Quote: hullbg "I agree with that Kosh but we all knew i t was a risk signing Long and Horne with his previous time out of the game was always going to be hard pressed to play a full season nevermind at a good standard. The fact we keep trying players in that position and failing is cause for concern when we have youngster who could probably do as good a job if not better.
Yes it is always hard to chuck youngsters in but with the experience around them and the experience they would gain from playing in some games it would be invaluable to the club in the future. Failing that bring in someone for a NL1 side, yes they wont be in the Long class but they will be playing in their position of choice rather than being asked to do something they are not accustomed to.'"
There was always a risk, but we had so much work to do on the squad that we had to focus on one area this season and IMO the right place to start was the pack. The availability of players will also have been a factor. It was a gamble but in some ways it has panned out OK in that we will be in the playoffs after two season stuck at the wrong end of the table. I realise that this isn't where we want to be, but I have a feeling that the club set a minimum target and we have hit it.
The real test will be what we do for next season and the one after. We have to address issues at halfback and centre/wing and we have to do that against a backdrop of everyone else being after the same players from a very limited pool of the required quality.
I don't know enough about our youngsters to know if any of them were a realistic option for halfback cover this season. I would agree about looking for someone from the Championship but again there are a limited number of candidates of the required quality and they are all much in demand. It's a difficult situation and it will take some creativity to address. I hope we have the ability to do that properly, because if we mess it up then we could easily be paying the price for years to come.
