Gleeson!!?? Jeez, I'd forgotten all about him! Feels like ten years ago that he was here (and performing quite well it must be said)

whiting every time for me and yes, it's now time the coaching staff finally pinned a position on him. many are saying LF, some second row. Even Whiting said himself a couple of seasons ago that he wanted second row, but yes, the powers that be persisted in the 'squad player' tag.
Now the old guard has gone lets see what he can do in a 'position' where he can command-we can't afford to cast him aside in my opinion.

Couldn't agree more ! If we are to challenge Wigan and Wire with any seriousness, players like Washbrook, Dowes, Radford, Lauaki and Sharp have no place whatsoever in our squad.

Washbrook is just another fine example of a local kid who just isn't good enough.

raises the question why we are playing O'Meley and Moa at the same time? surely splitting them up would at least leave 1 decent forward on the field at all times. As you say Dowes and Radford just aren't at the races. Radford's 2 year deal was another ridiculous celebration of all things mediocre by the club.

No other coach in SL would play Whiting on the wing. Every other coach in SL would play Whiting in the back 3 and anyone with a brain would give him some responsibilty with the ball. He had a bad night the other night as did quite a few others but once again he had to cover a lot of ground cos Turner didn't read the play when they scored from the quick tap.

Lauiki goes. Never ran his weight apart from his debut and is a penalty machine.
Washy goes, he wouldnt get near any top 8 sides starting 13. The one time the other night he had to catch the ball and pass it outside he dropped it. He can only go in one direction!
Turner goes, not good enough for me at the highest level.
Dowes goes, good servant and not had many chances but we need some real presence off the bench.

Rubbish, Whiting for some reason decided to shoot out of the line at Atkins even though all his inside players were in slide defence as proved by Turner getting close to Riley.

Lets face it, if as PG has said he wants to make us a top 2 side, who out of that starting 13 would be good enough to keep??
For me only
Briscoe, Yeaman, Houghton, Moa, O'Meley, Westerman.

Hopefully a big clear out in the next few seasons.

You can add Manu to that list too, they are the 'spine' of the team that we should build around.

the rest have had their chances, or haven't ever been good enough.

Whiting is versitile but the wing position stretches his abilities. He has come in and done a good job there at times against players like Richards for defending the jump but to put him against an out and out speedster is risking it. Hence why he tried to shoot out of the line early.

I think Whiting and Washy should be ok as squad players if we get a good core 1,6,7,9 going next year. This will improve everyone's game and give us more structure, communication and set play/dummy runner options. Not every player has to be a star. If we get playing the right way, blooding young players in a successful team becomes easier and then success breeds success.

See Melbourne Storm: strong core 1,7,9,11(Blair). Some old warhorses and some promising youngsters and they are breeding SOO/internationals in all positions. Duffie, Widdup, Nielsen and Proctor not being far off.

I feel we should be using more cap space on genuine stars in the core positions (1,9,6,7,13) and use more youngsters to provide squad cover.

Going back to 2006 (and previously under Kear/McRae) the club was building its squad like this...it was the injuries of 2008 that seem to have made us panic and sign up as many average players as we can...and next season we are left with 4 halves and 3 hookers, but not enough props. We've also seen Quota spaces used on players like Byrne, Phelps and Obst who haven't even come close to international honours.

Whiting offers good versatility and is the ideal player to have on the bench. But others like Washbrook haven't progressed and we need to bring on some younger players.

Whiting is a great club man and a good back up player because he is generally safe as houses but he doesn't have speed and quality we need to challenge the teams above. Does anyone think he would walk into the starting 17 for the top 6 sl teams? I don't think he would. To be honest I'd rather send him elsewhere and have quality players with the back up players being Cunningham, Green, Aldous, Kent and a couple of other youngsters. That's what Saints, Wigan, Leeds and a few other SL clubs do. Get rid of the average and have a balance of quality and youth. Harsh but I think it needs to be done. I'd say bye to sharp, dowes, lauaki, radford, phelps, burnett, obst and whiting. Full on clear out!