Does anyone know if all the buying and selling is done for the Giants for next season. If that's the case, i would say we have ( like is normal for the Giants ) got a potentially good side that should be competitive, I don't see us pulling up too many roots but if we can compete that will do for me , I set off last season saying survival would do me, so i am raising my sights a bit this next season.

I am looking for some of the potential in the side to start and show some movement forward, Sooner or later we have to move forward, with Toronto moving upwards and now NY wanting to get in on the act we can not afford to be one of the weaker sides.
Rick Stone may well be wanting to extend his contract ( although you would think anyone serious about coaching over here would bring his family, although i know nothing of the circumstances )

Whatever, we can't go on forever with sides full of potential that never rise above mediocre for one reason or another, We keep signing players from Bradford and the like ( Salford as well i believe ) with potential but sooner or later they have to produce S league class football , so who is going to get them to that level, Or are we just signing numbers and players in the hope we will get a star now and then, That does happen from time to time as we see with Icky and Mamo. More often we sign players ( with lots of potential ) who don't improve, leave the club , and play twice as good for some other team, sometimes they never make it.
Larne Patrick has been mentioned, he is a good eg , bags of potential , great game Now and then, most of the time had potential and now going backwards.
This is not a criticism of anyone, just thoughts on how we get players to reach what they are capable of. ( Cudjo, Jerry, Lunt, etc ) There is no future IMO in survival alone we have to become one of the players or our place will be taken by one of the new super rich clubs.
We are one of the poorer supported clubs, but to me that matters not a jot ( other than Mr Davy could do with some help financially ) Sky funds the game, and if we are competitive and good to watch we shall be safe as well as increasing the gates, but that seems to me to be very dependent on getting our players past the Potentially good stage ( we have so many in that category ) One last thing, we should be scouring the game for Brough's replacement, We have nobody at the club, except two of three who can play there at a pinch, which just won't do if we expect to any good at all.

I would go with a team of if fully fit

Mamo
Mcgillvary
Cudjoe
Turner
Murphy
Brough
Gaskell/Rankin
Taai
Leeming
Ikahifho
Roberts
Symonds
Hinchcliffe

Lawrence
O Brien
Walne
Wakeman

Mackintosh
Clough
Ferguson
Gaskell/Rankin
Roche
Smith
Mellor
Dickinson
Wood
Mason

I think the squad looks decent with some depth but again injuries to crucial players could cause issues.

For me it is finding consistency in the team. Don’t get me wrong every team has off days and are not always hitting the straps. However the goal posts between our best and worst performances are massive and far away from being consistent with what’s being served up.
Even in 2013 we found the wins needed to have an unbelievable league leaders win but we played to the level of the opposition frequently.
Have a stormer against Leeds and Wigan and look poor against wakey and Salford.
For me it’s here where the frustration comes in. You have seen what the players are capable of but far to often the players haven’t been able to repeate good performances for sustained games.
Momentum with the fans is affected. I remember getting the first win against Leeds in how ever many years then travelling over to Salford (who that year had really struggled) taken the largest quantity of ticket office sales for a regular season game and we lost poorly and then momentum within the fan base lost again

I agree with you the squad does look decent, more than decent compared to some clubs, I was just musing about how we get the likes of Mellor, Dickinson, smith and others into really pushing the first choice players for a place in the starting line up rather than just getting a chance because injuries force it.
Not a criticism, i just feel we have players who just never seem to quite get there, I don't have the answers, I guess we just have to hope our coaching staff get it right, N Brown seemed to have the formula, i feel sure he would have improved some of our present squad no end, Maybe RS will have a similar effect if we have a bit more luck with injuries next season.

We get the likes of those players pushing for a first team spot by playing a reserve side- and allowing those players to show what they can do! Players coming back from injury play in the reserves first- only if they play well do they get their spot back in the first team.

As has been said players, especially fringe players will only improve with game time and without a reserve competition to play in they can't get any.

That's the fault of the RFL not our club, I guess every club is in the same boat - unless they are lucky enough to be able to afford a reserve team.

Why is it the fault of the RFL not he club? Clubs vote in changes to the structure. Did We vote not to get rid?
Other clubs have reserves- we could too- that's our choice not the RFLs.
Yes I know the argument about money- but instead of spending on australian first team players we could invest in a reserve side. We spend up to the cap. The club make that choice.
Cas and wakefield have shown you can be competitive whilst spending under the cap- whilst warrington spent over with marquee signings and were less so this year.
Perhaps this investment would be one worth making. What good is it if we are paying large amounts of money to e.g Gaskell if he's not going to be playing???

I agree with most that's been posted but I must say that we have a full time Academy squad that only a few are going to get the chance to play in the SL team regular.Also,while we have a league where relegation can be a real possibility the chance to blood the academy player has to be managed very carefully.I would like to see fewer overseas players but will this detract from the game at the present time.

I remember a time when we used to save cash with the academy, that has now stopped and we now have a good academy providing good juniors. Maybe, just maybe investing in a reserve team might be a wise investment in the medium to long term.