Battye to play 13.

Fifita, Whitbread must play.

Tanginoa is likely season done or at best last1/2 games. But he’s second row.

Other two spots are the rest - Proctor or Bowden could play 13.

I’m mmmm not sure where Burgess may fit tbh. If we get a fit version then could be good. This is a signing that will either be amazing or a car crash. We will have to see if it’s true first.

That leaves two spots for the rest.

We’ve 8 games to secure our future , do we really need an unproven wildcards at this time ? . Yes a Munster or a Kikau or even a Koroisau who are far far better than players we have in their respective positions, but another prop . Yes we got mullered at Hudds ,but surely prop is a position if all fit and raring to go we don’t need yet another trying to resurrect their career at our expense

All true ketty struggling to see this,thought with a new bod we woud be moving away from the signing & extending of old players.Can we risk anymore injuries this ate on.

ask your mate hel tell.you

Maybe I should add Kay to the list. He'd probably give it a go.

We need to find a successor to Fifita.

If Burgess comes in and goes well he could very well be that man, rather than having to take a punt on someone in the transfer market.

I don’t think he has anywhere near the same personality as Dave and he’s probably more busted than Dave as well. If we had any sense we would stay clear.

Has anyone seen Burgess playing for Cairns? Massively unfit - would take 6 months to get to speed

The first thing I saw was a video of him coaching the kids (good to give back) but jesus he looks fat. I don't think he'll be coming to us, just speculation because Cas couldn't make it work.

Because we hadn't signed the Greek lad at that time.

Having watched him at Wigan and having just watched the Cairns Brothers game on YouTube there are some very noticeable differences.

He is clearly carrying a bit more timber however to say he is “fat” is a bit of a stretch, he is a massive bloke, unless you have seen him up close I don’t think you appreciate how big he is and as these body types get older they tend to carry a bit more fat.

His mobility is significantly improved. His lateral movement is different level to what is was prior to his hip replacement. He shows no signs of struggling to slide in defence.

2 more noticeable things are when he hits lads in defence, they stay hit, and when he carries he attracts 3 or 4 defenders makes good post contact meters and finds his front.

I’m not saying he isn’t a risk, but he is a very low risk if our new owner is happy to pay for him to come in for the rest of the season. I think signing him longer than that initially would be unwise until we could assess him and see how his fitness holds up before thinking about a longer term deal.

The cynic that I am with a marketing head on says recruiting a Burgess even short term would attract media attention and boost our online profile and social media engagement all assisting with the IMG criteria for a place in SL.

I don’t think his name carries the same weight it used to.

How’s your cat, have you kicked it lately?

I completely agree about the size comment. He's just gigantic.

In my opinion, If he can get fit and play injury and pain free - if he's operating at 30% of the player he used to be - He's still very high up on our list of props.

Take your head out of the sand.