I get the feeling we all agree Oford is the man we all want to come back , or he would nt be filling page after page of debate , my feeling is that he will come back , but only if he has to ie, he has not been fixed up in the NRL I also think that this will be earlier than the pre season date , poss mid oct ,

Fair point

What Dilligaf said.
Sinfield is easily the best captain in this country, not necessarily the best palyer though.
There was an instance a couple of years back, GB/NZ, IIRC there was a bust up with Webb smashing the ball into Wilkin's mush, the ref's decision went against GB which was harsh to say the least. Peacock couldn't even speak he was so shocked, he stood there aghast, I thought he was going to cry. Someone such as Meninga, Hanley, Farrell would have been in the ref's face making sure they evened it up later. World class player but terrible as the face of England RL. If ya know warramean.

Wouldn't want him playing in the front row at Bradford though.

Might have him on the wing though, he knows how to travel at the speed of light, it was on the discovery channel.

I've got to say, I've never understood having a player who doesn't direct the play on the field as a Captain. Yes, they can be there to motivate (yada yada yada - fat lot of good Lynchy has been in that department this year) but to me one of the people who directs on the pitch should be the captain.

I know teams tend to differentiate between a 'club' captain and the the person who controls the plays on the pitch, and go for having 'a team of leaders' (think I saw that one on Boots n All) but I can't see the point myself.

Ok they are all fair points , so I guess that's me firmly put it my place

I've heard he talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk............

Is anyone else concerned regarding the silence around Orford returning. At the forum Mr Hood said he would be asking Orford to make a statement if one was not forthcoming from his agent. As yet i have heard nothing.

I just wonder that something has been agreed but they wont announce it until after the pledge dates. More concerning is that if we had agreed a release and havent got an adequate replacement as surely this would be better news in terms of the pledge numbers and at least give what many feel will be predictable news but counter that by announcing a suitable replacement

Surely if he was returning and again bearing in mind the pledge now would be a perfect time for a positive statement

The fact no positive statement has come, does kind of suggests it's not good news.

I know if it were me, and an agreement had been reached to release him from his contract, I wouldn't announce that until after the pledge deadline.

Exactly. If he was deffo staying then they would surely announce this via a statement from him

More worrying as i see it is that we havent got a replacment for him. As i said if he was going, which a lot of people think he is, then countering this announcement with an adequate replacement would surely be the best in terms of news during the pledge period.

tbf the club did make a statement regarding the orford rumours at the forum stating that he was returning. what do people expect them to do? issue a fresh statement every week saying the same thing?
I suspect orfords manager issued the requested statement but as it wasnt a headline grabbing rumour the oz press didnt bother reporting it. It seems a remarkable coincidence that the rumours have all stopped in oz press since the forum. Also all the NRL teams have their halves in place for next season now.

If Orford doesn't come back. The club would need to get two halfbacks. I just can't see that happening.

Kearney and Sykes try, but aren't up to it. Is southernwood ready?

A lot can happen in a few weeks.

TBF the club did say they there was nothing new to add but they also said they would ask Orford to make a statement. Now to me the non silence from this is deafening and i hope i am wrong but as they are trying to attract new pledges wouldnt you have expected them to say something or get Orford to say something?

To be honest if Orford has been asked to make his statement surely it would have been to the English press, particulary the T & A rather than in the Oz press

The NRL could have their half backs sorted out by now but who says it doesnt include Orford?

If Orford doesn't come back, that frees up a largish chunk of SC cash, so it could be the Club are looking for a direct replacement (A Marquee Signing?) but these deals take time and why say something till there is something to say.
Saying Orford is not coming back without a replacement will not help the Pledges cause, and sometimes as we know making deals can be a protracted affair. So all the speculation one way or the other is going to continue!

The way I see it, rumours of him joining a club in Aus have pretty much stopped since around the time Peter Hood told us they would be getting in touch with his agent. The aussie press were never going write an article about how Orford was staying at Bradford - who would buy a paper to read that?!
But what they have done is stop spouting sh*t about him getting a deal with someone over there.

I would take some confidence from the silence rather than letting it get you all in a panic.

It is the end of a long season for Parramatta. Officials were hopeful of giving their long-suffering fans some good news after speaking with Matt Orford and his management during the week. Alas, Bradford want the premiership-winning halfback to honour the remainder of his Super League deal.

From Smh

Alas. Ha ha. Australians are funny.

What the hell are Parramatta doing talking to a contracted Bulls player! They either have our permission or the SMH is wrong, after all talking to a contracted player would contravene anti-tampering rules wouldn't it?

The guy clearly doesn't want to come back, and we should cut him loose!

The club may be in a position similar to the Deacon situation at the beginning of this year.
Deacon was offered the chance to be a player/coach at Wigan. He asked Bradford for a release.
Bradford said only if we get someone of quality to replace you.
We then got the call from Orford's agent and the rest is history.

If Orford wants to go, I'm sure the club will put in provisions that we either get a transfer fee or a suitable player from else where is coming as a replacement.

I feel if it's either, it's the 2nd option and we're hammering out a deal

However, if Orford is coming back and will honour his contract then I really think that we need something in the press to confirm this.

how obvious is it that orford wont be returning?
the only disturbing thing is that your club hasnt had the decency to tell you yet

I know the father of a current bulls player and i asked him the Orford question will he/ won't he be returning? and the reply was "he's totally cleared his locker out and taken all his stuff back to Australia and he isn't returning", apparently its pretty commom knowledge around the bulls inner circle.

IF that's true, and personally I don't hold the "I know x,y,z's family member/neighbour/milkman etc" rumours, then I'd say the club are seeking a replacement and are wanting to offset Orford's departure with the new player's signing.

As for the "club not having the decency to tell us" I would point out the club are attempting to attract fans back with the 10k pledge. I'm sure it's been mentioned on here somewhere.

So, with that in mind, WHY would the club announce the loss of a star player without someone of equal or better quality lined up to replace them?

It probably also means that we were all lied to at the fans' forum.