I'm not so sure but I remember us signing Denis Moran he turned out to be a good signing !

Like many seems a strange one to me, I quite liked him whilst at Wakey and he may add experience, and of course I wish him well but surely there’s a potentially good youngster out there who I’d rather us to have taken a punt on, how old was Heremaia when he arrived? Michael Dobson, when he first went to Cat’s/Wigan? Even the best have to start somewhere.

I think the point your missing is we have a very young and inexperienced squad as whole and he's obviously been signed to add a bit of quality and depth in the key half back position but also to bring along our existing fine young talent like Kes, Riddy and the likes of Ward etc. waiting in the wings.

Why go out looking for another unproven young half back to take a punt on when we have some of the best young half backs in the game already in our ranks???

Its about adapting to the full time culture and environment and who better could we have as an example to our young halves than a man who's got a wealth of top level experience and is known as a consummate professional not to mention a fantastic kicker of a ball and all round top class player.

Makes perfect sense to me a leader and experience for the backs as Wilkes is for the forwards.

Welcome on-board Ben, best Leigh side since 82 this and adding going full time and adding this kind of experience its only going to get better!!!!

Well said ...Top Signing

Not missing the point at all, and I haven’t done a check (I’m too busy ) but don’t we have quite a few players who’ve previously been involved with SL clubs so I assume a FT environment?

At what age do players become experienced? Riddy’s now what around 27 - 28 and one of a few who’s scored over 1000 points.

If BJ is going to be leader of the backs who we dropping Riddy, Kes, McNally, Kay? Or is one of them leaving?

If its about getting use to FT culture and advising the HB’s then perhaps we should have looked to strengthen the coaching in that area.

As I said I like him and I wish him well, just not sure where he fits in but then again who knows what we have planned.

There just aint any young good half backs around if they were SuperLeague clubs would be clamouring for them and if there are any they would cost an arm and a leg (Gaskell at Bradford is rumoured to be on £80K a year and he is hardly setting the game on fire). Plus we have two young half backs coming through in Ward and Pendlebury and one would think The coaching team would have Jeffries mentor to them.
Some are again falling into the trap Of judging players before they have pulled on a shirt for us, remember Stu Littler getting some stick when we signed him? I've said it before we are signing Jeffries to get us into SL NOT to keep us in, that will come later - how many bagged Menzies when it was rumoured we were going to sign him, and how many wish we had now?

He's signed up now and so has most of the squad for next season, whilst other teams will be scrambling around for their players, ours will be already gelled and training together.
Hopefully this will give us an advantage, in what will be a meaningful season.

I welcome Ben as a Leigh RL player.

I would be more inclined to congratulate the club on a top signing if he was a 34 year old half back currently playing Super League. As it happens and I am obviously looking in the wrong place, i can not find any reference of him on a Rugby League field since 2012.

I am usually the first to criticise club's who go down the route of signing over the hill, aging Aussie journeymen on one last big packet, so I only hope Ben has still got the same desire to give his all for Leigh as he did for Wakefield a few years ago in SL.

He's been playing in the Newcastle league in Australia.

Never mind this season,next season is the really big one with the carrot of sooopa league being dangled in front of us.the more experience in the squad of top level rugby can only be of benefit.As for age its just a number,im sure PR and the coaching staff will have assessed him,if its good enough for them its good enough for me.we are all entitled to our opinions,and personally I think its a great signing.

Can you find any record of him taking the field? Because in the link I posted earlier in this thread he hasn't played 1st grade for the club we are reported as signing him from.

.....no.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and also to express it on this Forum.
However I suggest it must be more than a little discouraging for the likes of Paul and the BOM to be reading some of the negative stuff that is appearing around actual and even potential signings.
Paul and Derek are clearly busting a gut to find suitable players that are a good fit to take the Club forward at a price that fits the business plan.
We have to accept that there is always a risk in taking on any new employee in any type of business and it is impossible to get recruitment 100% right on every occasion.
In my view we need to trust in their skills to, on most occasions, identify the right players and to secure their services on reasonable terms. I would suggest that Paul's record to date in both player selection and player development is very good and that he and the BOM need and deserve the same level of support as we are currently giving the team that Paul sends out onto the field.