Good luck Joe.

Remember Joe getting up after an awkward tackle on the touchline at Brentford with his arm clearly broken and running back in field to accept the next pass.

The most commited player on and off the field that we had.

Remember it well.

All the best Joe!

From what I have read on this thread, you seem a very popular player down there and I am sure you'll be a big loss to London RL.

Yes, I well remember that committed display at Griffin Park, but plenty of other players would have done the same and long term we have to decide which players can best take the club further. Take away the "Londoner" factor and Joe was no more than an average (and that's being generous) utility forward who gave 100%. Is (for instance) Jason Golden less worthy? There's been a lot of sentimental claptrap spouted on this thread. People soon moan if we sign journeymen from up north, yet moan when we don't retain one of our own. You might say there's nothing to choose between the two so why not keep the home-grown lad, but that's down to the coach to decide.

Fundamentally disagree.

Joe was much better than average and this is part of the reason why we all liked him so much. He should never have been released, should have been given a bigger role in the team. Obviously him being home grown is also a factor - how could it not be when there is so few of them that are geniune first 17 contenders?

The problem with this argument is that the middle of the road second-row forwards BM has a penchant for quite clearly haven't shown the effort and determination that we've come to expect from Joe. He may be limited technically, but he never let us down with what he could do, some of our middle of the road second-rows haven't even shown us half of that. I will moan when we sign middle of the road second-rows who show a lack off effort, and I will moan when we lose a player who actually will show that effort.

I saw Ju Ju Rinaldi on TV at the France Kiwi game and thought that maybe he and Joe would still be around if the club had believed in them a bit more. Shame.

Ridiculous decision by the club to let him retire. He's exactly the sort of player we need, consistent, tackling machine, never took a backward step. Its like Brian McD watches a different sport to me. Gutted.

The club has no say in the matter

OK they had a little say in the matter

Isn't it just a combination of injuries (each taking loner to heal) and his age just catching up with him along with a new family and not being @rsed to trail around the nether regions of the Championship?

He's only 25 (26 next week).

With regards to the injuries, he was fit enough to play for the Skolars on plenty of occasions as well as us occasionally. We never saw him because McDermott never played him, I think it would be wrong to assume that he was always injured.

And you are right about him not being bothered about playing in the Championship, but that shouldn't even be a factor because he should have been playing in Super League last season, the season coming and unless something went badly wrong after that, for the rest of his career. Not all players in our squad have to be world beaters. The 2 Australians will be on at least 4 times what he is on IMO and that is disgusting.

This club goes further down the pan every week, I can see why people are getting disillusioned.

It seems to me some posters on here are using double standards. It was only a few weeks ago that people were slagging the club off for the lack of quality in the squad for 2010 and questioning why certain players were kept.
Now they are slagging the club off for not retaining a hardworking but essentially marginal SL player taking up a wage that could be used to pay for a quality player. Maybe that is where we got the money for young Bishop