Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Fri May 16, 2014 7:36 pm  

Father Ted wrote:

After the WCC and where SW etc thought we had been "outsized" as well as many other things they said it would alter their view on recruitment.
Joel is a back rower who's 6'5" compared to Faz and Bateman who are both considerably smaller.
Perhaps Joel is the first opportunity where they have been able to find a player who suits their new view on recruitment.
If we still have his registration then that is a big plus. Koukash will have to pay a transfer fee as well as match Joel's salary expectations.
Best of luck to the club, I hope they are successful in signing him!

Could this if it came off not be seen as a stepping stone by Joel to get up to R/L speed and then make a try to join Sam in the N.R,L.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Fri May 16, 2014 8:23 pm  

Father Ted wrote:

After the WCC and where SW etc thought we had been "outsized" as well as many other things they said it would alter their view on recruitment.
Joel is a back rower who's 6'5" compared to Faz and Bateman who are both considerably smaller.
Perhaps Joel is the first opportunity where they have been able to find a player who suits their new view on recruitment.
If we still have his registration then that is a big plus. Koukash will have to pay a transfer fee as well as match Joel's salary expectations.
Best of luck to the club, I hope they are successful in signing him!

Every time I think of signings for next year my mind drifts back to the WCC homecoming night for Paul Prescotts testimonial and Wane and Rads talking about next years signings. They made that point about us being outmuscled against the Roosters and how they want big, athletic bodies going forward.

Joel Tomkins fits that bill perfectly. He's a big lad now who can really motor and get round the pitch and he's only going to get bigger as he goes past 30. He along with Farrell and Bateman can nail down that second row spot for a number of years and we need that sort if continuity.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Sat May 17, 2014 4:36 am  

Moley on Twitter suggests that JT could well be Wigan bound... All rumours of course, as per the thread...

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Sat May 17, 2014 9:20 am  

I've seen a lot of people mention Salford as favourites for Joel's signature as apparently they can offer higher wages.

Am I missing something with this? Has our multi millionaire owner suddenly lost a chunk of his worth? Has the cap suddenly not applied to Salford? Have we spent the one million plus we received in transfer fees?

I can't see how we wouldn't be able to match what Salford can offer. ATEOTD we lost Pat, Sam and HH last year! There's no way the replacement wages of Bowen, Burgess and Bateman are on par with those.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Sat May 17, 2014 9:39 am  

Father Ted wrote:

Joel is a back rower who's 6'5" compared to Faz and Bateman who are both considerably smaller.

Best of luck to the club, I hope they are successful in signing him!

Joel only has 1" on Bateman (6'3" and 6'2" respectively) which has surprised me.

Joel appears to be far more rangier than Bateman though, so he does look taller.

On a side note, whilst i am embarking on a pedantic players height type post.

Liam Farrell (the player that is not big enough to play test rugby, according to some) is a whole 1" taller than international back row superstar Antony Watmough.

Anyway back OT

Hope he comes back home. Big loss when he left and has the added bonus that he will be able to tell all the members of our squad, just how rubbish playing RU is.

Win win

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Sat May 17, 2014 9:54 am  

tugglesf78 wrote:

Joel only has 1" on Bateman (6'3" and 6'2" respectively) which has surprised me.

Joel appears to be far more rangier than Bateman though, so he does look taller.

On a side note, whilst i am embarking on a pedantic players height type post.

Liam Farrell (the player that is not big enough to play test rugby, according to some) is a whole 1" taller than international back row superstar Antony Watmough.

Anyway back OT

Hope he comes back home. Big loss when he left and has the added bonus that he will be able to tell all the members of our squad, just how rubbish playing RU is.

Win win

STOP!!!! You know full well that looking for anything other than a negative is frowned upon...

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Sat May 17, 2014 10:02 am  

Wigan Peer wrote:

:NAUGHTY: STOP!!!! You know full well that looking for anything other than a negative is frowned upon...

Bl00dy happy clapper.....

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Sat May 17, 2014 10:09 am  

tugglesf78 wrote:

Bl00dy happy clapper.....

Moley on Twitter suggests that JT could well be Wigan bound... All rumours of course, as per the thread...

My pint of Mild is half full..

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Sat May 17, 2014 10:26 am  

Wigan Peer wrote:

Moley on Twitter suggests that JT could well be Wigan bound... All rumours of course, as per the thread...

My pint of Mild is half full..

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Sat May 17, 2014 11:33 am  

I thought that Joel had spent most of the season injured and that this accounted for his non appearance at international and other levels. As an international he has fallen behind the likes of Burell(??) There are a fair few union players who offer the size and skill level of Joel in that position so he may feel a bit in limbo. Having said that he does seem well regarded in union and he must be on a very good wage. If Joel is thinking about coming back I doubt that he would be in any condition to walk straight into any team. In a way we benefit from the timing as he has missed the end of the union season when the hard grounds have allowed for a lot of open flowing rugby.