Vaughn can play centre and French can play 1 too with Farrimond in the halves so plenty of options including Sambou too. 

Faz needs to go, the end

As part of a genuine rotation, which we have not had this year due to losing Isa late, I think there is a place for Faz in 2026. 


He can’t be relied on to play full games week in week out but for 40-60 minutes each week he will still have great value in my opinion both on and off the field.


It’s no coincidence he has had 2 weeks off and has his best game of the year against Wire.

If we can find a "good to go" 2nd row that allows Farrell to take on the role Isa was down for this year that would be perfect

We either need a senior prop or a senior second rower dependent on where they see Walters playing longer term. Due to how well he played at prop earlier in the season, you sort of forgot about him as a second rower but he was excellent there on Friday and if we did go back to using him there alongside Faz, Nsemba and Vaughan, we would then need a prop IMO. We've got Sam Eseh coming back in and hopefully he can apply some pressure to guys like Mago and Dupree but we're still short of one senior forward for me, once Byrne follows Isa through the door. 

Agreed.


I see Walters at a prop however it may come down to the quality of players available and how they fit in the team which may dictate where he plays next year.


I know Makin is well thought of but I feel he’s a couple of off seasons aways from stepping up to the week in week out.

I watch Walters and I just want him on the field somewhere, so be that at prop or second row, I don't really mind. If Havard and Thompson play big minutes going forward, I'd possibly be tempted to go with him in the second row because he could get a bigger share of minutes there. The pack lacks at least one player with a bit of an edge to them and he brings that. As you say though, the market may dictate what we end up with, if anything. The cap space is a bit of an unknown at the minute and I wouldn't be suprised if Vaughan and Sambou and the return of Eseh are our lot for 2026. I do feel that would leave us one short though. 

It won't happen, but this season has proven we need to look at the quality of our depth. 

Realistically, there's only 3 lads who've proven they are ready for the next step. That's Walters, Junior, Forber and Zak.  


You can easily argue that Walters & Junior aren't back-up lads anymore either. They are in the 17 nailed on starters. 


Zak and Forber are squad players, but you know they aren't a million miles away either. You don't lose loads when they come in - in fact they offer something different.  


Either way, no one will argue that are the four that have stepped up when needed. 


The big question is now - Who's after them? 


It's probably Farrimond and Hill who are the ones you'd point to as being the next level down. Out of these, Farrimond is a million miles away from dislodging French and Hill is leaving.  


Vaughan might be fall into the same category as Hill and Farrimond as in "can do a job, but won't push to start".  


Makin, Kerr, Sambou, Mason etc all seem a long way off the conversation.  


We need more depth. 

Having quality depth is going to get harder with the increase to 14 teams and it will need to come from within more often that not. I think Makin and Kerr can step up for us next season but we probably do need to bring in somebody from outside as a starter, which will then push maybe somebody like Dupree or Mago in to a back up spot. 

HKR voting against the increase to 14 teams interested me. I'm not convinced it was done for the wider good of the game and was likely because they're worried that their 'depth' could get picked off, to become starters at other clubs. They survive pretty much solely on players brought in to the club and with 2 more teams in the league, it will become harder for them to fill spots 18-25 with guys like Doro, Brown, Kershaw, Richardson etc because other clubs are likely to offer them more money and more minutes. 

I think there's plenty of lads who can step up and play, but I kinda want or expect more than that. 


Junior and Walters haven't just knocked on the door - they've knocked it down. Forber landed on the bench and it was seamless. Zak has been somewhat patchy - but overall he's produced some big moments.  


I'm not getting that feeling from anyone else around the squad.  Maybe Farrimond, but to be fair to him he's got Bevan to shift. 

It would be nice for sure. I don't really know of anyone who could come in and have that Nsemba style impact tbh. I don't think the academy has done quite as well in recent seasons, so maybe they're just not there. I do think Kerr will be a top talent in time but he doesn't seem the sort who will come in and smash the door down and I think he'd be one who would just get better and better with time and experience. I'd probably put Kian McDermott in the same bracket. 
Guys taking to it like Nsemba are pretty rare though I suppose. I agree Farrimond would be pound for pound our surest bet of being a top player but decisions will need to be made down the track in terms of how you get him in to the side (or if you can).