You see, i've been accused on here before for Bridge bias, and I've always stuck up for him, but yesterday proved to me that he can't really play in the halves. When Clarke had it at hooker, say centrefield, Bridge didn't have a clue where to go, he was almost jumping from foot to foot, like when you walk across hot sand in bare foot, never once did he clap his hands with any conviction, demand the ball, and lift his head to take a look at the defence then try to probe a way through it, never once. He just almost hid behind Monaghan or at least he hid behind Clarke, on his blindside so he couldn't see him as if he didn't want that responsibility. The only time he looked a threat was with broken play, like when he put Grix away.

That's the difference with Briers, he has the ideas, almost too many at times, but he'll always be thinking, a couple of plays ahead etc. Like Smith says, he overplays at times, but he'll take risks and find plays too.

I always feel that Bridges first instinct is to run with the ball rather than pass it. However, he still looked the man most capable of breaking the line yesterday in what was a very flat performance.

And it also begs the question; why bother replacing Briers? There aren't many better.

Father Time. If Lee signs for 12 or 24 months or however long, plans need to be in place to identify a replacement starting now.

In TS we trust.

The way people ae talking though a replacement is needed now. There is at least another good season left in him and he has earned the right to be potentially involved in any success Smith can conjure up.

I dont think we need to replace Briers we need to add another halfback to the squad. every player in the league knows the ball will go to him on tackle5, so we would have a better balanced team if we had another option! That said if Briers does go we will need to sign two halfbacks

Jonathan Thurston may be a bit of a pipedream, but if we can get him it would be the biggest signing in Super League history.

Ben Roberts is not a bad shout. Always impresses me, plus his cousin Tim Cahill already lives in the North west and could help him settle in.

As for British players, I think only Myler or Danny McGuire would do for me.

Myler said on BBC I've got one more year on my contract at Salford and I'm just leaving all contract talks down to my agent Martin Offiah so who knows Salford may keep him if they can raise enough money

Wouldn,t you say langer or johns were the biggest signings in s/l thurston will always be in the shadow of these two greats, so if we can sign these two i wouldn't think he would be a problem especially as they would offer him "silly money"

I'd disagree. A current first choice Australian scrum half at his peak aged 26 would be a far bigger signing than either Langer coming out of retirement or Johns for three games both at the back end of their careers. Immaterial though as any talk of Thurston coming to SL would just be a bargaining chip in contract negotiations down under.

briers will do another 12 months,personally i think he deserves it too.

No there isn't, if you look over the past 4-5 years, at our record when Briers plays against our record when he doesn't, it is about the same.

People forget that during our last few years of "injury crisis" when injuries to Reardon, Bridge and Johnson etc meant we lost every week - Briers was hardly ever injured and we were still erratic.

When Briers went off, it was easter weekend all over again for me. I knew we couldn't score enough to win, and as harsh as this may sound, relief swept over me when Grix did score to avoid being nilled. However, it wasn't just Briers and our England rep's whio were missed. Higham was a noticeable absence in my opinion. We were very flat and there was rarely an injection of pace from the play the ball.

As for Myler, well, people are throwing his name around but I'm not 100% on this one. The guy has played well in some games this season but I certainly wouldn't go breaking the bank for him just yet. Let him prove himself over time (not half a season) first.

I'm at a complete loss as to why people are interested in slagging of Lee Briers when we have a number 7 that is without doubt the worst number 7 we have ever had......

Gary Hulse was twice the player Monaghan is...and thats being serious...

Michael Monaghan is a waste of a jersey, a contract, heat rub and Vaseline....