Ok, 9 games in, 1 loss, we would all have taken that pre-season, but I thought I'd share a few opinions and ask an obvious question.

1. Our whole gameplan is based on a strong, 80 minute pack, laying a base for Williams to have space and time to weave some magic and to create chances for our backs - For opposition, as Wigan proved and Catalans almost did, if you can stop that, we look fairly clueless and limited.

2. Powell, for reasons that he will know best, has little faith in any of our young forwards and so is limited to choosing his minimum 4 matchday squad props per game from just 8 players.

3. Even though we all thought we had gone OTT with our forward signings, it now seems clear that, for the plan Powell wants to play with, 8 props in the squad is a bare minimum. Fatigue, injury, rotation, suspension, etc, will almost ensure we always have some players missing... I mean, look at Vaughan for example, he's been fantastic so far, but if we keep utilising him like we have so far, he will be in the knackers yard by June.

So, with all this in mind, a simple question, do we need to get in Mikaele's replacement sooner rather than later?

I'd suggest yes. The last thing we need is to lose the momentum we have built up. Last night we can take. It was a brave show with our backs against the wall. Positives can be taken from the fact we stayed in the game despite being outplayed in nearly all areas.. I think we could take a similar loss at Saints, but after a while too many gallant losses will take a toll on confidence and belief, and before you know it those doubts will affect performance.

Personally, I hope Fitzpatrick and Powell are identifying some new blood and will bring in a new prop soon. It will be needed.

It's a yes from me. It is obvious that our young back up is not thought up to standard yet by the man who sees them on a daily basis. We cannot flog Vaughan, Kasiano & Maguire like that. Of course getting the right man is not straight forward. Tough one.

I don't think there's any doubt that we need to bring another prop in soon, but it has to be the [iright[/i prop.

Our recruitment record where overseas forwards are concerned is umm erratic - we need another Vaughan/Harrison (if we look to the champonship) not another Asotasi, England or that bald fella whose name escapes me, unlike his performance.

Would help if the likes of McGuire and Dudson engaged their brains as well.

I think one of the points I tried to make, was that props aren't the brightest individuals at times and that suspensions are part of the reasoning for having so many props in the squad...

Unless joseph Paulo is about to jump on a flight to manchester and will be ready to play on Thursday then I think we have a few weeks to sort it out.
No new injuries or suspensions from last night and after Thursday there is a 2 week gap then we play Wakey by which time Philbin will be back and possibly Bullock.

The international break will do a couple of players a bit of good to hopefully recharge the batteries.
Like Powell stated, has to be the right type of character and I would be happy to wait to ensure that we find the right type of player. We have rushed in to panic signings in the past.

No doubt we need to sign the right player, but the longer we leave it, the more strain there will be on the other props (and the rest of the squad) and that will begin to effect performance and results in the long term.

The aim is to get the likes of Vaughan and Kasiano through to the play offs as close to full fitness as possible. Right now, if it continues as it is, both will be finished in half a dozen games time.

Looking on the bright side ,there are still 7 or 8 teams that we should comfortably beat during the season so play off rugby should be a reality this year.

On the subject of suspensions ,it was mentioned before some of our players were signed that they could well be prolific penalty machines & spend quite a lot of time on the naughty step. Squads are too threadbare these days for any club to sign liabilities.

Assuming Harrison, Bullock and Philbin are back for Wakey, maybe a little longer for Bullock, we would be ok.

Vaughan
Walker/Clarke
Harrison
Currie
Nicholson
McGuire

Kasiano
Clarke/Walker
Bullock
Philbin
Or Minikin/Russell so that Matautia can do 2nd row
Or one of the youngsters

More important to get the right player, I think.

Well we have in recent days been linked with 4 possibilities, if any one of them is worth pursuing then get it done. My preference would be Tanginoa I’m just thinking have we enough money in the cap for him.

No we don't need to sign a prop immediately, getting one straight away would be nice but like it has been said, by the Wakefield game we'll be 2-3 props up again and 2 weeks later Dudson will be back. But we do need another for the longer term, the international break will give Vaughan and Kasiano a much needed break. Plus Thomas and Green are slowly being blooded so they are both still an option.
Does anyone know why Green played such little minutes? Was it just to protect him from too much too soon, or do you think Powell might have not thought he was up to more minutes?

It looks like the intention for Green was just to give him a bit of time to just experience super league level. Probably so that he will go away and work on aspects that he needs to.
At 18 that is an incredibly young age to debut at prop and has a few things to work on in defence but really good to sample that level and hopefully give him the hunger to improve so that the next time he plays he is more prepared.

If Mikaele had left at the end of 2022, then I would have been totally indifferent, but he's been a different player this year, both as a starting prop and off the bench. This feels like a bit of a hole to try and fill, and like Tom, we could recruit a young fringe NRL prop that takes time to find their feet. Bringing someone in during this season, may not necessary have the immediate impact that we need, and that can apply to more experienced and well known players as well. If the right player came available then happy days, but we could have to wait until 2024 to get the right replacement. It's a shame we've lost him, and feels like an important a loss as Greg Mackey was when he left for Hull, or maybe, I'm just getting carried away with his performances over the first seven games.

The difference between this season and last is that last year we needed a prop to come in, be a regular starter and basically hit the ground running - this time we need someone who can come in just to provide much needed depth to the squad, they won't necessarily make the 17 every week, but will provide adequate cover in games where we feel we can give Vaughan, and Kasiano a rest, or less time on the pitch during a game.

With what we've seen from Harrison, Bullock, Philbin (and hopefully Dudson will provide more than he has done), do you not think we should have enough depth to rotate our props, even allowing for injuries and stupidity?

Has I pointed out in the opening post and from what we have seen so far this year, no, I don't think 7 props is enough.