Obst as a back up is better than any option we have at the moment. He won't take up a non-fed place, so I don't see the harm in bringing him in if he's available.

Possibly, but I don't personally see much (if anything) between McDermott and Agar, they were without Peacock for a while last year but still coped fairly well, and I'd take their half-back situation over ours every day of the week and twice on matchdays.

I just mean that I can't see where we've strengthened since last season that has made us stronger than Leeds. If Leeds do happen to drop down the table from last year, would you honestly say that you'd have us down as the team to overtake them?

Obst ok if we wanna aim for top 10 Finish..

Top 4 I think not..

I think it is difficult to call.

I would have Wigan and Warrington ahead of the crowd with maybe Saints not far behind but then any one of the Giants, Leeds, Hull, Rovers or the Bulls will compete for 4th place IMO.

Injuries DO play a part and I have seen McGuire change the course of enough games to realise he will be a big loss alongside Jamie Peacock.

I would agree with all that. To back up the injury statement i would say that Saints first choice 17 is more than a match for Wigan and Wire but over the course of a season they wont finish above them.

Agree with that. Better back-up than what we have, ie none. Digressing slightly, does anyone know where the club see Turner's main role this season - seeking to oust Whiting (on the basis Yeaman's unlikely to be dropped) or cover at 6? Came as a 13 or 6 IIRC but not sure what the view is now for where he should be aiming, hopefully not just slotting in wherever.

I agree McGuire will be a big loss for them, but they will still most likely have Sinfield pulling the strings with Burrow. That's the difference, as when we have one of our halfbacks missing (or both) we're nowhere near the same side because of our setup. I hope that changes, but as you say injuries do play a part, and recent history unfortunately shows us that we are among the least capable of coping with them despite having more practice at doing so than most.

Leeds and Hudds on a par, then the other 3 you mention behind those IMO (IF we either bring in a halfback, or miraculously keep the ones we have fit).

There's more to a team than one player, especially a back up one!

And also, two years ago Wakefield (with Obst) finished 5th. Can't be that bad.

wonder if the signing(s) is announced before the forum on wednesday.

I actually think the release of Berro could be a master stroke from Hull because having the chunk of salary cap free going into the season with a relatively injury free squad makes us a decent prospect.

Quality players always become available once the season gets under way and we have the chance to really exploit this.

The way that Hetherington sowed the seed into Berrigans head so that he actually thought it was his own idea was absolute genius. Wouldnt surprise me if she hadnt petitioned her local MP with regards Image Rights and Off-shore pention payments. Genius..

Didnt Berro get a 2 year deal at the Warriors? As you say with image rights and tax changes a no brainer for the guy and good luck to him.

A master stroke. Mmm. Berrigan says I want to go and we say OK. Genius.
The masterstroke would have been where we realised that he was poor value way back , sorted a 7 to use his salary cap on and THEN engineered a departure.
I'll be leading the applause if it turns out that that's what we've done but I doubt it.

Could be. Depends who we sign with the money available surely? Think about it.

We'll miss Berrigan.

I've no doubt we'll have plenty of threads asking why he didn't play as well for us as he is with the warriors.

Probably. Wrong player at the wrong club maybe because Berro and Hull never really hit it off did they?

If we'd have supported his runs from acting half he'd have alot more fans.

If by 'masterstroke' you mean 'hell of a risk', I'm right with you. Hoping for a quality player to become available specifically in the positions we need is a long-shot in itself, but when you add in the situation with visas nowadays you could be looking at such a player not even being available to play for us until halfway through the season.

And maybe I'm a pessimist, but injury-free is not a situation that seems to last long at Hull. IIRC, we were 'relatively injury free' at the start of last season, and the one before that.

Agree with all points. It disappoints me that many laid the blame for us not getting the best out of him entirely at his door. We could have got so much more from him if we'd been willing to change just a few things.

Highlighted in 2008 by Phil Clarke on sky sports our players just never read him whereas Swain fitted straight in.

No questioning Berros quality as a player but it never really worked at Hull for him. The odd flash of brilliance made it more frustrating from my point of view because you could see the quality he had.

Swain and Berrigan couldnt have been more contrasting hookers. Perhaps that was the problem?

Tbf all swain had to do was get good early ball to Cooke, I admit he did alot more than that.

In some games berrigan seemed to be trying to get good early ball to himself!

More then likely.

No, but we're now a hooker down as well as having no adequate half back cover. We've lost one of our most talented players and are now thin in 2 key areas of the team. I'm not seeing how that's a masterstroke.

Not really the club's fault, but still very risky to let him go when we might not be able to get a replacement in.