Although Cooke isn't the player he once was he was still a much better play maker than Dobson was when you brought him in, they weren't exactly much better when he didn't play on Sunday were they? Players detoriate (look at Vella).

At some point though you'll have to get back to 5 and all I'm saying is it might be more difficult than from a starting point of 6. I'm not having a go. But some clubs are better placed to ramp up overseas numbers such that the majority of their first choice 17 is overseas. I don't really think that's in the spirit of what the RFL set out to do with franchising yet is an inevitable by--product of their shambolic rule-changing.

Who up until his injury has been playing some of his best rugby in a red and white shirt.

Maybe because he wanted to leave? You did replace Colbon with him however the fact is if you bring in the 3 players (Green, Bailey and Mason) you're starting 17 would probably look something like this;

Briscoe

Fox
Welham
Webster
Colbon

Green
Dobson

Clinton
Fisher
Mason

Newton
Galea
Murrell

Lovegrove
Bailey
Vella
Hodgson

11 out of your 17 will be born out of the UK (Or 65% of the team). That's disgraceful IMO. Vella, Netwon, Galea, Mason fair enough, even Clinton but what about players like Bailey, Fisher, Lovegrove? Surely an English player could do a much better job than them?

If an English player could do a better job then you have nothing to worry about because we will be languishing at the bottom of the table with no wins and no hope

Like anyone round here gives a about your opinion!

As things stand, we have 1 more overseas player than you, everything else is media speculation.

Dobson wasn't here when we got Cooke Webster was and in all fairness he never really shone apart from maybe a couple of derbies and the odd match here and there. Now Webster was dropped because Dobbo was the better prospect (and webster's an aussie). When we played wakey Cooke looked much the same as he did for us, pretty average wheras Dobson continues to perform at the highest level.

Players do deteriorate (look at all of FC's H/B's over the last 3 years )but they shouldn't in there mid 20's, Cooke did and in his full HKR career he has never been better than Dobson. I'd go as far as to say Cooke at his very best is not better than Dobson at his very best.

Tansey

Meli
Yeaman
Turner
Briscoe

Horne
Long

Fitzgibbon
Manu
Lauiki
O'Meley
Berrigan
Moa

I make that 7 out of 13 thats more than half the team o/seas and this is from a team that supposedly is the benchmark for youth development..

All a matter of which colour glasses you have on I suppose.

Go on then name them?

Cooke wasn;t captain of the CC team or the GF team. So to say he led them is a bit misleading. Working on your logic Ryan Bailey is a better prop than James Graham as he's won the GF more.

Or 7 out of 17 which is pretty much in line with everyone else. I could have a starting 13 with 11 out 13 players not born in the UK for Hull KR. P.s. we're not the benchmark for youth development see Wigan or Leeds.

We could name a team featuring 17 British players if everyone was fit, what is your point?

In Fact here you go

Briscoe
Fox
Welham
Ratu
Latus
Murrell
Spaven
Wheeldon
Hodgson
Mills
Netherton
Taylor
Watts

Mariano
Beaumont
Cockayne
Walker

And only one of those hasn't played in the Super League, so we are hardly destroying the core of the English game are we

In my team I'd rather have;

Long, Sinfield, Chase, Tomkins, Eastmond and Briers than him.

I'm not saying that the fact he's played in the GF and CC more than Dobson is absolute proof however it's clear that the HB is a vital cog in a team - perhaps the single most vital (see us and Bradford in recent years for proof). Cooke has being a very important player for a team who have won the CC final and got to a grand final and has proven he can be a top player in a top team whereas Dobson hasn't.