I think it was a tough decision to get rid of Hicks, but ultimately the right one. He would have been 34 the following season and would have been his last. He was also experiencing 'back issues' wasn't he? He only went on to make a handful of appearances in the NRL the following year.

JMonas came in as a 29 y/o test player, who went on to score 145 tries in 145 appearances over 5 years. He, along with Hicks must go down as one out our most successful SL imports.

Who was it that said better to get rid of a player a year early than a year too late? The 5 years service we got from Monas suggests we made the right call on that one for me personally.

Hicks goes down as one of my favourite players mind.

It was Hicks idea to let him go, he got a full years pay and we signed Ping due to his availability.

You probably claimed it was a cost cutting measure at the time.

I was actually a critic of hicks signing without actually seeing him play - thinking him as being an Aussie here for a final pay day.

I was 100% wrong.

He was one of the finest wingers I've ever seen play in p&b. If not the finest since watching in the 70's. His hat trick at the cc final was unbelievable. Joel with speed. Imagine them 2 or him and john Bevan in this team... Drools. especially with gleeson and King.....

I loved Chris hicks and Henry Fa'afili, Fa'afili did have a lot of help from Gleeson and in the end he played in the centres and was much better. Hicks is one of the best wingers we've ever signed and i had no clue at all who he was before he came over but ended up being amazing

Never forget that try in the semi against Wigan! Will live with me forever

Not sure I ever remember Fa'afili playing in the centre? He was an unorthodox winger, to be sure, but a great finisher and totally under rated.

Yup, was probably 07 when penny hit the scene, we had an injury crisis and ppl started getting shifted around, gleeson was playing 6 and 13 and fa'afili moved to centre.

We turned on him partway through his tenure here as he was not turning for kicks and was costing us a la lineham.

He was a quality finisher though, no question.

Not sure I ever remember Fa'afili playing in the centre? He was an unorthodox winger, to be sure, but a great finisher and totally under rated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkCkXWkNVAM ahem , i didn't post this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkCkXWkNVAM ahem , i didn't post this

Great bit of video. It just made me think that for wingers to score tries the team and good players working together to make space are the key.
Solomona this year scored lots of relatively simple tries due to Castleford's back door play usually involving Gale and Luke Dorn ... mind you Solomona is pretty handy. When we had Briers and Gleeson stacked up on the right we scored loads. When Brett Hodgson chimed in we scored on both sides of the pitch out wide.
Kevin Penny would have scored plenty this year playing for Castleford and Lineham would have bagged a few playing outside Briers and Gleeson.

3rd try of that penny hat trick. Be nice to have some pace like that in the side these days