so we've gone down route of strengthening our hooking option and relying on players already in squad as our backup half option. Hopefully we still have our first choice halves to announce once Orford saga is concluded.

I do find this strange as well. We have several options at full back so I assumed we would go for a good/experienced scrumhalf with Kearney at SO this season. I think the back end of last season proved that combinations of Godwin/L'Estrange/Addy/Kearney/Sykes did not work well as the halfback pairing.

We don't need 3 SL standard hookers and a good academy option at hooker. Someone said this would provide competition but there is already competition between two hookers for the starting/interchange role so 3 seems excessive, especially as O'Brien might be hoping to get a small taste of SL action this year.

So unless Wagga is going to be allowed to move, one of Wagga/L'Estrange is being lined up for SH. This means we must be getting a good/experienced Standoff to play alongside.
Then Kearney will be going to his best position of Fullback and we suddenly seem to have too many fullbacks.

Hopefully all will become clear in time.

Perhaps an overly simplistic assessment without knowing his reasons for not wanting to return, n'est pas?

The point being, for me, he has always been vastly overrated throughout his career and I repeat, a poor man's Brett Kimmorley. Won't be missed.

I wonder if there is some element of "planning ahead" in this move for Diskin? Don't both Wagga's and L'Estranges contracts run out after this year? We might find ourselves with neither Heath nor Wagga after this year and look to use Diskin and O'Brien after that point for the next couple of years.

good point there. we would have been in situation where we had to sign a hooker next year so diskin would have been able to command a higher wage. Plus other clubs would have been trying to sign him pushing the price up. By getting him now when other clubs have completed their recruitment we've potentially got him sewn up on a longer deal on less money than we'd have had to pay next year.

That was me, if we assume a key part of the gameplan is to have 2 hookers in every 17 each week, and we assume O'Brien is still some way off, hopefully will get a taster this year but I doubt it'll be much. Then having 1 backup is fine IMHO, and if that back up is SL level already and we can afford it then all the better. We need two wingers each week and I guess we're all fine with more than one backup, so why is one ready made back up/competition a problem for dummy half?

With 2 of the 3 certain to play each week, then taking into account injuries all 3 will get plently of chances to claim their place. I understand that in an ideal world the 3rd hooker would be a junior who is ready to step up, but I'd be quite happy with the 3 and then O'Brian as and when the coaching staff think appropriate.

On Orford, what happens if the rumoured Parra and/or Canberra deals fall through? I wonder how Orford's relationship with the club is at the moment? Do we welcome him back as if nothing happend,? move on professionally with him at 7, or just cut him loose anyway if he might now be a disruption? Hopefully we won't need to answer these and a deal can be struck and we have plan B lined up.