Hull - Hodgson, Briscoe...going back a bit further, Yeaman, Horne, Cooke
Cas - Clark, Shenton, Westerman, Milner
Hudds - McGilivray, Cudjoe, Connor, Crabtree, Bridge
Wakefield - Westwood, Ellis, Johnstone
Bradford - Bateman, Burgess x 3, Whitehead, Atkins, Ferres

All clubs whose Academy production I would have preferred to ours.

Would be interesting to count GB and England international caps and see how Warrington score.

I do agree though on your points that in recent years the 'elite talent' production has dried up everywhere and that there's a general problem across the game following the change to running academy teams.

I have read a lot of what has been said and I have a couple of points to throw in the mix.

Since the demise of Bradford we have been dining at the top table. OK the big one eludes us but our record of CC, LLS and finals indicates that we are competing with the holy trinity. So on that basis how many players have moved from Leeds, Saints or Wigan in the last 13 years and had a big impact (exclude moves to NRL). None have moved on and won a grand final. OK Mccillorum has picked up a CC winners medal along with Benjamin Jullien. Before 2005 ish we we lost our best players (Andy Gregory, Sculthorpe, Harris etc) to the teams that were dining at the top table just like Salford have done for the last god knows how long. So unless our players move on to Saints, Wigan and Leeds (to a lesser extent recently) then they are not going to grab a man drawer full of grand final rings.

My second point is that we are a buying club. Look at our signings since Gleeson. We go and try and buy our way to success. The list of big names is probably just as or if not more impressive than the big 3.
That does put us at a disadvantage in recruiting young talent. Why would a 16/17 year old halfback look at signing for us when in the last 5 years we have had Sandow, Brown, Gidley, Austin and Widdop. They stand a far better chance at pretty much any other club.
An interesting theory to consider is just imagine for a minute that we won the GF in 13. Would some of the younger players coming through then have been given more of a chance if we had lifted the SL trophy. So when Briers retired would GOB have been given more time to develop because the monkey had gone.

That is a very good point and probably one that contributes to not only the you not recruiting the best young players, but also to your eventual lack of success in the Grand Final. Wigan and Saints can lose 3 or 4 players and still bring through players who are instantly comfortable at Super League level. That hasn't been the case at Warrington.

I think there are a few other factors at Warrington. Historically it was the amount of effort in the youth system, for years players used to choose Wigan or Saints as they trained more days in the week than Warrington did. Things like that have improved since Moran arrived. Now it seems the player pool is smaller than it used to be in most areas and I know from my own son's development this year that at his age level (Pre-scholarship) the same group of kids has been identified by Saints, Wigan and Warrington. The training camps for all three clubs have predomnantly the same kids from St Helens, Warrington, Wigan, Widnes, Runcorn, Leigh and even Leeds and Cumbria. And they've all noticably sorted them into groups based on talent. That suggests it's not identification of the players that is the issue for Warrington. Speaking to the parents, there is a general preference towards the local side, but things like Saints touring Australia at academy level are brought up, as well as the amount of players that make first team, particularly at Wigan. Perhaps the biggest thing however is herd mentality. Quite a few of the parents have asked me where I think my lad will go if offered a place with all three and to let them know if he makes a decision on that. There is a definite desire to get their kid in the same academy squad as the perceived top players. If it plays out like that one club will likely start the academy pathway with a very strong team, which may explain why there are often really strong years at certain clubs but it not being the same club each year.

I'm less concerned over hb than I am in the depth...or lack of it...of out and out props.

And how long have us observers at Warrington been saying that ..... 3 years now possibly and still no genuine quality back up at prop .... philbs excluded

Patton has played 100 first team games over that time period.

How many would he have had if he was at Saints, where they've had Lance Hohaia, Travis Burns, Luke Walsh, Theo Fages,...they played Jordan Turner at stand off for a while, they brought Matty Smith back, Danny Richardson, Jonny Lomax....

Look how quickly they moved on from Richardson - would Patton have been given more patience or would they have dropped him behind Fages and Lomax?

What about if he was at Wigan, where he'd have been competing with Tommy Leuluai, Matty Smith, George Williams, Sam Powell. Wigan didn't exactly show much patience with Josh Woods, last year they brought in Jarrod Sammut rather than give a young lad a chance.

Would Patton have got over 100 first team games at Wigan?

Would Patton have got over 10 first team games at Wigan?

I see the found Sandow's very good mate over in Dubai...according to the WG.

Am I the only one who hasn’t failed to see the irony of the wanted poster for that individual displayed on a screen outside the HJ? (Guardian article photo)

Obviously the digital media team was as equally peed off as the coaching staff...



We missed a trick though - could have had Wolfie in a Bobby’s outfit meeting him at the airport.

Gold Coast are looking too offload a prop, we got any quota spaces left?

Leilani Latu [urlhttps://www.totalrl.com/gold-coast-titans-forward-offered-to-super-league-clubs/[/url

3 appearances for the team that finished bottom of the table. Could be the best signing since Roy Asotasi.

I think we're past the point of being desperate