This is a wind up right ? Do you read the hull board ? Agar is renowned for NOT giving kids a chance and would rather bring in second rate or washed up aussies. There will be very few youngsters given a shot this season.

Henderson is not staying is he?

Cos he is non Fed trained and a (second rate) import - and is therefore an import.

We had the chance to get aware from 2nd rate Ozzies, and we appear to have chosen not to take it. Yet again we have taken the easy option and it worries me because the new management seem to be going down the well trodden route of the old management and potentially making the same mistakes.

not prepared to do that? what did we do last year? where did that get us? look around at the other clubs in the division. Their lineups are a mix of overseas imports, players with experience, and youth. A 100% British league, with British players is the dream, but at present that's all it is. It's not ideal, it's certainly not unique, but in order for us to move forward we have to do the same as other clubs. Kids can only get you so far. If we don't want a team of overseas players, but can't compete with kids, what does that leave us with? Look at the England side. It consists of overseas players for a start. This country is hardly flush with good young English talent. The club have recruited well in that market, and have a lot of British kids on our books with potential. But that's all they have right now. Players like Southern, Morrison and Lauititi provide the experience, the leadership, the drive to give these kids something to aspire to. They will get their chance, and when they do it's up to them to show that they have more than potential, and come 3 years time when players like Southern retire, they should be there on new long term contracts to step in and replace them.

to be fair to the club they will be doing exactly what agar wants and has a history of doing.....the only difference now is that the quality of import and value will have reduced from what it was at Hull.

The country is not flushed with english talent for the exact reason of this thread....bringing in overpaid aussies who are playing NSW Cup. That is why our game is where it is.
Look at Hickey for example are you trying to tell me we could not have picked up a better player over here on half his salary ??? I think we all know the answer to that.
I dont mind if the imports are real quality.....i would welcome a Cronk or Thurston every day of the week, but a second grader and a player with more issues than Gary Glitter !!

We were forced into it last year because of finances there is no reason this year why we can't have a better balance but we don't have to go back that other way and load up on as many imports as we can get our hands on. It is not a unique situation but if you look at the 2 sides that got to the grand final this year they both have a good recent record of bringing young British players through so the players are out there. The fact that there are overseas players in the England side only backs up my point that there are far too many overseas players in SL. I'm not saying no overseas signings but there is no need to have 10 in the squad that is a backwards step for the club.

So who came through to replace these from 2008?

Blanch, Martin, Drew, MacGillivary, Demetriou, Obst, Peterson, Henderson, Latu, (Watene)

Or these from 2005:

Halpenny, Demetriou, Domic, Tadulala, Jeffries, Korkidas, Solomona, Obst, Macgillivary, Henderson

Or these from 2003:

Sovatabua, Jeffries, Seers, Davis, O'Brian, Hood, Vowles, Halpenny, Slattery

I can see what you are trying to say, but I don't think Hickey is a good example. The club couldn't have easily picked up a better British player, for less, than what we thought/hoped we were getting. That the state he showed up in was both less and also considerably more than we expected is a related, yet different matter.

Good British players are at a premium, particularly those without criminal records or other reputational problems. Weaning ourself off journeymen, second-chancers, those with eating disorders, unknown Samoans, criminals and a whole range of other 'project players' will take a little time, particularly when are still a club for whom for every up-and-comer who does take the chance with us, there is a richer/bigger club waiting to poach.

Leeds and Warrington prove a point with a lower number of "overseas" players.
Strangely enough, our crowds were up last year watching a mediocre side which still included 10 imports.
I think our crowds would be as high with 2/3 marquee players only. Quality counts.
For some reason, an Australian in the NSW cup seems to be able to command a bigger salary and expenses than a UK player, as does a coach.
The expensive salaries will only force the salary cap higher in the end and lack of space in the squad will send the youth to kick and clap.

In an ideal world we'd be running out every week with a teamful of quality homegrown players. Sadly it isn't an ideal world. Its ok using Leeds and Warrington as examples but you are not exactly comparing like for like. Those two clubs are two of the wealthiest and most successful clubs in the division with thriving, well financed, academy structures, whilst ours has been under funded for years. Players actively want to go play for them and the get financially well rewarded for doing so. We are a club that avoided the wooden spoon by the skin of our teeth after very nearly ceasing to exist 7 or 8 months earlier because of financial problems. Hence we are still not exactly a drawcard for potential recruits. And to quote australians can claim bigger salaries than english players is simply not true. Quality english players are at such a premium that they are more often than not the highest earners in their teams. Sadly there just isn't enough quality english players to go around and so teams with limited resources like ourselves have to look at a pool of talent where better standard players don't cost the earth. Sadly that is the austrailian market. Its a phalacy to think that every overseas player that comes over here is well paid. The average SL salary is 60-70K by all accounts, many come over for much less than that yet we are paying a player like Kevin Penny close to that amount.

Don't think for a minute that just because we have a 3 year license we are out of the woods, even if Newmarket goes through. Playing a team of english kids that gets us a couple of wooden spoons in this period will put us under severe threat whether we have a shiny new home or not. We need an instant on-field improvement if we are to build our business so that in time we can compete with other clubs for good english players and just as importantly, hold on to our own club developed ones. But until that time comes we have to get the best value for money as we can. And i'm afraid that means more overseas players than we might like. But its a means to an end. Fans don't want to watch a beaten side every week like last year, if the same happened again then irreparable damage could be done. If you asked around the terraces most fans couldn't really care less where the players come from, they want results. If our young players are good enough then they'll get a game. If not then they have to strive to be so and continue to learn there trade from players who at this time are ahead of them. But in the short term there is going to have be a little patience regarding recruitment and development and then hopefully in 3 or 4 years time we will get where we want to be.

Well said Boyem.
Agree 100%

Yes think some people on here need a reality check. If anyone thought that we were going to put 13 english players and a few oversees players are seriously mistaken. We are in a massive transitional period at moment due to circumstances that we all know about. As mentioned even with 3 year superleague license we are probably still going to be known as a vunerable team until we make some good progress over the next 2 years both on and off the field. Even though putting as many english based players would suit some loyal fans it could prove to be a far greater risk than bringing in some experienced players who may help us reach greater things. There are a quite a few fans who are expecting good things from us and would probably be out the door if the going got tough. RUGBY LEAGUE FANS ARE THE MOST FICKLE FANS IN THE WORLD!!!