Follow me on Twitter sibbsy xxxx

Have to wait and see who/if anybody leaves at the end of the season to see if it made sense to bring in a new signing. At least the age is right, we have him from 24 until he's 28 potentially and our signings directly from the NRL have generally been better ever since 2004* when we got Bai and Ali compared to the early 2000 likes of Mullins, Ben Walker, Barnhill.

* Notable exceptions in Mark O'Neill and Ben Cross, who to be fair was a McClennen signing (and a Buderus mate recommendation) that i don't think McDermott was too bothered about having.

It's all good fun speculating what the lad can and cannot do,let's give the lad our
support and see what happens.
As lots of people have commented the days of splashing out on a top Aussie player have gone,due to salary cap etc etc. And a host of other reasons all well
documented on these threads.

never heard of the lad before this but at least its in a position we are in need of an injection of life and if it leads to the back of hauraki then its a decent move in my eyes.hope they are now looking for a good go forward prop now which should complete next seasons squad with ablett likely to make move to permenant centre.

Well certainly looks good from his highlight video, but it's important to remember its just that. Not going to show any of the rubbish.

He is exacally the sort of signing we will see from AUS. We won't get the big names coming over except for the ones who have messed up filmed themselves with dogs etc

Will reserve judgement till I have actually seen him play but not too dissapointed and the thought that this probably means the back of hauraki can only be a good thing!

I've heard Melbourne and Manly were after him, looks like a good player.

Sounds quite a similar signing to Gelling in all honesty.

Good one.

[urlhttp://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/achurch-joins-leeds-064704523.html[/url

Australian forward Mitch Achurch has signed for Leeds and immediately set his sights on playing for England in the 2013 World Cup.

The 24-year-old Penrith Panthers forward, whose mother was born in London, will join the reigning Super League champions on a four-year contract from November. The 6st 5in, 18st Achurch, who has also played for North Queensland Cowboys, has made eight appearances for the Panthers so far this season, including their defeat at Melbourne on Saturday.

"It was obviously a big decision for me but my mum still has a lot of family in England and this feels like the right decision for me," he said.

"Growing up, every kid dreams of playing in the NRL and I have done that now and it was flattering to have both Penrith and Manly keen to sign me.

"I think the Super League competition will suit my natural game and I am excited about coming over to England for the next four years at least, but hopefully longer.

"My first focus is coming over and doing my best for Leeds Rhinos but obviously with my heritage that would make me available for England and the World Cup next year.

"There is a long way to go between now and then and I need to be playing well but training and playing with world-class players at the Rhinos can only help me to develop as a player."

Leeds coach Brian McDermott said: "We are always looking to identify young talent both in Super League and elsewhere and Mitch is someone we were keen to sign once we had spotted his potential.

"At 24, he is obviously not the finished product but it has been great to speak to him and hear his appetite to develop and fulfil his potential here at the Rhinos over the next four seasons."

Where does it say Melbourne were after him in that?

Looking at the Toyota cup video looks a similar style to Gareth Ellis, perhaps when he was at Wests they spent some time together?

It doesn't but it clearly states manly were keen on him

Having never seen him play I know one thing

He's a massive improvement on Huaraki

I never said they weren't



It does say Penrith and Manly were interested

To be fair, if you had a spare 7 or 8 months, you could probably make even Ian Kirke look good on a montage video.

www.panthersforum.com.au/index.p ... an-forward www.panthersforum.com.au/index.p ... sea-eagles www.panthersforum.com.au/index.p ... signed-for www.panthersforum.com.au/index.p ... nd-mansour Looks like our friends in Aus see his potential and un happy to see him go. Watching the You tube clip he looks a raw talent and a signing who could turn out to be a real find. Learning off peacock, Luluai and Mc Dermott next year should improve him. Looks to have size aggression, handing skills and good go forward. Something we are a little short of in our pack...................looking forward to see him develope I think we might have a good one here and looks abetter propect than average Joes, Hurakai, clarkson and Kirk. Well done the sleeve Does this mean the end of the Scott Taylor rumour ? I hope not, and are we expecting Amor to go to Wakey ? I have heard a rumour that Viv Nicholson (Hull FC) are also interested in Amor, I wonder if we can use him as bargaining power to bring in Tom Briscoe ? Any Thoughts ?

www.panthersforum.com.au/index.p ... an-forward www.panthersforum.com.au/index.p ... sea-eagles www.panthersforum.com.au/index.p ... signed-for www.panthersforum.com.au/index.p ... nd-mansour Looks like our friends in Aus see his potential and un happy to see him go. Watching the You tube clip he looks a raw talent and a signing who could turn out to be a real find. Learning off peacock, Luluai and Mc Dermott next year should improve him. Looks to have size aggression, handing skills and good go forward. Something we are a little short of in our pack...................looking forward to see him develope I think we might have a good one here and looks abetter propect than average Joes, Hurakai, clarkson and Kirk. Well done the sleeve Does this mean the end of the Scott Taylor rumour ? I hope not, and are we expecting Amor to go to Wakey ? I have heard a rumour that Viv Nicholson (Hull FC) are also interested in Amor, I wonder if we can use him as bargaining power to bring in Tom Briscoe ? Any Thoughts ?

