Yeh but in all honesty I know Dan Tomlinson pretty well, he's a savvy guy and he knows what's going on and who can honestly say they are over joyed with a comment he makes like, "The Black and Whites, who will see Jake Trueman depart the club at the end of the season, are understood to be taking stock a bit before launching another serious move".

We might get two top notch quota signings but we all know we might not!!! Why let Truman go until we have someone else signed. He might not have cut the mustard of late but he knows the game backwards and under a new coach and attacking regime and particularly a new fitness and conditioning team, he could still be better than a lot of the second hand joes that are out there waiting to be 'snapped up' in desperation.

Yes it's tedious when posters make the same point over and over again, isn't it?

I'd rather him here sorting things out to be honest. He can go to aus early next season and do the agent thing. Is it a necessity anyway in this day and age. Plenty of things can be done over Zoom now

Absolutely agree with this.

Wakey sign Trueman.

I would like to think that now Myler and Cartwright are in charge of recruitment that repeats of past mistakes won't be repeated and that we will already have a replacement signed before releasing Trueman from the remaining year of his contract.

Yes it is
Is recruitment finished yet?
i have heard you say several times like other posters on here when the clubs poor recruitment has been questioned

Good luck to the kid, but in the past 4 seasons he's had a bad back injury, done his ACL and his achilles. You have to go back to 2019 to see him hit 20 games.

Frees up a big chunk of cap space for us.

Asi not the half we are targeting according to HDM.

Does anyone even do that any more with the advent of video calls? Plus our new coach is already there if any face to faces are necessary.
Also I don't get how the recruitment we have so far done is somehow easy? Are you suggesting he couldn't be d to find any good players so just signed the first ones he could?
I get that they don't exactly set pulses racing but we need quite a few players and there aren't that many quality ones around to sign atm, especially if you are trying to get value on the cap which is something we're hugely struggled with.
We've still got two non-fed spots to play with and I doubt we're done just yet. Whether we'll end up with the calibre you crave is open to question but I find this assertion that Myler has signed players because he can't be d to do the hard yards a bit ridiculous in all honesty.

I agree with that but I do think we now need a statement from the club letting us know what they plan, what the thinking is and what's behind another player leaving without a replacement. Hardly engenders any confidence amongst us season ticket holders. Perhaps we'll hear something tomorrow!

I can't say I have any great confidence that we'll get the players we need but I don't think it'll be from lack of trying.

Really don't understand how we have released Trueman without signing a replacement.

How many of our eggs did we put in the basket in relation to Lam??

I’m as realistic as anyone with the financial situation we are in, but I think it’s obvious now with the bargain basement signings and long contracts we plan yet again on spending way under the cap because Adam is obviously confident licensing will save us from relegation. I worry that we wont last until the end of 25 anyway if we go down that route again.

Not like us to release a half back from his contract early

Does anyone think we've signed Lam and it's well and truly under wraps?

At the time it was a case of Lam has signed hence us releasing Truey? That was said on more than one occasion

If we were doing it on the cheap we wouldent have signed a coach from the NRL, Asiata on marquee money and a new head physio.

I think the issue is there arent many great players available, and then we arent a great option given how low we are in the table and Hull is geographically out in a limb and some wint move here.

Also these repeated payoffs may concern agents and players. Players come here, have their reputation battered, deal ripped up early then are left battling for a career and for the overseas players face deportation if no club appears with a new offer quickly.

Everyone keeps saying about the Smith sacking as some kind of proof that there’s money but he literally had no choice at the time. Plus wasn’t he on an initial two year deal anyways so wouldn’t have been the biggest pay off, clubs in financial trouble have sacked coaches before it’s nothing new.

Asiata is a top player and an NRL winner, but for perspective he originally joined Leigh in the championship so I’m not sure that he’d have been that much of huge earner and we’ve given him the security of a 3 year deal at the age of 31. Aussies living over here temporarily crave that type of security. Also again for perspective, Sky had us down as spending 2.2 million or whatever on wages anyways this season (Pearson claims much higher) before any talk of investment. We’d still be signing players regardless, just likely with a much lower overall wage bill than most of the league.

With the coaching staff and physio maybe the club have just realised that cutting these corners has absolutely killed us and costing more money then being saved in the long run? Also who’s to say the club haven’t just decided to completely change tactic and are spending money they’d have spent on players and spending it on the coaching staff now?

