Something that Glenn Morrison said in the T& A today got me thinking - he seems to assume in the article that he can and will be playing in every game for the rest of the season.

My question is this : what should we do with players who are leaving at the end of the season?

Assuming that we have pretty well given up on the play offs, shouldn't we be building in earnest for 2010?

For example, does it make sense to deny game time to Whitehead and Olbison so we can play Morrison in every match?

Should Godwin be getting the start, with Newton as back up, especially given his recent injury and the need for him to get plenty of gametime? Perhaps Horton should get a shot in a match or two?

And if we are thinking of Sykes as a potential No 6 should he get the start each week in that position rather than playing Jeffries?

In short, should we be using those players who are leaving as backup and 'fill in' players as part of an overall strategy to be planning and building for nexr season?

Thoughts?

The club still has a responsibility to TRY and get into the top 8 - however unlikely that might now seem.

You drop a licensing criteria point if you finish outside the 8.

IIRC the clubs receive a sum of "prize" money end of each year scaled according to your finishing position. The higher you finish the more you - the players in fact, since IIRC it goes to them - get.

Would you rather say your club finished ninth, or second-bottom (or worse)?

If the club gives the impression it is no longer bothered and is not trying, what message does this send out to supporters, the media, and especially potential recruits (at all levels) and sponsors???

The club has a clear responsibility to try and secure the highest-possible finishing position, and to put out whatever teams are most likely to achieve that IMO.

At the end of the day they are all proffessionals. They should all be putting in 100% as a matter of personal pride and the Bulls should be playing their best 13. The bench should be flooded with juniors thouigh IMO.

Well, I certainly wouldn't advocate giving an impression that we're 'not bothered'.

In fact, one could argue that letting the season peter out with the same old players losing each week is the way show that we are 'not bothered', whereas at least trying to build a platform for 2010 might be seen as a more positive and forward looking move.

I'm not suggesting that we simply jettison Morrison, Jeffries, Newton etc and never pick them again. That would be cutting off our noses to spite our face! But I do think that they need to realize that they can't take a starting spot for granted and they will used as part of a strategy of rebuilding.

Frankly, I think that the performances of the first choice squad have hardly been stellar this year - it is those guys that have got us into 12th in the first place, after all. So why not use them in this way and at least give hope for 2010 whilst giving meaning to the remaining fixtures.

I know I'd be a lot more excited about the remaining home fixtures if they were being used in this way. Who know, we might see a few wins too!!

Ain't quite that simple though.

They have to earn a living and support their families in the future.

Players who are already sorted with new clubs for next year - how keen on picking up a potentially carerr-threatening injury will they now be? Or, more to the point, an injury which could restrict their (first with new club) off-season or delay their debut in the new season? (Morro will give his best regardless - I do hope he gets a bloody good send-off when he finally leaves, cos he deserves it).

So its a fine balancing act for the coaching staff.

All things being equal, trying to give the lads for the future more game-time has to be a no-brainer. Might well even prove the catalyst for better overall performances. As I said, got to put out the team most likely to get the points, whoever is in it.

Very well-reasoned, and hard to fault IMO.

I pretty much agree with all that.

Yes it is. If they aren't proffessional enough to put in 100% then drop them. If that's the case I wouldn't even play them in the reserves but TBH I doubt any of the players leaving Bradford will want to bow out in the manner the team has been playing. I would think that their own personal pride would see them putting the effort in to win as many games as possible between now and the end of the season.

I fear that, unusually for you, on this one you are being a tad näive. Sometimes people forget that pride by itself does not put food on your family's table. Yes you would HOPE that they'd put in maximum effort, but with little for the club now to play for (as they'd likely see it) and with the club having already made it clear what they think of them, I suggest a bit of realism is in order?

