I've never quite understood the constant criticism Houghton gets.

Is it down to one or two saying how slow he is at the PTB, and everyone else jumping on the bandwagon?

I couldn't see anything particularly bad with his play last weekend, but what I did notice was how slow Heremaia was in comparison - surely not!

Good post, can't argue with it.

Houghton for me although works his socks off and puts everything in for me just lacks the ability to quicken us up. Dont get me wrong his scoots downfield are great but far too often his distribution is poor and is something that is lacking in his game and needs improving.

Time will tell if Cunningham is ready for SL level, hopefully after a season at London he will be. If I'm being honest and we had to let one of Houghton or Heremaia I would have let Houghton go as I feel Heremaia offers a much better skill set and more all round to the team in general. I would imagine both are quite high earners too so having both only playing half a game is a lot of cap to waste, but Houghton has a better injury record and age on his side so can see both sides of the argument. End of the day the squad needs adjustments and with the salary cap we have to maximise the outlay and use it wisely to get a better balance in the squad and improve the areas that need adressing.

Like has been said already better to get rid a year early than a year too late.

Totally agree.

I think it's some sort of myth regarding Houghton and once someone says it one or two believe it and jump on the bandwagon as you say.

Never noticed any difference when Heremaia has taken over.

good luck aaron, hopefully houghton and cunningham can be a good combo,i think on what ive seen cunningham is more like josh hodgson, and that cant be a bad thing,

What ive seen of him doesn't impress me much

I like Heremaia. He's a good player for us and I hope he goes well at Widnes.

That said, I like watching kids come through the ranks so I am look forward to liking Cunningham.

Good decision, IMO. We're putting faith in local talent and the pool of money for world-class players got larger.

Horne and Yeaman next for me. Done frig all of note for years, getting older and just anonymous.

I've loved watching Heremaia play, he really does put his body on the line and never gives in. Good luck to him at Widnes, but young players are the way now.

Agreed. Heremaia has been a very good signing but if he had stayed it would have held back Cunningham and I think we must now use him or lose him.

Hope Azza goes well at Widnes.

Good luck to Azza. I think he's been a very good player for us and will be sorry to see him go. That said, I think it's the right decision by the club. From what people say he's on a decent amount of money and Cunningham will be on a lot less so if it frees cap space up that's a good call. The question is whether Cunningham will be able to fill the void left by Azza.

We are talking different players, different positions, different salary cap exemptions, different pay levels and different numbers of replacements available so no, each case on its own. I think that given the circumstances in this particular case Hull have made the best decision. Given that we can't predict the future there is a real possibility it could look daft, but I wouldn't be betting on that.

heard a rumour on kieron dixon and will lovell signing from broncos for next season

Wasn't happy when I heard the news on Azza, don't think we would have had to offer a two year deal he would have settled for a 1 year extension.

Having slept on it, this is probably the right decision, not convinced yet with Cunningham but playing the remainder of the season at London can only bring him on. We know Houghton is capable of doing big minutes so Cunningham may only need to spell him for 20 / 30 minutes a game next season which is similar to what Azza has been doing on a big wedge.

Houghton seems to be getting a lot of knockers on here, I personally rate him, and his ball distribution is no better or worse than several other players in the team IMO

Hopefully we see a big name coming into the squad in place of Azza next season, and hopefully there will be more than one big name to come.

Any Broncos players that are left that are SL standard will be keen to get a deal done as they are already condemned, would like to see Dixon here...

Its evolution and its what successful teams do. Its no good waiting until someone breathes their last on the pitch before replacing them. As others have said Azza has been a good servant and I for one am grateful that he's played for us but he, like some others, had reached the point where he needed replacing by a younger model. Lets hope that this is the start of a replacement policy for our aging players (you can all fit your choice of names).

Dixons good in attack regarding pace but is far too light imo and is awful in defence. Not overly bothered if we signed him in all honesty.