Ben Currie??

Good player? - Yes.

Irreplaceable? - Absolutely not.

To be fair, he's pretty much the same as 99% of players in the league. Solid individuals, but because the game is now so formulaic, there is very little that makes one player stand out any different to another. It's becoming increasingly a sport where it depends on a coach organising and rotating his squad and getting the best from it over 30 odd games.

Look at Saints with Ben Barba. Everybody thought he was irreplaceable and they would go downhill with his departure. In comes Coote, the coach makes a few adjustments and they improve and become the best team in the league by a mile... interestingly, to confirm my argument, the coach leaves and it is only then we see a downturn in form.

As for Wire, the only player I'd be worried about leaving and not being able to replace adequately is Daryl Clark, simply because he is in the 1% who do actually stand out from the rest in the league.

Putting some respective into Currie. He’s no longer the player he was pre injury x 2. He is no longer an international. You have to consider those factors when reviewing a new contract. Is he more than half the player he used to be?...
Not quite so much...only right his deal reflect what he currently offers. He could take a reduced season only deal with hope to impress and improve on that for 2022

Currie did stand out before his injury because he was a different level athlete, he was easily a 1%er. He carved SL teams up running wide at age 20/21. He reminded me of when Nathan Hindmarsh came through at Parra or Bradford-era Jamie Peacock when he started off in the second row, you just knew this was a player on a different level. But how much of that was based on him being a cut above the rest as an athlete in terms of speed, strength and agility and how much have his injuries taken away permanently. If they have robbed him of that then he may be now in the 99% like you say.

Could be an argument for Currie being the RL equivalent of Michael Owen then?

Fantastic young talents, struck down by injuries and the unavoidable and inevitable aging process, which diminishes one of their major attributes, their pace, and sadly you are left with a shell of the player you once had?

But unlike Owen...Currie is in a salary capped sport.

Just seen that Niall Evalds has told Salford that he has signed for another club. The merry-go-round has begun.

In the absence of any actual Rugby, this is where we have to find our excitment these days.

Castleford.

touted about j jones might be going to you

I wouldn't say no.

A replacement for BMM ?

Hearing return of Livett with a new contract and McMeeken joining us are on the cards.

Interesting development around salary cap for 2021. The West Yorkshire mafia (Cas, Wakey, Hudds, Leeds) wanting to drop the cap to £1.8m next year, clubs this side of the Pennines still supporting a full £2.1m cap limit on the basis clubs do not have to spend to it if they feel they can't and the fact it would reflect negatively on the sport.

Not sure how it would work with contracts already agreed for 2021 in some instances, are West Yorks expecting players to take an across the board 15% pay cut? Or run with smaller squads.

Discussions ongoing apparently.

A mandatory reduction in the cap, even if it's only temporary due to the prevailing economic conditions, is a backward step IMO and as you say Alffi what about current contracts? Yes we are probably fortunate at Warrington, but if the guys in West Yorks only want to spend £1.8m there's nowt stopping them

Absolutely, Uncle Rico. clubs should ensure that their expenditure is in line with their ability to pay. If Heatherington wants to limit his expenditure then let him. He is probably more concerned about the cost of his new stadium. No doubt if and when it is paid for he will be pushing to increase the cap to suit himself.

It has taken us years to get him to agree to a reserve grade when most clubs and pundits thought it a must have. Let's not let him and his cohorts over the pennines dictate that we operate to the lowest common denominator.

No we don’t want to do things like that.