Quote: nick hkr "I agree with a lot of people the way new signings play for a different coach, club and team mates can often be a great thing. Look at Andy Coley, he wasn't of a massively high standard but later in his career he became one of the best front rowers in SL. On the other hand Feka was utilised as an impact forward for many years and was very good at that role however a slimmed down version under a new coach was ultimately his worst season to date.
So I can only really comment on HKR's signings although I will be encouraged to see what our most important signing does with those players.
Shannon McDonnell - Has great speed, will be one of the fastest in the league and supports play really well. Not the biggest when it comes to defending he may struggle but his try scoring and electric bursts through broken play could well outweigh the bad.
David Hodgson - A pretty pointless signing IMO. Got good speed and reads the game pretty well but as stated regularly he comes up with some real blunders so maybe we could have kept Foxy till the end of his contract. I guess Foxy was allowed to leave because his international call up had almost doubled his HKR contract though.
Micky Paea - Totally unknown to me, he comes with a reputation for being an impact forward that can play in the front or back row. He's apparently harder to tackle than his brother at Catalans but doesn't play as many minutes. If the interchanges are reduced to 10 he may struggle to make the side every week.
Lincoln Withers - Heard he is training really well, super quick out of dummy half and has enough skills to cover Dobson if injury strikes as with last season. A bit lightweight to be making 30+ tackles every game but we're used to that with Fisher, plus Lincoln doesn't go round the legs too often as with Fish so should stop the man from making a quicker play the ball.
Constantine Mika - Again unknown to me but missed a hell of a lot of last season and hasn't really cemented his place at Newcastle only playing 14 games for them. He seems to like an offload so with Withers and McDonnell he could be a dangerous animal.
Greame Horne - I know it's been said he could be one of the worst but he fought his way in to a Huddersfield pack even when their other back rowers were fit. He might not be a great signing but he's far from one of the worst. He is a utility player that can play in the centres or back row which is going to be invaluble once injuries take their toll.
George Griffin - I don't think anyone on here knows anything about this kid. He's got to be the biggest punt yet and I honestly don't see him featuring this season. From what I've heard he's a big unit but needs a lot of work before he's up to the right standard. Would probably class this as one of the worst signings but could prove to be one of the best in future years.
But undoubtedly THE WORST signing that beats anyone elses on here has to be Misi Taulapapa!!! Don't get me wrong he may have done the business but to be signed then paid off before you've even got to pre-season training has to be the worst signing ever made by any SL club even beating the Willie Mason fiasco!'"
I would be MASSIVELY surprised if Paea isn't in the side every week. Same with Mika. Paea turned down an extension at Bulldogs to come here, so I don't think that would be to be a squad player...
