Is Hookem fit?

Think he's out for a couple more weeks. Shame really. Have seen nothing from last year to convince me Mac is good enough

A lot of people more informed than me do seem to have high hopes for Hookem, but to me he looks too small/slight to be a top half in SL?

Still only young plenty of time to fill out. Has the X factor though.

Same could be said about Lewis and Dodd.

Yeah I guess so, but Lewis has raw pace, and Dodd is an organiser with a magic step.

Ben McNamara has to start the games that Gale is out for, he is our main cover player in that position, give the kid a chance

Maybe Hookem has these two, won't know until we give him a chance. Watched him a few times at academy level and his all around is fantastic. Big step up though.

How many games did Ben have last season to impress?
With a weakened pack I don’t think it will do his confidence any good.

I know I'll get lambasted for this suggestion, it is just that I do not see anything in McNamara other than a ponderous and indecisive half, who is nowhere near the level required for SL, even as a deputy - I'd play Carlos at 6- didn't we win the cup in 2016 with him there? I know he is a better centre, but he offers the stability and passing game that McNamara looks short of.

I would give him another chance as well. Maybe a couple of games and see how he goes. He's only a young kid and having had the benefit of a few games under his belt and having worked with Gale pre-season he may have improved. Lets face it the team as a whole was terrible last season and to single out him in my view is unfair. We shouldn't write him off just yet.

Connor is our most effective attacking weapon from full back (maybe our only option according to Cooke) and we should do our best to keep him there for the time being.

McNamara gets a lot of flack despite his inexperience but for me Reynolds needs to take more responsibility and produce more.

Carlos didn't contribute much to the cup win and that's the reason we signed Kelly a year later. We won the cup with our pack steamrolling the opposition which laid the foundation for Sneyd to kick teams to death. That seems an eternity ago. Carlos flourished at centre and has been our best performer for years and I would be loathe to make a positional change for one absence.

You may well be right about McNamara but I would give him another chance. Even with absentees we should have enough to beat Salford.

I get what people are saying about Ben, but he hasn't once lit up a game for us, he was abject in the friendly at Leeds and needs to be allowed to build up his confidence, not get it knocked to oblivion by coming up against two very capable halves at Salford. These guys are no mugs, we need a performance to keep the dwindling crowds interested, I am getting to the point where I just think meh! about some of the games I am seeing and this season doesn't excite or inspire me, what I do think is that we will not be relegated but equally nor will we challenge, which is boring to me.

Maybe this will cheer you up...

He has had plenty of chances.
There has been no glimpses in the matches he has played that there is a future S/L half back there.
lack of pace and a poor kicking game.You only have to look at some of the young halfbacks now coming through in S/L and you can see Ben is miles behind.
Can see him converted into a nine