FWIW I’d still take AP on his word that maybe some investment will be sorted at the end of the year. The left field appointment of Myler is and his obvious connections is the only indicator that somethings happening. Our transfer business up to now suggests we’ll still be way under the salary cap.

I don’t think the statement from Adrian Lam was as definitive as being made out, I’d still think the contract issue with Leigh is still ongoing and that’s yet to be resolved. Anyone who said anything was ever agreed with Hull was just spreading false rumours.

He’s simply not going to make his dad look an idiot though so won’t be playing for Hull in 25. He’ll either sign an improved deal or walk away for 2026 at the end of his deal. It was obvious he wanted the get out for an NRL deal, as that’s not happened he’ll be at Leigh next year at least.

I think the sort of outcry that is happening at present with the FC fans I meet every day now is based on the fact that whatever the in's and outs of the current half back situation are, the fact is, we have let one go without having another in the bag. This because apparently Lam was all but signed and sealed and that that now appears not to be the case, which has left us vulnerable as a club.

Its a situation we have seen before, to our detriment, and one, (with the current availability of halves coupled with the fact of our current standing as a club that is at rock bottom, has a reputation for having a very caustic and critical fanbase, has a reputation for cutting players adrift mid contract, is in flux as far as Financial backers are concerned, has a very very inexperienced guy doing the wheeling and dealing and is at the end of a train line and miles from the other centres of the game), that doesn't make is a very tempting proposition.

So now, we need a couple of charismatic Gareth Ellis type characters one of whom has to play in a very specific and critical role for the club at half back. They are always out there if we can pay a big transfer fee, because clubs are strapped for cash across the UK game, but who would want to come with all the above caviats surrounding the club.

All that stacks up to say to the devoted fan who loves the club and just wants some certainty and hope to cling to going forward, (at a club we all love so much and desperately want to see rise again), that we are extremely vulnerable at present.

I think the decision to let Trueman leave is the correct decision, even if we don't have replacement lined up as yet. IF we'd not agree to this release, we probably would've had a player to remain on our roster,whose durability is questionable on a marquee salary.
The rumour I've heard, I hope isn't true, as his replacement.
However, a lot of player movements occur in the NRL, usually happens at the end of the season.

Drinkwater?

Wouldn't argue against any of your post Pete. We all know the player pool is at an all time low and quality halves are scarce, which makes the decision to let a talented half that's under contract leave without any replacement very baffling and concerning indeed despite him being injury prone, given the issues we face in the market. Personally I think the decision to let Trueman go is correct based on the lack of time on the field in a season, but its concerning that with such a shortage in that position we have no replacement in line. I would even suggest that the fact Wakey have offered a 3 year deal for him with his history is further evidence of the difficulty in finding quality, particularly in that position.

The fact that Dan states in his article the club are now taking stock for me is a little alarming also as I read that based on our recruitment history over the last few years to mean we have very little or no options/idea at present on where to go after failing to lure Lam.

We can only hope that in a Coach of Cartwrights standing within the Australian game he can pull a couple of gems out to fill our remaining quota spots.

I don't think it would be alarmist to suggest that if the club do not start giving some positive news or vibes out soon that fans can genuinely buy in to then it could be a death knell for the club. Most of the fans that have memberships/passes or pay on the day are not daft, don't have the highest of expectations and understand that we are in a rebuild on a scale never seen, but, after the past few years and the failure to deliver on promises, the club simply saying we are rebuilding be patient just isn't going to wash anymore for a high percentage of the ones the club take for granted.

The cheap option would have been to replace Smith with Grix though, instead its known we went after Rowley and possibly Adrian Lam, and have ended up with an Australian. Ellis also returned which adds to the wage bill too.

Im as negative and conerned as a lot of people are but I dont think Pearson is daft enough to run it into the ground and hope IMG keep saving us. The main thing keeping us up on the IMG score are crowds, if people drift away we'd be in discussion for the chop (still dont think there are enough strong Championship applicants to replace many of the current SL teams though)

The reason Asista left the NRL and signed for a Championship club rather than SL club, was his refusal to have the covid jab.

Also Lam and Amone both signed for Leigh in the Championship.