It is clear that despite his successful cameos at Wigan, Deacon is long past being able to fulfill the role of key play-maker - which is exactly what the Bulls need. As the Wigan fans have demonstrated, he's effectively playing off the back of a very strong pack and other more creative halves that are taking on defences more directly. Without these players, Deacon would not make much of a difference to the current team. The decision to let him go was the right one - just a shame for you that the Orford plan didn't work out! Orford was certainly the right sort of player, just perhaps not with the right sort of attitude. I suspect things could have been a lot different if the long-term injury had been avoided.

To be fair to Deacs he was doing what he always did when he left, and he was very good at what he did. He was never the pacey, support player that many wished him to be, but to say we haven't missed his organisational skills is far from true for mine, and it's also true for [iany[/i half that they play better behind a dominant pack, though I guess the real reason for the question is more to do with the problems we've had in the halves since he left rather than what particular skills he brought to the side.

I didn't see anything wrong in the decision when he left, but as some have already said, hindsight is a wonderful thing, and I definitely would have thought it was wrong in the second half of last season, when we didn't have a 'proper' half fit to play. As of now though, I'm very hopeful the Herbert /Briggs combination will be one to savour, and I'm not sure them missing a few games is going to be the disaster it turned into last year. You can never tell when injuries will strike though, so here's hoping.

Maybe you should point fingers at McNamara for that thought then Andrew?

I realise it ain't in your make-up to do that though.

Yeah, bring back the McNamara wars, everyone was really missing those.

Well, the reason I was told by Stuart Duffy for Deacon leaving last year was that Wigan offered him a position where he'd be a mentor for Wigan's young half backs and would like a release. Bradford said, we'll only give you a release if we can sign a good enough player to replace you. The club then got the call from Orford's manager, and once they'd managed to wipe the slime off, agreed his signing and Deacon's release.

Tbh, Deacon always did a good job for us. Yes, he was never quite the same after having his face smashed in on international duty. Really, he needed a better 6, given he was more an organiser than a runner

Not a war at all, in fact, most people have thankfully forgotten about him and rightly so.

But the point still stands, your man let him go, did HE make the right decision?

At the time, I think that YES, McNamara made the right call. Deacon was looking jaded, and we were getting a player that was considered in many quarters as world class.

Did that decision pan out? Well we all know the answer to that one.

^ Yep.

You're not one of them though, clearly. If you want a 'Now the dust has settled' thread on SM, start one so other people can avoid it. I'll see you there though.

No thanks.

That idiot has had more than enough said about him. I look at him like I did the cancerous mole I used to have. Gone but never fully forgotten.

Perhaps you can tell him that at your next dinner party?

I think that now he has been compared to cancer, he's had enough said about him.

a bit rude?