Quote ="Tingley Rhino"www.panthersforum.com.au/index.php/forum/21-penrith-panthers-nrl/22192-rhinos-capture-young-australian-forward www.panthersforum.com.au/index.p ... sea-eagles www.panthersforum.com.au/index.p ... signed-for www.panthersforum.com.au/index.p ... nd-mansour Looks like our friends in Aus see his potential and un happy to see him go. Watching the You tube clip he looks a raw talent and a signing who could turn out to be a real find. Learning off peacock, Luluai and Mc Dermott next year should improve him. Looks to have size aggression, handing skills and good go forward. Something we are a little short of in our pack...................looking forward to see him develope I think we might have a good one here and looks abetter propect than average Joes, Hurakai, clarkson and Kirk. Well done the sleeve Does this mean the end of the Scott Taylor rumour ? I hope not, and are we expecting Amor to go to Wakey ? I have heard a rumour that Viv Nicholson (Hull FC) are also interested in Amor, I wonder if we can use him as bargaining power to bring in Tom Briscoe ? Any Thoughts ?'" I hope you're right about Achurch. GH and BMcD obviously see a lot of potential. The assumption is he will play in the back-row. Therefore there's still a place for Taylor as a prop. I understand FC feel he is coming to us. Also if GH has a clearout some current forwards will leave. The decision on Amor has been left to him so I don't know how he could be used to get Tom Briscoe. I know there's a rumour that Briscoe is coming to us but he's contracted to FC for 2013 and then I think he will go to NRL. Have you heard anything different?

Quote ="Tingley Rhino"www.panthersforum.com.au/index.php/forum/21-penrith-panthers-nrl/22192-rhinos-capture-young-australian-forward www.panthersforum.com.au/index.p ... sea-eagles www.panthersforum.com.au/index.p ... signed-for www.panthersforum.com.au/index.p ... nd-mansour Looks like our friends in Aus see his potential and un happy to see him go. Watching the You tube clip he looks a raw talent and a signing who could turn out to be a real find. Learning off peacock, Luluai and Mc Dermott next year should improve him. Looks to have size aggression, handing skills and good go forward. Something we are a little short of in our pack...................looking forward to see him develope I think we might have a good one here and looks abetter propect than average Joes, Hurakai, clarkson and Kirk. Well done the sleeve Does this mean the end of the Scott Taylor rumour ? I hope not, and are we expecting Amor to go to Wakey ? I have heard a rumour that Viv Nicholson (Hull FC) are also interested in Amor, I wonder if we can use him as bargaining power to bring in Tom Briscoe ? Any Thoughts ?'" I hope you're right about Achurch. GH and BMcD obviously see a lot of potential. The assumption is he will play in the back-row. Therefore there's still a place for Taylor as a prop. I understand FC feel he is coming to us. Also if GH has a clearout some current forwards will leave. The decision on Amor has been left to him so I don't know how he could be used to get Tom Briscoe. I know there's a rumour that Briscoe is coming to us but he's contracted to FC for 2013 and then I think he will go to NRL. Have you heard anything different?

looks to have a fair bit of pace too

I'd hope he's a bit better than his profile on the Panthers website:

"At 6 foot 4, Mitch is one of the biggest and most imposing members of the Panthers squad. Despite not completing a pre-season this year due to shin splints, Mitch has become the quiet achiever, improving steadily as the season goes on."

Wow.

I've heard from someone I know who knows a few people at Wakey, and apparently they are resigned to the fact that Amor will be coming back to Leeds for 2013.

Kirke has re-signed. He said that he had offers from 2 other super league clubs, but didn't want to leave Leeds. He is on reduced terms, but we are funding him through a degree. Can't imagine he is on more than £30/40k?

Damn you hyphen.

I can't imagine Manly (or Melbourne) will be busting a gut to deny that statement. More likely to ask ....... who?

Like the concensus on here I'd never heard of this character before yesterday's announcement and I'll have to wait to see him a few times before beginning to form an opinion on the signing.

Damn you and your sense of perspective TVOC.