he is going to be a quality signing...... cant wait

He can certainly talk the talk and has said all the right things in the right way but let us not get carried away as he has not been bought primarily for talking.
I suppose the disappointing big signings we have made over the years makes me a bit cautious but I welcome him to Warrington and sincerely hope he becomes a Wire legend.

Watching the speed of the play the ball with Clark at dummy half for England got me very excited. I know we'll miss Monas's experience and all that, but that spark from Clark may be the final element. If Hill maintains his ridiculously consistent high levels, if England and Ben Evans progress as much as they did last year, if Sims is half the player we hope and if Asotasi picks up where he left off in the last three or four weeks, then we will have fantastic go forward with the halves having far more time than they did this year.

My slight fear is defensively we can be a bit soft. Clark is nowhere near the defender that Monas was. I don't know about Sims. England can be stepped easily. Grix, Harrison, Hill (again, of course) are all excellent in defence but they can't do it all.

Oh, and let's hope Westwood is at 2011/12/13 form and fitness next year.

I sort of disagree about Monas defence. He was not a weak defender by any stretch and he hardly missed a tackle. He was my favourite player over the last 20 years but his one on one tackles did leave a quick play the ball because he went so low. Clarke is a bit more like Roby in that he will go in up top to try and hold the attacker up.Monas one on one tackles were exactly how I was told when I was younger but with "the wrestle" and "winning the collision" now it is a bit different. Horses for courses I suppose.

I just hope Sims has a good start because it does not take long for the wire faithful to get on the backs of NRL props.

The main thing i'm looking forward to with Sims, which he alludes to in the interview, is his leadership/enforcer qualities. We need someone like him badly, someone first into the action should there be any bother and intimidating......it adds confidence to the entire team and we've been lacking this since Morley left. Hill (and others) will only get better with someone like Sims alongside him.

If Sims form from last year is anything to go by then people stay hit once he connects.

True. Remember when Matt Rodwell came over, he was brilliant at the media work in the off season. Intelligent and articulate, accessible to the media and the fans (remember him posting on Wolfweb), all the feedback was that everybody at the club thought he was a great bloke and popular with everyone. Looked good for being one of our most popular signings. Then the season started, he wasn't fit, wasn't the player he used to be, and the team was rubbish. Suddenly Rodwell became the target for all the fans' anger, because he was Mr accessible nice guy.

Ashton, if you're reading this forum here are some tips:

1. When the season starts, stop reading this forum. Unless you are in Man of Steel form next year, in which case it's ok to read it.

2. Make sure you say the right things to the press. Warrington fans will be very sensitive to anything that suggests either you want to go back to the NRL, or you are in any way not taking the English league seriously. Never under any circumstances criticise the fans even if they warrant it - once you say something like "our away fans are great but the home fans getting on our back don't help" then you are finished. For extra points if you refer to the club as 'the Wire' rather than Wolves it will mean a lot to the fans and this will suggest you are interested in the club's history.

3. Super League is likely to be easier than the NRL but a lot of Aussie players haven't handled the switch. The expectations will be high and the fans are ruthless judges. On the whole they are going to be fair, but harsh. If you are good they will acknowledge this and treat you with great reverence, if you are rubbish they will barrack you relentlessly and say they will pay your own air fare home.

4. If you are a forward enforcer, especially one with a bit of charisma that gets the crowd going, you will be a cult hero (if you are good). This will be fun, and you will end up as a legend in the memory for many years, like Boyd, Tamati, Jackson and co were from the 1980s. This means you will be able to come back and visit Warrington as a 50 odd year old and immediately be treated as a town legend.

5. Being good is more important than playing up to the crowd. They will soon see through it if you can't back it up. Chris Hill isn't a big personality and doesn't egg on the crowd but is a crowd favourite, because he's just good. In fact I don't know how big Hill's profile is in Aus but you are about to find he's one of the best forwards in the world and will set the benchmark at Warrington.

6. If you start slowly and are out of form don't panic, but at least show that you are committed and trying. The fans will give you some leeway if you look like you are engaged and trying and making mistakes. If you start ambling about looking like you don't want to be there, then you will rapidly become a hate figure.

My advice to Sims would be the same as my advice to anyone starting a new job, whether they are a plumber or a prop forward,

1). Be honest. If you make a mistake, own up to it and people will respect you for it.
2). Make an effort to get know your surroundings, colleagues, and associates, Take an interest in them.
3). Always give 100%, and expect your colleagues to give the same in return

Warrington fans aren't the SL equivalent of Millwall speccies. They are a passionate, loyal and vocal bunch who will defend any player they see is giving their best to the hilt, and will respect any player who says "I'm not playing well, I'm sorry, I'm working on it".

The idea that the clubs fans, or the majority of them, are constantly seeking a new scapegoat every week is nonsense. Asotasi got a lot of flak but he asked for trouble with some of his early press, then compounded it with several months of abject displays.

....and then in his last 6 weeks he got it.
Run hard and tackle hard.

Come out like Adrian Morley in his first game for Warrington and give someone the biggest hit of their lives and you'll never do any wrong with the fans.

Be sure to cover your face though, unlike Morley!

Seen Ashton Sims on Friday night in Stockton Heath with Myler, Atkins and the Evans brothers. He was pretty steamed, looked like he was settling in nicely!

It wasn't pointless at all, Ashton will not only be bonding with his new mates he will be planning his escape to Hull KR with Richie at the same time.

Rugby player in off season having fun shocker.

Lay off them, i bet you drink at the weekend too, do i email your boss and tell him, guess what so and so was doing on Saturday...yep, drinking.

He's probably 3 months off a competetive game i'm sure a drink won't hurt.

Aye fair enough if he is not in training.

I do wonder why our RL "athletes" need to binge though.