Look at all the youngster's wigan have shipped over the years and how many of them have gone on to do well?
This is a Leeds squad that has won the league the last three years with largely the same squad - and most from within its own academy. If there are promising youngsters that are not able to get regular football up there im all for bringing down to London and giving them a shot.

BUT and before all the Wost Fans in the League© jump down my throat, I would like to see us sign some genuine quality too.

Perhaps the comparison should be made

Gafa ----------> ???
Gardner ----------> ???
Graves ----------> ???
Grayshon ----------> Esders
Haggerty ----------> James
Heckenberg ----------> Jones
Nanyn ----------> Wilkes
Skee ----------> Ellis

On that basis, provided we are going to replace Gafa with a decent specialist centre (not Ropati) and maybe look to a another decent outside back then we are certainly no worse off than last year. Granted, we are not potential grand finalists but the blokes that have gone, other than Haggerty, were only Championship level players only and we seem to have recruited young blokes looking to prove themselves

The player is best young full back in england and in time will be englands full back for years to come loads of clubs after him chose harlequins because they give chance to young players.

Richard Owen?

Has another year on his contract at Cas and they really give youngsters a chance so I would forget about him

Anyway we must get a back who will improve our strike rate. Ropati might have done that but lets hope this 'quality' signing will. Another season of watching players who dont know what to do near the try line doesn't bear thinking about

Heckenberg was best of that bunch and don't think we have replaced him.

I'd go more for:
Gafa ----------> We need a top class replacement, but Gafa on last season's form is no real loss.
Gardner ----------> I'd be an adequate replacement for him.
Graves ----------> Jones
Grayshon ----------> Esders
Haggerty ----------> James
Heckenberg ----------> Wilkes
Nanyn ----------> Also no loss.
Skee ----------> Ellis

Hecks has been a great servant for the club but his shoulder problems have finished his career. And we'll miss Haggerty at his best, but we didn't see much of that last season.

I don't see anything negative about the signing of young Jones, but the Gafa replacement, hopefully someone with a creative spark, is what we're really missing. And some more cover in the halves. I don't see Orr playing at 100% in 2010, Gale still has a lot to prove, and Dorn remains a good support player who doesn't perform without anybody to support.

And then there's our head coach to worry over and a replacement for Billy Peden, not only as a conditioner but also as a wise head amongst the coaching staff.

EDIT: Forgot about Purdo's injury. If that isn't properly sorted he'd obviously be a huge loss.

Hmmm scored 40 points on his own yesterday against the Italians................lets give him a chance, sign him up Brian

Yes, we do need to do that, but a club like ours isn't in a position to sign several such players. We have to take a judgement on bringing in unproven players too, who may or may not make the grade, and I find some of the comments about this lad appalling when those making them have probably never knowingly seen him play. If anyone thinks the guy is rubbish I challenge them to describe what sort of player he is, which games they've seen him in, and why he's no good for us.

And yes, I am concerned that Oliver Wilkes appears to be our best short-term signing so far. He played well enough against us last year but we do need more players of similar experience as well as bringing in unproven players with long-term potential.

I don't think people are having a go at the player specifically more the general situation whereby we are signing such unproven players.

Im prepared to give any young fringe SL player benefit of the doubt, same with a young Championship player who has done well for them, and I know we don't have the cash to splash, but we should have ensured we signed one proven quality SL player who can come in and upped our try scoring capability or 2010 will be worse than 2009.

Yeah, but that's not who we've signed.

Average forward replaced by average forward.... another kid from Leeds not good enough for Leeds.... Im going into hibernation for a couple of months, when i wake up hopefully we'll have signed some elite Rugby League players for our so called elite Rugby League club

I'm hoping those that appear to be in the know are proved to be right in that we are signing a top rate player- For me hopefully a strike centre.

My belief is the Aussie quota is full and therfore it must be a Kolpak or Brit we have arriving