I thought Hampshire played well yesterday but he is, without doubt, the worst offender for that, he simply cannot make decisions in time. If he could he almost certainly would be the great HB some on here would have us believe.

Do you not think Gaskell is being signed more for his utility value?

He can play almost anywhere but is especially effective at SO/FB/Centre/Wing. We simply can't ignore players like that in a way Hudds clearly can. His inclusion almost certainly allows us the liberty to either sign an extra specialist player or promote another few youngsters.

I see no obvious reason to assume he will take the FB slot instantly, that is seriously up to what form Max is in.

for me vasty with the pace Ryan as got and to a certain extent jowitt they stand too flat and they don’t give themselves a chance running onto the ball. All the halves are the club have similar movements when the first priority of a player especially a half should be forward as this gets the line going forward: if it then goes sideways it needs men to drop back under which we don’t do to create space. It’s frustrating because we can move the ball through hands at times but not consistently, the structure of the attack needs some work, to me there just seems everyone in the way all the time and the hooker and halves should be getting them out of the way

Ryans problem for me is he is too much of a team player, I know that sounds odd but a H/B has to also occasionally be a selfish show-off to be really good. Ryan has the pace and the balance to attack the line himself but always seems caught in two minds looking to create a play for others whilst shaping up to have a go himself and ends up doing neither.

Let's not mess around you know him better than almost anyone, so tell me if I'm wrong but is he basically too nice a guy in a way that says Brough wasn't?

Morgan Knowles try last night was a good example of running hard at depth coming on an angle his tackle bust and momentum was a peach of a try, why we don't use what ability we do have baffles me

Worth noting that the two previous carries that led to putting the Allstars on the back foot were a great yardage carry from Lyne followed by another quick and big yard carry from westerman. Those two drives set the tone for the Knowles try and shot the defensive line to pieces.

Gaskell now confirmed by the club

I see him more or less replacing Alex Walker but having more utility value with the team. As a squad player I think it’s a decent signing.

I'm not upset about Gaskill signing.
He's great utility value and has skills.

I like this signing, similar to what I thought when we signed Joe Westerman in the fact that he has shown glimpses of the player he can be and has had some brilliant patches of form, he just needs to find a level of consistency now and at 30, it`s now or never for him to do that.

I think Hudds have looked a better side with him on the pitch, Covers Fullback and halfback very well.

Brough Mark 2

Comes with a good rugby brain and a great pair of hands ,why wouldn’t you want him in your team

I’ve likened him to Craig Hall before, a great attacking player and on his day can be devastating. But it’s rocks and diamonds with him, but when on song I’d say he’s a better SO than Miller!

Thats the thing hudds look better when hes on pitch and they have siezer

Here we go, pre judging yet again




Why not Westerman Mark 2 or is that just too positive?

Lose forward ?

Not necessarily but similar in terms of quality.

I dont think hes a strong enough tackler at loose forward if we have signed milner then he will play there if not i would put pitts there he does a lot of work that goes unnoticed but solid in defence

Hope it not unoticed I think Pitt’s tackling makes him the clubs man of steel this season.

Gaskell has been excellent this year for us.. but he was absolute gash for the first two years after he signed his contract with us, he turns it on when he needs to (i.e. when his contract is due to be renewed). As for sicknote, i think his % played would actually look quite good, but what is REALLY annoying is the number of times he pulls out literally in the warm up, this has happened at least 5 times at the giants, possibly more, and usually for something minor. A 100% man he most certainly is not. In anycase, if you get the best from him, he is a very skilful and intelligent player, but i would worry that he views it as a final payout and will look after himself instead of your club.

No way you would want him at loose forward, he hasn't the physicality or attitude for it, he is a half back not even a fullback, you will see him bottle a lot of the tough stuff when he plays full back which is why he is not our first choice there (Golding is when fit, which is rare)

another mediocre signing

Remember similar comment from you when we signed Westerman. Here it is:-

"mediocre signing at best...."

Well done, I wish I could be bothered to hunt these comments out.

I was worried about Westermans attitude but never thought him mediocre. The same applies to Gaskell, I'll judge his attitude when the time is right.

You may be right but horses suit certain courses. The truth is there is such a lack of real quality at the lower end of SL that we don't have much choice, we take what's available and his utility value is gold to us.

IMO it’s better to spread the quality out amongst the players with these signings than blowing the budget on a high profile player who knowing our luck would spend more time on the physio table than the field . Gaskell certainly doesn’t weaken the squad and can only help in upping performances by putting pressure on players in different positions to be on top of their game