Once were Loiners wrote:
Some of these signings/potential signings seem to be about boosting the squad depth. I don't think Smith was at all happy to find out his reserves in some positions are 17/18 years old.
Someone mentioned Oledzki as pack leader. He might be in the sense of being a senior player but he's not a high impact prop, he's a grafter. He doesn't make big yards post contact and is stopped pretty easily most of the time. Nothing wrong with what he is but we need real size and aggression. Kasiano fell over the line against us last week just through sheer size. None of our props have a threat near the line, and none of our forwards look game to take on Walmsley on the rampage. That's where we're lacking, both in attack and defence - right up the middle.
Oledski makes plenty of yards post contact, problem is that he is surrounded by props who don't, therefore the opposition can really concentrate on defending him in numbers. Look, I'm sure that we'd all love a gigantic battering ram in the Walmsley mode, but who is the player and how much would he cost? Upwards of 300k at a conservative estimate. As for Kasiano, yes he's a threat, but he's also a defensive liability. I'd prefer a good stock of big props at reasonable value within the cap, and that's what I think Smith is going for.
