To be fair I agree with a lot of the points made by Prestwich red, Mal Alker has been a great servant to the club & on many occasions he has lead by example & can remember many occasion when is tackling has been a joy to watch, but I think he has played & carried too big a roll in the team over the last 3 years & in my opinion I think the team as suffered.
I also agree also with his comments about the training camp in America that something went on, which was pretty serious & was pushed under the carpet, one of my favourite players at the time John Wiltshire left the club & I always maintain this had more to do with this trip.

I wish Malcolm Alker well, I would like to thank him for is loyalty but I applaud the decision by the club which I believe is the correct decision, maybe this is the start of a new beginning certainly the capture of Holdsworth & his extension sends real positives through the club along with the progress of the stadium.

SSlim wrote :- He managed to chase down Matt King over the full length of the pitch last season. Apparently, Mr King is a top class Aussie Centre/Winger........ must be slow then And yes, I agree that he should have moved into the 2nd row as his tackling is immense but his PTB leaves a lot to be desired.`

Sums it up for me. 2nd row it should have been.

You sure about that??

Had he signed for St George when they wanted him he would almost certainly have made it into the GB squad, as all NRL-based Poms do.

You don't know what you've got till it's gone.

Gutted that hes going but the correct decision imo. Are we also presuming others will follow suit. Havent heard much on Henry, Swain, Gibson or Sidlow been signed up. Anyone in the know about if any ooc players are leaving or staying??

Haven't read it properly yet but I'm pretty sure the back page of the Advertiser says about Holdsworth's new deal and suggests there could be 'more on the way'.

With DH putting pen to paper I think there'll be a spate of contract extensions being signed. If members of the current squad can't get excited at the thought of playing with DH for the next 3 years and the new ground being built then they need their heads testing. I think Henry & Swain will stay put unless they get a better offer back home as they seem like genuine pro's and I can't see them jumping ship to another mid/lower table SL team. Sidlow & Gibson I would also expect to sign unless one of the big 3/4 came in for them, which is more likely in Sidlow's case if the Saints rumours are to be believed. However, the lure of the new stadium may hopefully be enough to keep the Wolves (not Wire ) from the door for now.

For several seasons I have been annoyed by the passing from a ptb: not just or always Alker's but a general tendency to lob the ball so it is both too high and too slow. Several players have been at fault.

However Mr Smith of Warrington fame has publicly stated this season that the quickness Alker brings to the ptb is a serious factor opposing coaches have to consider when playing us.

Who am I to disagree with Mr Tony Smith?

Could Mickey McIlorum be coming your way (on loan) next season?

I have to disagree with this. i think its a terrible decision. Mal is only 31! hes had another good season and is fit as ever, his kicking has added another dimension to his game and he still tackles like a demon. He never gets injured and when he does however bad hes back the following week! I really don't think he deserves this. I'm sure whatever contract could be offered he would accept it! I hope that the club change their mind and offer him a contract because he could carry on for us for another 2 years I feel. If the club don't, I feel Mal should leave and continue to play somewhere else for a couple more years. He doesn't owe the club anything and still has the ability.Your a long time retired!!

once again he was another level tonight. I do worry about our number of strike players, i think we have too many tackling machines

Yeah he was on another level - the basement.

Alker is way way past his best years. All he brings to us now is his tackling ability. He very rarely runs from dummy half. His kicking whilst improved only comes down to a couple of kicks a game and lagely inafective. Your just fooled cos he's fluked a couple of 40/20's.

There's no room for sentiment, we as a club need to move forward. It's the right move to not keep him on the playing rota. There are better options at both hooker and 2nd row.

Personally IMO it's time to finish doing the cleaning up job after jacksonville and getting rid of alker should have been done when it first happened.