yes mate / sam is off quota as from monday just gone. fc are kicking themselves at the moment. they didn't think he would get off. arvellous how some things just bite you on the a.r.s.e isn't it? ewans been waiting for a decision for about 6 weeks. think he has started talking to saints. not too sure on that though. i'd agree with you 150% we really need 2 good front rowers.. if we get some i think we will be good to go . if not i think we will struggle again. by the way, think we have seen the last of ryan tongia at belle vue

why was he off quota last season, but not this season?

I thought you said that Dowes wasn't interested in coming?

Do you mean Tongia or Obst? Think Tongia was a quota player last year, or at least non-fed trained so effectively so. Sam is, or was until this week, a quota player but not on non-fed trained list as he has been over here since before the rules changed at the beginning of 2008. If he has applied and got for british residency then he is entitled to come off the quota.

If we sign Obst we should look at changing our name, the Wakefield Trinity Kangaroos?

we are becoming a joke. wakefield is a hotbed of the game and agar has stuffed us with non uk players.

Was told last night the signings have reached an impasse. The key is Smiths visa application. If/when passed then the club know where they are likely to be at with the overseas quota. Sam will sign soon and Aiton back up for Smith. Tongia good as gone. Dowes looking more likely as theres no luck finding a suitable overseas prop without paying over the odds. James got til end of month to prove his worth and shed some weight. Kid is putting in, deserves a go i reckon. Mathers on hold until he agrees pay deal with cas. They want him to go for peanuts, hes digging his heels in wanting better payoff. They need him off books before they can make a move in market.

.... but he's all about giving young players an opportunity, he has an excellent track record to prove it.

Sack the coach.Put all the young kidc in.Finish bottom.
That may make the moaners happy/

Exactly right.

What, there's only 2 choices now then? We either have to be either chocced full like we are now or have non at all?

give your head a shake.

Lauititi, Southern + 1 other quality import would be enough for us I reckon. No need for packing the likes of

tony, obst, collis, john, smith, mellars etc should have no place in our side.

I would add the two halves to your keep list but otherwise you're spot on.

No, he's not spot on at all.

Until we see how the young English prospects are used in relation to the imports, it's totally unreasonable to level this amount of criticism at Agar.

If this is a transitional year with a disproportionate amount of imports in use to tide us over the development period for our own young players, then it will prove to have been the right thing to do; the club has just turned a massive corner in terms of ST sales and winning back some floating fans - if we then field a team full of young kids next season who get the tar knocked out of them every week, all that work will be undone.

You might want to put that straw man away.

There is no straw man - there seems to be an assumption that RA is packing the squad with imports for reasons other than a) we need to win some games and b) the younger players aren't ready. I don't believe that to be the case.

What i want to know if we are not getting Tongia and Mathers deal fails to materialise who will play full back if Tony get's injured. Let's face know one there right mind can seriously see Tony playing every game. Think this is a big risk in this area. Tongia could have played on Wing and also been a back up to Tony thus giving us more options.

We have cockayne and fox for wings... If tony gets injured then cockayne to FB and morton on wing. We have options but could do with a utility back for depth.

Cockayne.

On the VT there's a list of what all the other teams in SL have for overseas players and atm we don't have as many as a coupe of teams and have a similar amount to the likes of Wigan and a few others.

Seriously now,its just that I think people have very short memories.
Remember what state we were in less than a year ago.
I fully agree with Clans earlier post about bringing along the youngsters gradually .
If they are good enough they will force their way in as is always the case.

Neither do I and I'll wait to pass judgement on the squad when it's finalized. Whatever happens though I don't think you can forget the reason we maybe have had to sign one or two overseas players more than we'd like, it's obviously because we thought we were playing in the division below. So imo the recruitment this year was always going to be tricky and the main thing for most fans is making the team as competitive as possible.

I know quite a few long standing fans who (£100) or not are rapidly losing interest in this squad thats been put together at the expense of our own players. a team crammed with imports or off quota players.

They are fully aware of playing a team full of kids and what would happen if they did, and they are aware of the fact that many of the young players are not ready and have not been groomed properly.

Agar will no doubt be doing what he thinks best with the clubs backing and he can't please everyone, thats how it goes.

The crunch will come if we don't develope within the three years and for now we'll have to support what we have and i think most right minded fans will.

Thats not strictly true, if you don't coach/mentor them and spend the time and money then very few will make good Pro players, plenty have fallen away at Wakey over the years through no fault of there own.

But yes i agree that the Clans right.

Most fans won't give a monkeys how many imports we field as long as we get some consistency (not getting tonked every week). Especially in year one, fans want to go and watch a side that competes and can go have a few beers afterwards to celebrate a good WTW team. Something that we have been missing, more fans come through the gates when we are a winning side. Let's worry about the kids coming through after next season.

Getting players in with this calibre is great for our young players. We are kidding ourselves if we think 10 of our academy will be top players. I think 5 have huge potential at tops; players who we are signing will bring them on a treat. St Helens is a great example they bring players through and they get nutured through a top team like lomax, foster etc. The likes of Dean is never going to be a top player you see who has got it and who hasn't yes he will make a good wage in rugby league. I think its time to complain if we don't see the likes of Walshaw , spiers , trout etc all year and not play a game. That is the time to complain. We cannot field a full team of youngsters and I dont think half a team of our youth is feasable. If we filter the a few through at a time nurture them properly. That is the way.

I disagree, i don't want to support a side that as no roots in this City, but thats just me.

It would be nice to see BV rocking again and i would love to celebrate a few wins thats for sure.

We need to blood the kids when they are ready and that may well be after next season, the secret is to use them when they are ready and not the other way around.