Happy he’s signed on. I’d shift Byrne out though now along with the obvious Mago release and really go at sorting the rest of the prop positions.

He’s got 2 years left on his contract so going nowhere I would say, I also think he’s a good 4th/5th prop option and at only 23 he’s got time to improve.

He’s not playing great at the minute but if he became available I’d think every club in superleague would be interested.

Young, English props are a premium.

He’s shown decent signs and one of these years it’s going to fully click I reckon.

We’d be crazy to let Byrne go. In prop terms he’s still a baby and yes, he’s having an iffy season, but nobody goes through a career without having years where they drop off their best. He needs to be challenged IMO. His position has been to safe for a while now but unfortunately when we’re missing other props, we have no option but to keep playing him and I think extra responsibility on him looks to weigh heavy. He needs to be pressed for a place next year and I think that’ll kick him on.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but for those who are knocking him or have knocked him, my observation is that other than Havard he's one of our props who consistently makes metres. His stats are usually only second to Havard in terms of metres gained.

Prop is an area we've struggled in for a long time I don't think we've truly had a dominant offering in this position since the days of Coley, Fielden, Jeff Lima and Paul Prescott and although there's still room for improvement in this area we are looking better during this (2022-2024) period than we have for a long time.

I for one am glad he has signed for a further three years.

He’s a bit of an enigma is Byrne.
Built like a proverbial brick outhouse, relatively energetic, usually dependable but rarely if ever shines.
I can have a blind spot for lads who come through the system but I do think that somewhere within Byrne is a decent prop. I had high hopes for Byrne this season but he seems to have regressed from his performances in 2022. I’m clinging to two possibilities that this season is just a blip. Firstly as a young guy following a World Cup year he maybe is just a little stale. Secondly, he’s still a baby at 23 and the best years are to come. Maybe Waney could do some extra special mentoring with him to get him his mojo?
If I could pick one lad to have a top game on Sunday it would be Byrne. I’d love him to really kick on but he needs to be aware that the clock is ticking and that he needs to pick up the mantle or when his current contract expires he could become another potentially good prop to fall by the wayside.
I like a bet and I’d back Byrne to produce the goods. Current form suggests that’s a long shot but I’m hopeful that he will deliver his potential.

We need to keep our federation props on board. We have Havard, Byrne and Hill who are all young guns and could be the mainstays of our pack for the next ten years.

I could be talking nonsense here but I always think a player’s personality has a real impact on how they play and how they cope with certain situations. He doesn’t strike me as the most confident of lads does Byrne and I think he seems like a guy who would really like to have strong leaders around him and to be able to just concentrate on doing his part.

This season, he’s been the only prop that seems to be available every week and the absences of Cooper, Ellis and Havard, combined with the poor form of guys like Singleton and at times, Mago, has meant Byrne is suddenly bearing much more of a burden. I don’t quite think he’s gained enough confidence yet to deal with that very well and he looks to have lost some confidence. He’ll be fine over time, especially if we can get the right support around him both this year and definitely next.

Made up Ellis is signing for 3 years, I think he could become the prop that was promised.

Everything is right with him, size, fitness, stats, attitude and I just think he’s missing a partner at prop. I think he needs someone very similar to him, another Aussie in place of Mago would be nice.

I will happily take a brain fart a season where he whacks someone, much better to reign a prop in rather than get them up for it every week.

Been snooping on Red Vee and Ellis is another rubbish player unfortunately. Not good enough for the bench of a mid table team came one call.

I suggest they go and do a statistical comparison to Lees, LMS, Wingfield, Knowles or even Paasi. It doesn’t make for pretty reading for those guys if Ellis is not good enough for a mid table teams bench.

Totally agree NK.
That’s why I suggested that Waney could try and help him. I’d love Byrne to start with Cooper too on a regular basis.

Wingfield is out of contract at the end of the season. I’d take a punt on him. He’s a Leyther so highly unlikely but I think that he has great potential.

Feels like something has to give with the Saints loose forward role. Him, Bell and Knowles are all natural loose forwards but fitting them all in means one playing prop, second row etc. I wonder if Leigh might throw good money at him? Just reading Asiata is likely to leave at the end of the season, to head back to the NRL. That is one hell of a blow for them.

He’s a Man of Steel contender IMO. Basically involved in every Leigh try, taking the ball to the line and creating huge space for Lam etc.

As NK says above, I think it's the revolving door of players in and out of the pack that's having the biggest effect. Only Byrne, Faz and Smithies have been there on a consistent basis. It's noticeable that Faz hasn't been his usual self either which could also have its origins in the same thing. There is a good prop in Byrne, I have no doubt, but he doesn't strike me as a pack leader at this stage of his career and that's the role he's had to play to a certain extent with the loss of Cooper, long lay offs for Havard and Ellis and Singleton in poor form.

Nevertheless, there are things I'd like to see him do which would help his game, chief of which would be make an adjustment to his running style. He's far too upright going into contact and stops pumping his legs once contact is made which makes him easy to dominate despite his size. We saw an example of how he should be taking it in towards the end of the Warrington game and, if he could do that on a regular basis, he'd make enormous strides (pun intended! ) towards fulfilling his potential.