I'm a bit more cynical than that, players who will no longer be playing for the Bulls next season, (as Adey elluded to) won't be very keen on picking up potentially serious injuries, also may or may not give 100% and as a result may get injured, but who would be a coach with descisions like this to make. In all honesty I think the fans who are left would not blame Mac one bit for not selecting departing players in favour of the youngsters

Tvf to Morro, his commens in the article suggest that he will continue to pu1 100% in, and with Morrison I think he's one of the ones who will try and do the best for the club up until his day of departure. If BJ is off, i'd play Hyde there although it does look like we're going to be stuck with Deacs aswell.

Like I said I would expect them to put in 100% level of effort if not they should be dropped. Nothing naive about it.

I agree with that sentiment. BJ has always seemed to give 100% so he should play until otherwise (unless injured) same with Morro. Newton, on the other hand, if he looks like he can't be ar$ed again then he should be dropped.

The suggestion of näivity related to expecting all such players to always give 100%, not to dropping them if they don't (which is a no-brainer). They are still getting paid regardless, of course.

A couple of games playing along side Morrison would probably be immensely helpful for Donaldson and Whitead.

The 2005 squad did ok after it was announced that various players would be leaving.

indeed. that's what I was thinking of. Jamie Peacock and Leon Pryce certainly did very well for us that year.

I agree with Maccbull_BigBullyBooaza here, I would not drop them just because they are moving on, fair enough if they stood out as under performing however I would also expect them all to give 100% for the remaining games they are all pro's and whilst they are still under contract (fair enough its only for another few months but still contracted never the less) should be performing to the best of their abilities and show a bit of respect to the fans and to try and leave on a high, if anything its in their best interest to show their future employers/team mates what there made of and that they are committed

I think the only reason you are suggesting naivity is because you know how to put those fancy dots over the a.

We were in a slightly different position that year though weren't we.

I thinks rotating the young lads and players leaving to strike a balance is probably the way to go!

Although I'm resigned to missing out on the playoffs, we still need to give ourselves the best chance of making them and that means playing our best players. But in my books we also have a duty to play our promising young stars that have shown they can hack it with the best. For me that means Morrow straight in providing he's fit and Worrincy out, but keeping our youngsters in the team aswell.

I'd be going with the following against Celtic if I was coach.

Halley. Sheriffe. Menzies. Nero. Tadulala. Sykes. Deacon. Scruton. Newton. Lynch. Langley. Morrison. Donaldson. Subs. Whitehead. Burgess. Kopczak. Godwin.

I don't think comparisons with 2005 are entirely valid, either in terms of the quality of the two squads, nor in the 'starting position' (i.e in the play off positions as distinct from being adrift)

I don't think its an issue of 'pride' at all. After all, if we'd seen a bit more pride and commitment in the first 2/3 of the season then we wouldn't be in our current position. I'm not saying we'd be topping the table, but a few narrow defeats e.g Castleford (both), Wakefield (away), Celtic (home) might have become victories and we'd be in the lower reaches of the Top 8 with every likelihood of being in the play offs.

So it seems a bit strange to think that a bunch of players who haven't exactly been bursting with pride and commitment - or so it appears from the terraces - are suddenly going to start busting a gut now, when they know they are leaving



I still think the best policy would be creatively use the people who are leaving to 'bring on' people for next year. I mean, who could honestly say that a second row pairing of Morrison / Whitehead wouldn't be better for the future than Morrison / Cook? And it's hard to argue that the former wouldn't actually be better in the present than the latter!!

I'd definitely start with Morrison and Whitehead on Saturday, then maybe try Morrison / Olbison the following week, and so on. You can still have Worrincy and/or Cook on the bench ready to bring on...

Yep. Seconded

Alt is my friend!

Since so many are leaving use them to pad the crowd out, Solomona could make a section of the terrace look full, and create a better atmosphere. Since they are being paid the noise they make shouldn't be dependant on the performance. Also supporters could express their opinions of the players worth directly to them with no need to boo and maybe offend the wrong people.