I agree with you...feels really weird doing so though !

Don't feel weird. The point is that Matthew Smith is just about at the playing standard of the current Widnes team.

Smith is a cog in the machine player. He has all the individual flare of a lump of coal but if he clicks as part of a team he’s a good player. So it depends what the team do, if they just expect him to perform magic he won’t and being in the championship won’t make any difference. If they all play their part then Smith will be a huge asset.

I'm sure Budge was talking to Steph.

I don’t and never have seen Smith as any kind of flare player or creative genius. Our strike will come from Owens and craven who were both fantastic last season.

He does however bring a wealth of experience and a decent kicking game, he’ll more than be an asset to Widnes in the championship.

Correct and probably should have stepped down to the Championship a few years back but who is going to turn down a year or two in Perpignan. Be interesting to see how he goes..

A pair of good halfbacks can change an honest, 'ordinary' team, into a very good one. You have two good half backs there.

Yeah I think so. Rather have good half backs and ordinary outside backs rather than the other way around.

We still need a centre and at least one prop, then we start to look good.

Logan Tomkins and Matty Smith are very welcome additions.

Any whispers on who Saints and Wire are dual Reg’ing with? Without deflecting the topic of conversation. Leigh aren’t with Saints this year.

I suspect no one? Given they have to field a reserve team every week next season?

Saints gained absolutely nothing from that venture so I would be surprised if they went down that road again

I suspect that they would still like their 'fringe' players to get game-hardened in a competitive Championship, rather than playing against youngsters in the reserves. Leigh benefited (as did Saints) from having the likes of Bentley, Richardson, Aaron Smith, Ashworth, Batchelor, Costello, Eaves, Simm and Swift, turning out for them. Many of those guys ended up getting regular SL games with Saints, and may not have been quite so ready to step into SL, if they had been playing reserve rugby.

I’d say if we (Widnes) partnered with Saints or Warrington, we could have a squad competing near the top of the championship. That kind of game time I believe would be more beneficial than like previously mentioned, playing reserve grade

Ha ha.....do you have any idea how many Saints players played for their 1st team, who hadn't prior to impressing at Leigh. Obviously not !

Latrell Mitchell's options are diminishing by the day. West's Tigers have made clear that they have no interest in tabling an offer to him again. Only Gold Coast and South Sydney are left.

Isn’t he still under contract for 2020?

Proof that talent isn't enough on its own...he's been given bad advice and will now end up in Japanese or French Union if he's lucky, or Toronto if Argyle can figure out a way of getting him under the cap.

and not racially abusing him

Actually, will his current club assist in funding a deal for him to move elsewhere? (e.g. pay part of his salary?)

EFA

They could pay all of it. That’s not the issue, it’s fitting his salary within the cap now they have Leutele and SBW as marquee players.

Probably

Wasn't thinking that - I was wondering if he could fit in our cap, at Leigh!

one can only hope, just get rid of one of your 19 half backs and you may stand a chance

Leigh fans claiming the success of saints fringe players performing really well this season is just LOL.

Next they will claim the likes of Roby, Lomax, Percival etc who never played in the amateur league was also down to them