Got the sense from his interview at the end tonight that he knows he's out for a pretty length period. Huge blow. Thought he's been playing superbly recently.
Personally hope we give Hampshire an extended run there. The obvious choice is perhaps Powell, but I think he's a very similar player to Smith, whereas Hampshire is more like agreen with his ability to take the line on. Give him a chance I say, but I fear he'll go for Powell.

That's good news. What's the position with the rest of our wounded? How long before Charnley, Flower, Pettybourne & Clubb are ready for action?

I think Wane sees Hampshire as his fullback for when Bowen goes and sees Powell as his first choice back up when it comes to the halfback positions so I'd expect it to play out like that over the next few months.

I'd love to see Hampshire given a run at 6 also but I just don't see it. These rumours from over St Helens way about Hampshire wanting to be a stand off and not a fullback will be put to the test if he doesn't get given that run. I don't really see why a player would have a preference in our system but you never know I suppose.

Straight after the game on Saturday Pettybourne was talked about as the only player who would probably be back for Thursday but since then Lockers has said he should be ready by all accounts.

As for the others there was talk of Charnley being back for Magic a couple of weeks back so I presume he can't be a million miles away and Farrell was touch and go for the past two games so hopefully he'll not be far down the track. I think Clubb is still a month away as they said it was a 5 week injury when he did it against Hull. I've not heard much about Ben Flower other then it was a 6 week job when he did it on Good Friday so that puts him a couple of weeks away.

Thanks for that. Apart from the Green bad news the situation is looking a bit rosier and we could be in much better shape for the trip to Huddersfield in a couple of weeks time.

Hampshire is still a junior albeit a very talented one. The difficulty will be persuading him that the plan the club have for him will allow him to reach his maximum potential and maximise his wealth. I still believe that Kevin Brown's career development was held back by being forced to step up too early.
I would like to see Hampshire blooded in the halves as part of a planned rotation with Powell and Williams,who have really impressed me, but we need to remember that he was probably down to go out on loan to get the experience he needs. Rocky may not like that but no other club in SL can offer a better pathway. All this talk about St Helens is a bit strange because they cannot offer any real difference in his progression and he could find himself in the same position Smith was in.
In a way I feel sorry for Powell because he is being overlooked yet he is also young, talented and realistically, ready to step up. The expectations should be more immediate for him as he needs quality game time.