Next season would a squad of full time and part time players work? The better full time players can be retained and the club could look at signing up the more seasoned part time players who wouldnt consider a full time contract.
Could a training sessions be arranged around both groups of players.
We also have the option of signing an available player through the season who may want to go full time or part time around there personal circumstances.

Positives, better part time players available, cheaper contracts


Negatives, disrupted team practice, down the slippy slope of part time we never come back from

simple solution is to just plan all practice sessions around the availability of the part time players. Full time players can do extra work during day but have main sessions in evening. No disruption then.

I think we have to have an element of FT about us. Going to PT will set us back years IMO as it is such a hard transition going from PT to FT. Look what happen to Sheffield when they tried making the transition. Also if we go PT then the academy has to be scrapped. No player would sign from the academy to a PT contract.


For me we could maybe offer FT deals to some decent players currently on the books, sign up around a squad of 20 FT players and then have the 19s has the depth. The 19s train a lot with the first team anyway and they are some very good players coming through.

I don't mind this idea so much, could end up with the best of both worlds; in that we have the benefits of a full time squad in the whole but we're not ruling ourselves out of signing very good players who don't want to make the jump to FT as they have very good day jobs (the likes of Brambani have been mentioned are in this category).

Chalmers seemed adamant that not only would we carry on with our academy setup, he would actually put even more of a focus on it.

How can we do that if we can't even maintain a full time first team squad? It's completely backwards.

What is 'completely backwards' is a club in League 1 running a full-time Academy, producing players who will then inevitably leave and join SL clubs who can't be bothered to run their own Academy.

Unless the funding is fully in place for the next year to remain FT. It's the only way this works. We're all just too jaded/cynical. Talk is cheap.

There has to be something else. Odsal needs redevelopment commercially if we are to stay put. We can't afford the ground now, so if Div 2 beckons, can't see how we can spread what little known investment we have to maintain status quo. There were early mutterings of the Council and interested parties chomping at the bit to take the ground on, but strangely quite since the take-over. It's not just about attracting players to get us on the road to meaningful recovery, it's also about paying our way, part time or otherwise. When will a clear message of intent be unleashed from on high?

When we first went 'full time' there were a couple of part timers then, people who were good rugby players but who were towards the end of their rugby days or were on too good a wage at their day job to give up. It was a transition period and as we're, hopefully, in another 'transition period', then it's not something we can afford to overlook, imo.

I hope Chalmers and Lowe & possible others involved that may yet me unmentioned,
Have a very well devised masterplan ready to implement soon.

I bought a Season Ticket and one for my Grandad the beginning of the year, after a passionate if not very skilful performance at Huddersfield.
However after weeks of pastings and no investment, I am out for the rest of this year.

IMHO you could buy the Queensland State of origin team next week and there would still be a strong mathematical possibility of relegation if the results don't go our way, any players should have been bought weeks / Months ago to avoid the inevitable with a -12 start.

However as I have posted before if we ARE relegated, yet a team is assembled that will at least push for promotion and be enjoyable to watch then I am back in.

This year has been awful, some of the players we have in the starting line up would struggle against West Bowling under 8's.
Others like Ryan, Oakes and Bentley need to be kept hold of at all costs if we are to have a future, it would be gutting to see them go like AOB and Mellor.

Everyone knows what needs to happen, the writing is on the wall for the future, but the annoying thing is nobody is no wiser as to what the owners have planned for us, I hope its positive or we are DOOMED!

If they've not already signed elsewhere I think a drop to Champ1 would mean they would be the first to go. They have a career to make, being a pro sportsperson is a short life at best and they need to look to themselves.

Yeah it's inevitable they will move on. Think we can keep some of the lesser known HG players, like Ricketts, Pickersgill, Kirk, Wilkinson etc.

Plus if we drop it's hugely doubtful we'd get them back on loan/DR either as the parent club would want them playing a better standard I'd imagine.