Re: Shopping list for 2025 : Sun Jun 23, 2024 10:14 pm  

Sailor had an absolute mare in the last NRL round, in for injured Reece Walsh, tons of errors & few positives.

Again a young man with loads of learning & developing to do, just doesn't seem to work when you uplift these half way across the world - away from family & friends.

Think we need to be targetting more mature types with a proven track record of giving 100% & good attitude to training , diet etc. Do the family men tend to deliver more consistency & value for money than the young prospects ?

Re: Shopping list for 2025 : Mon Jun 24, 2024 12:21 am  

Marcus's Bicycle wrote:

In truth most of us don't know anything about Bourouh!

we do,he is on loan to Barrow

Re: Shopping list for 2025 : Mon Jun 24, 2024 4:56 am  

al283 wrote:

Sailor had an absolute mare in the last NRL round, in for injured Reece Walsh, tons of errors & few positives.

Again a young man with loads of learning & developing to do, just doesn't seem to work when you uplift these half way across the world - away from family & friends.

Think we need to be targetting more mature types with a proven track record of giving 100% & good attitude to training , diet etc. Do the family men tend to deliver more consistency & value for money than the young prospects ?

Disagree. 20 years ago maybe but nowadays various factors mean we just can’t attract these top NRL players like we used too even at the back end of their careers, there will be a few exceptions but just don’t see anyone really bringing over the likes of Jason Smith (hardly the textbook pro anyway) Fitz, Swain, O’Meley and Barnett types anymore.

For me the best imports in the last 10 years or so are players with a lot to prove. The likes of Kelly, French, Field, Hastings, Croft, Lachlan Lam, Levi, Clifford all came here flawed and unproven somewhat. I don’t think Sailor is out of place amongst that company when they first came. Not stuck on Sailor, but we’ll have to take a gamble on someone.

Re: Shopping list for 2025 : Mon Jun 24, 2024 6:36 am  

DSJ1983 wrote:

Disagree. 20 years ago maybe but nowadays various factors mean we just can’t attract these top NRL players like we used too even at the back end of their careers, there will be a few exceptions but just don’t see anyone really bringing over the likes of Jason Smith (hardly the textbook pro anyway) Fitz, Swain, O’Meley and Barnett types anymore.

For me the best imports in the last 10 years or so are players with a lot to prove. The likes of Kelly, French, Field, Hastings, Croft, Lachlan Lam, Levi, Clifford all came here flawed and unproven somewhat. I don’t think Sailor is out of place amongst that company when they first came. Not stuck on Sailor, but we’ll have to take a gamble on someone.

Agreed the days of signing the likes mentioned are pretty much gone.

You have young inexperienced players like the ones mentioned or players come towards to end and fancy a stint in Europe or one last pay day.

Think Sailor would do really well here, the type of player we need, a gamble, but not as much a gamble as signing Stewert would have been.

Re: Shopping list for 2025 : Mon Jun 24, 2024 7:17 am  

Dave K. wrote:

Agreed the days of signing the likes mentioned are pretty much gone.

You have young inexperienced players like the ones mentioned or players come towards to end and fancy a stint in Europe or one last pay day.

Think Sailor would do really well here, the type of player we need, a gamble, but not as much a gamble as signing Stewert would have been.

Also it looks like Sailor has been offered to SL clubs and has far as I know his management hasn’t come out and said that there’s no way he’s playing SL so think he’ll end up over here eventually. If not Sailor hope it’s someone else a bit off the cuff IMO in that kind of mould.

Re: Shopping list for 2025 : Mon Jun 24, 2024 7:39 am  

bonaire wrote:

we do,he is on loan to Barrow

Balmforth was on loan to Newcastle.
Think it’s more to do with giving them game time against men rather than kicking heels in an occasional reserves match.

Re: Shopping list for 2025 : Mon Jun 24, 2024 8:14 am  

boardwalkempire7 wrote:

Balmforth was on loan to Newcastle.
Think it’s more to do with giving them game time against men rather than kicking heels in an occasional reserves match.

Generally when they're not ready. A big risk going into next season with an 2 hookers who have barely played a first grade game between them. A poor recruitment decision for me in a critical position. It may be OK but more likely not. We'd have been better paying those 2 salaries on one better quality player with balmforth as back up and young hodgson coming in occasionally if needed

Re: Shopping list for 2025 : Mon Jun 24, 2024 11:24 am  

bonaire wrote:

If they do come out shortly and announce an extension for Balmforth then for me although its welcome it shows just how naive the club have been.
All most of us asked for was for Balmforth to be given a run to see what he can do yet all we heard was he had to work on aspects of his game.Really?
Dont all young players have to work on aspects of their game?
Then we had the version from some on here that it was bad attitude,not fit enough,cant tackle.
You play to players strengths and Balmforth has shown he is what we need from dummy half positions with his pace and decent distribution.
With Riding been squeezed out recently who was the guy who brough him here you have to wonder if words have been said

id like to think we will sign up DB- hes getting game time and doing well. I assume DH is leaving and no definite hooker signings or have i missed something -The Salford chap? in any event they need spelling. Hooker is such a pivotal position the weaknesses there may be game changing. Not a Riding issue? grix has said theers plenty to work on - enough said. Lets not invet reasons why hes not played a lot prior to last 2 games

Re: Shopping list for 2025 : Mon Jun 24, 2024 11:30 am  

The club haven't announced Burrough, or Rimbu, so I would imagine, that if Balmforth has a wow of a season until september, we may have clauses that would allow us to go back on a deal potentially

Re: Shopping list for 2025 : Mon Jun 24, 2024 11:56 am  

DSJ1983 wrote:

No but you have to admit that it looks like the club have maybe put themselves in a situation that there could be a scramble for his signature now that he looks the part in SL. You’d think that had he been given a bit more game time before May (there was ample opportunity) it would have been a lot easier to tie him down to a new deal. If we lose him now and he goes on to be a top player the club look silly again.

This isn’t a dig at Morgan Smith as he’s played his part in difficult circumstances and always given a go, but it’s hard to see how he’s so much better in fitness or defence then Balmford, the areas we have been told Balmford ‘needs to work on’ so often. It looks like it could have been handled better TBH.

I agree that Balmforth had a good game in attack on Saturday, and I am struggling to remember the last time that I saw a hooker score an interception try in any game I have watched live or on the TV.

He did miss a vital one-on-one tackle that created the Warrington 3rd try, where the Warrington substitute forward ran straight though his attempted tackle and then a simple pass to Walker was a a try for Wire.

So maybe criticism of his defence may have been justified?