To those who disingenuously ask whether I'd like someone like Siejka for the sake of it, there's no decent scrum halves available and all the rest of the defeatist claptrap, I say this:

Name ANY other club in SL, NRL, Championship, Championship 1 or even the French league which plays all season with no recognized scrum half.

Don't ask me who there is available, or whom we should sign, or whatever, EVERY CLUB IN THE WORLD has a scrum half, except us, and it isn't my job to find one or sign one. Advancing the pathetic and weak case on behalf of the management that "Well, there's nobody about" doesn't therefore wash - we've been in this mess for about a century now, it's not a problem that happened today. Every other club copes with this incredibly difficult concept, we need to stop making absurd excuses and sort it out, now. Or, frankly, pack the season in.

LOl - I have nothing against Wakefield. For what it's worth my dad came from there [Lupset] and supported them as a kid, so why should I?

IIf you can't see the irony in finishing bottom and holding a celebration, well fine, you don't have to if you don't want, it isn't compulsory.....and incidentally, [iyou're[/i the one who mentioned late recruitment, not me. In any case, as you say, since we recruited too, there would have been little point. Personally, I've filed last year as one to be largely forgotten - maybe you should do the same and give up thinking of posts bemoaning the system as being complaints against Wakey?

Its not just about the organising/leading around the park that's missing... Has anyone else noticed that our support play is fairly poor once we have made a break? Gaskell was pretty much the only person who was in support of every break at the weekend. Brierley is that sort of instinct player who is in support majority of the time, like most natural 6's or 7's!

Having instinctive support players create a lot more opportunities and more importantly- try's!

I'm not suggesting Brierley is our target but just highlighting another aspect that is missing from our side and helping us achieve promotion.

Brierley is off to Hudders.

TBF to Sammut Workington lost by 40 odd at Batley which probably means the Batley pack got on a roll, a problem that would mean most s/h will struggle in that game

Also in my opinion neither Sammut or Brierley are perfect solutions but one thing they will give us is a threat to worry the opposition, something we currently lack big time when Gaskill is marked out of the game

yeah I have seen that... my point was more on the instinctive support play by half backs which is another area we lack.

If true, once they get bodies back, perhaps Kyle Wood will be available. I know we were linked with him pre-season, and he would be behind Brough, Brierley & Ellis when everyone is fit.

So, realistically, there is some reason why, alone amongst all rugby league clubs of the world, Bradford Bulls has no scrum half.

I agree with that, I just think the reason is incompetence. The problem has for years been plain to see and solving it should have been number 1 on our list. Instead since we've needed a scrum half we have instead signed I guess 30 or so players who are not scrum halves, several of whom for no apparent reason, and spent a huge amount of money doing so, a fair proportion of which has been and is being wasted.

We needed to get an immediate grip of this, do whatever it took to get our man, and work from there. Maybe to pay his wages we might have been deprived of the services of 5 or 6 of the other signings we are still paying for but who never play. But we didn't.

And it's not Lowes, it's Ferres.

Was Ferres the RFL's choice? or Marc Greens? I saw him at the time as a safe pair of hands when we needed structure off the field. But player recruitment has been erratic at best. And that has to be shared between him & Jimmy.

In general, maybe, although it seems to me Ferres is basically in full charge of signings, but re a scrum half, I don't believe Ferres has suggested signing a scrum half which Lowes has refused. And it doesn't sound likely either.

We did have a very good scrum half in Luke Gayle who we had to let go due to the mismanagement of the club. I'm confident that we would now be in Super League had we been able to retain him. Since his departure, the recruitment of a suitable replacement has been a shambles. I feel that Ferris and Co are severely undervaluing the importance of a good scrum half and seem unwilling to put aside a decent enough chunk of the salary cap to secure one.

We've been linked with plenty of scrum halves recently but still haven't been able to lure one to Odsal. The only reason that I can possibly give is that they won't pay the asking price. That pot must be a lot smaller now we've signed Mather's and Lovegrove. I'm expecting a bargain basement signing if they ever make one.

We did have a plan A, and it worked, and we signed a great scrum half from Warrington. Then we had (correctly imo) an attack of nobility and let him go back. We've been scrabbling around for a plan B ever since then.