Re: CONFIRMED | Zak Hardaker to Castleford Tigers : Mon Jan 09, 2017 1:08 pm  

chapylad wrote:

Think I must be in the minority who feel Zak will be one of those players who come back to haunt us more than once.
There is know denying he has the talent to be the best FB in SL.
And even if he does go off the rails it might take 3 or 4 years before someone says enough is enough.
If Cas can get 3 or 4 exceptional years out of him then I guess it is good business on their part.
How many years was he at Leeds before we had enough?

Think you're probably right. And the assumption that he won't grow up could well be wrong anyway.

Re: CONFIRMED | Zak Hardaker to Castleford Tigers : Mon Jan 09, 2017 1:19 pm  

Towns88 wrote:

Hardaker will offer a damn sight more than Dorn in defence and I was a big fan of Dorn with ball in hand, he was a poor last line of defence though.

True Hardaker will be better in defence but for me won't be as good as Dorn in attack so it just levels it out. All in all you've swapped on FB who could be a match winner for another, just match winners in different ways. Think what Cas need to make that step up is elsewhere in the squad. Whilst you have a good set of forwards I think you're missing that one key main guy in the pack.

Re: CONFIRMED | Zak Hardaker to Castleford Tigers : Mon Jan 09, 2017 1:22 pm  

chapylad wrote:

I think they might miss Solomona more than Dorn tbh.

When Cas fans were saying it after his departure it sounded like sour grapes but in reality it's true that Solomona got so many tries laid on a plate by Dorn and Gale and most good wingers would've scored similar playing on that wing last year.

Re: CONFIRMED | Zak Hardaker to Castleford Tigers : Mon Jan 09, 2017 9:11 pm  

Clearwing wrote: Think you're probably right. And the assumption that he won't grow up could well be wrong anyway. Still plenty of growing up to do.

Clearwing wrote: Think you're probably right. And the assumption that he won't grow up could well be wrong anyway. Still plenty of growing up to do.

Re: CONFIRMED | Zak Hardaker to Castleford Tigers : Mon Jan 09, 2017 10:03 pm  

William Eve wrote: Still plenty of growing up to do. Dead right Will. When he opens his mouth it's Gen-Y dick head all the way. Drunk stories since his return to the uk are out there. It may be kept quiet at Cas. For Hardaker not to trip up over himself again will be more based on luck than form.

William Eve wrote: Still plenty of growing up to do. Dead right Will. When he opens his mouth it's Gen-Y dick head all the way. Drunk stories since his return to the uk are out there. It may be kept quiet at Cas. For Hardaker not to trip up over himself again will be more based on luck than form.

Re: CONFIRMED | Zak Hardaker to Castleford Tigers : Tue Jan 10, 2017 1:40 am  

William Eve wrote: Still plenty of growing up to do. How he could be surprised at his omission is ridiculous, was lucky to be in the train on squad after his season. Obviously has one of those agents who tells him he's greater than he is (and spreads tales about the Leeds club to guillable folk who take it as gospel). That Hardaker said he wanted to get away from his friends when he was in Aus and then opted for the nearest possible option in Cas a few months later is exactly why I think it's a matter of time before his next 'slip'.

William Eve wrote: Still plenty of growing up to do. How he could be surprised at his omission is ridiculous, was lucky to be in the train on squad after his season. Obviously has one of those agents who tells him he's greater than he is (and spreads tales about the Leeds club to guillable folk who take it as gospel). That Hardaker said he wanted to get away from his friends when he was in Aus and then opted for the nearest possible option in Cas a few months later is exactly why I think it's a matter of time before his next 'slip'.

Re: CONFIRMED | Zak Hardaker to Castleford Tigers : Tue Jan 10, 2017 8:56 am  

What options did he have - nobody wanted him - if a club in Aus had wanted him he would have stayed there. Now Gotcha suggested there was a club in the NRL interested but it never came to anything.

It wasn't a case of him taking the nearest possible option it was more a case of him taking the only viable option open to him.

Re: CONFIRMED | Zak Hardaker to Castleford Tigers : Tue Jan 10, 2017 9:21 am  

Sal Paradise wrote:

What options did he have - nobody wanted him - if a club in Aus had wanted him he would have stayed there. Now Gotcha suggested there was a club in the NRL interested but it never came to anything.

It wasn't a case of him taking the nearest possible option it was more a case of him taking the only viable option open to him.

He had offers with two clubs in Aus. They were never ever going to pay a fee though, not sure why Leeds ever thought they could get one from the NRL. Or to that matter, why the hell Zak and his management thought he could get away without a fee. So wasn't going to happen with that stance, and to be fair it's not like he didn't know that when they agreed to release him.

Again, Leeds had three deals agreed with other Super League clubs, but Hardaker was only ever going to go to one other club. Not because of location, not because of mates, simply because of the coach. See if it works for him this time. From what I am told by the cas lads he looks an absolute steal in training and very very good. Like I said, I have put a bet on MOS for him. Mainly because I think Cas will stand out as a club this year, and him been the player he is will probably stand out in that.

Re: CONFIRMED | Zak Hardaker to Castleford Tigers : Tue Jan 10, 2017 1:41 pm  

Gotcha wrote:

He had offers with two clubs in Aus. They were never ever going to pay a fee though, not sure why Leeds ever thought they could get one from the NRL. Or to that matter, why the hell Zak and his management thought he could get away without a fee. So wasn't going to happen with that stance, and to be fair it's not like he didn't know that when they agreed to release him.

Again, Leeds had three deals agreed with other Super League clubs, but Hardaker was only ever going to go to one other club. Not because of location, not because of mates, simply because of the coach. See if it works for him this time. From what I am told by the cas lads he looks an absolute steal in training and very very good. Like I said, I have put a bet on MOS for him. Mainly because I think Cas will stand out as a club this year, and him been the player he is will probably stand out in that.

I think Cas look pretty strong shame about Solomona - they have a good coach who seems able to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts.

If Zac performs anything like he did in 2015 he will be the best signing any club makes this season

Re: CONFIRMED | Zak Hardaker to Castleford Tigers : Tue Jan 10, 2017 7:58 pm  

Think you might be right.
Although I don't think we could have done much more to keep him if the stories are true.