: Tue Sep 30, 2008 10:43 pm  

ShayFax wrote:

He is a winger too . . .

He hasn't been at the Bulldogs.

: Thu Oct 02, 2008 10:40 am  

Asim wrote: How many other clubs are in such dire need of a centre? http://www.redvee.net/forums/showthread.php?t=10663

Asim wrote: How many other clubs are in such dire need of a centre? http://www.redvee.net/forums/showthread.php?t=10663

: Thu Oct 02, 2008 5:32 pm  

Asim wrote:

How many other clubs are in such dire need of a centre?

I'm sure there is a centre who could have been signed from somewhere in the world of Rugby League, in fact with names such as Morrison and Menzies I'd have thought we might be able to appeal to some players from down under. I'm not talking about signing a superstar, any actual half decent centre will be an improvement on what we've got now.

saints and leeds both looking and at the moment more attractive options that us tbh.

: Thu Oct 02, 2008 10:02 pm  

af wrote:

http://www.redvee.net/forums/showthread.php?t=10663

Tony Colquitt gave a very forthright answer along the lines of;

- won't sign someone for the sake of it
- confident we'll get someone in who is good enough, probably before the start of next season- which other SL club have signed a centre that we would have had?

That suggests to me Saints have someone lined up already.

: Fri Oct 03, 2008 12:37 am  

World Cup might be the show place for a lot of players, certainly the younger ones.
Unwise of clubs to fill their overseas quota until the've seen whats on offer.

: Fri Oct 03, 2008 12:48 am  

bobsmyuncle wrote:

World Cup might be the show place for a lot of players, certainly the younger ones.
Unwise of clubs to fill their overseas quota until the've seen whats on offer.

But nearly all the younger players in the south sea island squads are already tied in contracts with NRL sides.

: Fri Oct 03, 2008 10:12 am  

I think the idea of the World Cup throwing up previously unheralded talent is a bit of a misguided one.

RL isn't played widely enough at a high standard for some amazing undiscovered talent to appear from nowhere playing for a minnow, as has been said before, just about all the South Seas players there are already part of the Australian system.

: Fri Oct 03, 2008 11:45 am  

af wrote:

In 2003 we won the f...ing lot. The next year, crowds went down. Clearly, winning isn't everything.

I see two routes back to title contention for Bradford:

1) An annus miribalis of consistent good form from the likes of Jeffries, Nero and Platt and good health for Deacon, Morrison, Burgess etc. Unlikely to occur to the extent it brings silverware but far from impossible.

2) A bit of the above, combined with another JP-SF-LP-PD standard batch of youngsters coming through and the OSV lifting morale and income - the earliest this will happen is in a couple of years time.

Clearly some posters do not consider these routes acceptable. The question is, what others are there that are available? Because all I have seen so far is "Step 1: Sack Mac. Step 2: Er..." If a legitimate third way doesn't exist, how can you advocate taking it? Would you rather see the club tumble to oblivion rather than risk a few years knocking around outside the top four? Or are you just having a moan because seven consecutive seasons of trophies have been followed by two without (for those keeping count, Wigan just clocked up their sixth fallow year).

Oh, there is another way - "Buy someone - anyone". If they are not available, and two well-regarded centres turned out not to be, we should panic and splurge. Bide our time and see what occurs. Good players have become available outside the traditional horse market period before now. After all, maybe this means Hape is coming back.

The magic ingredients are hope, good weather and decent catering IMO

Give us sunny sunday afternoons with some good wins and add in the smell of fresh samosas drifting over the terraces and obviously news from City Hall about the OSV and things will begin to look up.

As far as the squad is concerned we're clearly focusing on the future by buying young players who will give us better options in the next few years.

[Bullseye]

: Fri Oct 03, 2008 12:07 pm  

I agree with the broad thrust of your argument Andy but we shouldn't use that approach as a way of excusing poor performance in certain aspects.

I certainly don't expect us to be repeating the form of 2003 in any great hurry but as a fan I do want to see the first team start to perform better as time wears on and to see McNamara improve as a coach. I don't think you can put all ambition on hold for 2 years in the hope we'll bring through another SF, JP, LP and PD because you run the risk of damaging our prospects of keeping such good prospects when they're ready.

Most of us recognise the difficulty in recruitment we face in comparison with 10 or 12 years ago but these aren't insurmountable problems yet I hear this too often as an excuse. I guess I'd just like to hear a more "can do" attitude from the club.

I'm not holding out any hopes for the OSV and hope that Plan B is ready to roll!

: Wed Apr 01, 2009 5:31 pm  

Beginning to look like misplaced optimism from Macca, although hope is not yet gone!