Yes it is, as is building a squad.

Building a squad and having the ability to translate that into what matters on the field are two different things. With the signings of Westerman, Lauaki, O'Meley, Fitz, Turner, Long etc etc we cant know Agars squad building contribution. As i said earlier, i now want him to prove that he knows how to translate his scouting and recruitment ability into performances. If he cant he might as well become a scout!

Sure he will just like he has with Briscoe and Houghton, i was also personally impressed with young Turner last season.

Dont get too exited he isnt has good has he thinks he is,tends to hide when the going gets tough imop

Who??? Westerman??

really pleased with this signing,young,talented and british.now lets hope we can top it up with a back up halfback to end the week.

Good luck to him. I hope he flourishes with you. It's just a shame we couldn't do it.

Depends. As others have mentioned, I can see Washbrook spelling with Houghton now, and I don't see why this would automatically be the trigger for Whiting to look to move. He's been here 6 years and never had a sniff of loose forward but still been happy to stay. I can still see him moving to 2nd row one day should he put on some weight.

As for the general signing of Westerman, I'm happy with it. Mostly because it gives a strong signal of changing our setup in attack. I can't see us forking out a transfer fee and a 4-year deal to then change his position, so it's a proper loose forward at last. His off-field reputation is hopefully something relatively easy to fix (and Tansey could come in useful there).

There are always certain moves that would just have too much fallout for clubs to sanction though. With Chase being their talisman now, unless he tells Cas he wants out I don't think they can afford to do it. Could be a catastrophic reaction from their fans.

It's a bit like us and a slightly different situation. We desperately need a halfback more than anything else, and there's a certain somebody available, but we still shouldn't possibly entertain the notion under any circumstances.

Agree with that.

Not personally convinced by Turner and wouldn't be disappointed if the club let him go. Not good enough for a 6 IMO, we have better options at 13 (particularly now), and I see him as about 4th/5th in line for a centre spot when fully fit. I'd certainly go with Whiting above him every time.

I've said countless times since he's been here, and I still believe it, that with another stone in weight Whiting could do what Chris Chester did for us. So he'd be the wide-runner with Westerman staying at LF.

Well if Rovelli signs to play 9 and cover 6/7 Washy wont get a sniff.

My point about Whiting was 'how long will he tolerate not getting a sniff?' Yes he's been here 6 years and not looked to move on but the signing of Westerman is our 1st long term indicator as to who our 13 is. Fitz for example was always going to be a 2 year deal. Whiting would have sat there and thought 'i'll learn all i can from Fitz and take over from him in 2012.' Whiting will now be sat there thinking 'so where do i fit'

Different scenario in play here for me.

I dont disagree. The one problem though is that Whiting has spoken about this himself previously but doesnt seem able to put the weight on.

Like Cooke never could?