I think with Tansey and Westerman, they both were signed and had big impressions to make to the fans which put them under a lot of pressure at a young age, too.

But TBF, it wasn't pressure that did for Tansey, and it's early days for Westerman. Tansey didn't retreat into his shell, he still tried things when he felt like it. If anything, for this reason the seeming arrogance of him was as much an asset on the pitch as it was his downfall off it.

While Cas currently look to have played a blinder in selling Westerman (received loads of much needed cash and replaced him with a 17 year old who is playing better than Joe ever did last season) I remain disappointed at losing a lad who I thought could, and may yet will, be our best product since Mal Reilly. He'll come good for you I'm sure especially if you play him at loose forward and get him on the end of switches/short balls not too wide of the ruck....he was at his most devastating running off McGoldrick but that supply dried up when Goldy moved from stand-off to fullback leaving him isolated on the fringes with no-one else able to launch him.

He's a complete waste of talent at the minute with the way that our coaching is employing him within the side. In a decent team, he'd be a top player.

James Webster: "At the moment we see him as a second-rower, who'll eventually move to Loose Forward and will finish his career at prop".

Couldn't disagree more, he needs to be played at LF asap.

As I understand it, you are only half right here.

Hull FC did sound out Westerman as early as last summer, but only as a possible replacement for Fitzgibbon.

When Fitzgibbon opted to stay for a second year, Agar strongly disagreed with paying a hefty transfer fee for a player who was no longer required (for 2011) and who would be available for nothing at the end of the year!

He - rightly in my opinion - wanted to put those resources into securing a top-class halfback and take Westerman next year for nothing!

This was over-ruled by Gary Hethrington who believed the club would face competition from a number of other clubs who would have more room for manouvre salary-cap wise next year.

So, Westerman doesn't really fit into Agar's plans for this year at least - and it is showing!

GH is neither a shareholder nor board member. He can't 'over-rule' anything. Unless you're suggesting that some improper influence was exerted on the members of the Hull FC board by someone with no formal links to the club? That would be a fairly serious allegation.

or had a word with his missus maybe, dont know, just asking the question?????

The phrase used was 'over-ruled'. That carries an implication of an authority over the running of FC that GH simply should not have. Hence it being a serious allegation.

The rest of the stuff in that post is speculation based around things already in the public domain.

fair point, i especially like the bit about the authority he simply shouldn't have, I wonder if leneghan has sold his harlequins shares yet?

We wouldn't have got Westerman when his contract expired for nothing or indeed at all . Other clubs, including Saints, were sniffing round him. That's why we decided to move when we did and were willing to pay a fee.

you can't know that for a fact just because james rule says so, its well documented you got sean long ahead of wigan by offering a more attractive deal, i would have thought o meley and fitzgibbon would have had other suitors apart from yourselves as well. sure you might have had to up his contract offer to beat other competitiors but would have saved on the 6 figure transfer fee.

Ok I'll put it another way. There was no guarantee we would have got Westerman when his contract expired. That's why we moved when we did and paid a fee.

A bigger contract offer may not have been enough to secure him in the face of an offer from someone like Saints.

The difference being that O'Meley, Fitzgibbon and Long already have collections of winners' medals, Westerman does not. At other clubs he could end up that way as well as being well-paid.