No Ratch?

Yet we're all up in arms about letting a player go who is older than the lot of then.

Who would you put him in front of? Not saying I wouldn’t want him as a squad player but he must be behind Thewlis next year.

I'd be happy with Vaughn but not Maguire, he's a spent force and has been for a number of years. It's like when Morley left for Salford and you could see he was in decline, that's what Maguire is like. I'd rather have a current player take the 13 to be honest.
I guess this would rule out Tanginoa, i know it was all rumour and speculation anyway but i think if we did sign Vaughn and Maguire that would rule out Tanginoa as well.

I had heard about mcguire a few weeks ago, but having lectured someone on name dropping rumours, kept it to myself (like a good boy)

Moz should really have retired when he left us, but I think him going to Salford was a sentimental move for both parties. And to be fair to Salford, they probably made the signing for his influence on other players as much as anything.

I don't think it does. You can certainly fit him in the quota and the cap if the likes of Cooper, Ratchford and Widdop are departing. These signings by Warrington are very interesting. I like Vaughn and Maguire but they, along with Dudson and Kasiano are all very short term signings. One year probably, two at most before they will need to be replaced. That means not only are you going to have a massively different side next year, but you'll probably need to do the whole thing again in 18 months time. It doesn't seem a very balanced strategy to me. In terms of size it doesn't either, you'll have an enormous pack but there will also be plenty of targets there for players to run at late in games. There are similarities with Hull there, who have an enormous pack and some very good backs, but never seem to make it work. They're too big and too easy to tire out and beat.

Moran can't be faulted for his effort, they're certainly throwing the kitchen sink at the signings again. It does make me wonder who is calling the shots from a rugby perspective. Is it all on Powell? He didn't have the facilities for this kind of signing at Cas and it was his abillity to combine youngsters, existing domestic players and a few NRL orphans into more than the sum of it's parts that was his MO at Cas. It seems very different here, almost a Jose Mourinho approach.

Yeah i get what you mean about the signings, BUT if we won the grand final Powell would be a living legend here and nobody would care. But again Powell is a smart guy and 2 years to plan for players and improve our youth set up is a good amount of time.
I say it alot but only time will tell

The McGuire rumour has been circulating for about a month now with 3 Super League clubs reportedly in talks but also the player himself not ruling out staying Down Under. You would have to imagine that Fitzpatrick has travelled with a shopping list but that he’s unlikely to be successful in signing everyone that we’re interested in (or even having the cap space to sign all). McGuire, Vaughn and Dufty are all most likely on his list. To sign one would be good, two incredible and all three unbelievable.

Ratchford has signed a one year extension and Vaughan is only 31 he’s got a couple of years at least in the tank. He was playing Origin pre covid.

You can always rely on the Wire

No goal kicker

Well if half as much success is forthcoming as Jose has had then, Wire and Powell’s strategy will have been the correct one.

This is something that has worried me, in that were recruiting four forwards that are over 30. Cooper is even older, but we knew what he was gong to consistently deliver. Until we see what Dudson Kasiano McGuire and Vaughan offer on the field of play, only then will we be able to judge whether the time was right to move Cooper on, based on performance. That aside, were then running into a similar scenario of having another major pack overhaul in another two years time.

I hope that Powell develops a culture of playing for the shirt and as a team, where no player is guaranteed a shirt. Something which has yet to happen given the way one or two of our younger players have been treated at times this season. There's no sign yet that he has managed to improve anyone from SP's time, and we need to see a clear pathway from academy through to first team, where opportunity is given on merit. There's a promise of jam tomorrow with the players coming in, but we cannot meander through this season continually shipping over 40 points a game. Performances need to dramatically improve in 2022.

Kasiano will be the tallest and heaviest player in the squad. He has got to be the starting Prop for me, no question. I think we can then contrast that with a 'kid', so I'd take Mikaele to start also. He's the youngest player in the pack, in the middle for height and in the middle for weight, but given he's young, he would be fitter and would therefore take most of the carries, but Kasiano would provide more impact per carry. So we would have to look for a good balance there. Off the bench, Dudson is the 2nd heaviest player so for me, he should be coming on for Kasiano when he's put in his shift. Vaughan would be the next best option for height and weight (it would have been Bullock but he's not been good enough to start so it's the bench for you Joe). James Harrison would then be the option for Loose Forward. He's one of the tallest but he lacks the weight at the moment. Walker 4th man on the bench.

As for the rest of the squad, I think Thewlis is ready for the number 1 jersey. Get Dufty at Stand Off for some pace in the halves, keep Riley Dean on the books but loan him to a Championship club if we can and get him as much experience in a fast paced environment as possible. And when Dufty eventually goes after a year or 2 before signing for a bottom 8 NRL Team to revive his career, Dean steps in.

Holmes is not really anything to rave about but I can't see him being changed. Same with Mata'utia. Powell had a plan to change things and he wouldn't bring them here if he didn't think they could help to build something.

For players like Currie, King and Williams, it hasn't really been happening for them this season. I think Currie can be hot and cold, King has just not been as much of a stand out player and Williams just doesn't look comfortable. In Williams defence, when we were criticising our backs, Williams was one of those guys working hard, running at the line, trying to make things happen. We're in a new system and that will take time to work on. And given he was highly rated in the NRL, and was talked about being one of the best in Super League before he left, I have faith he'll turn things around. Same with King and Currie, they're certainly not done yet.

2023 Squad:
1. Thewlis
2. Wrench
3. Mata'utia / Minikin
4. King
5. Ashton
6. Dufty / Dean
7. Williams / O'Sullivan
8. Kasiano
9. Clark
10. Mikaele
11. Currie
12. Holmes / Longstaff
13. Harrison / Davis

Subs:
14. Dudson
15. Vaughan
16. Bullock
17. Walker

If people wanted a decent replacement in the halves, I'd look at Sean O'Sullivan (Penrith Panthers), he's off contract at the end of the year. He's also had to fill in at Scrum Half for Nathan Cleary when he's unavailable. Has attacked the line well and created chances. I watch a lot of the NRL general media as well as the games and Andrew Johns (the messiah himself) did say "Sean O'Sullivan's kicking game is up there with the best in the competition so he'll keep them in the game" when talking about the Panthers missing a bunch of stars for State of Origin. He's only 23 years old but he's coming through a very well organised system. And unless a struggling team like the Bulldogs or Knights go for him, he'd be a good option, as he's never getting in the squad ahead of Cleary, or even Jarome Luai.