iv no problem with strength in depth, its just disappointing see a club like Bradford looking at a player like Shad Royston to provide cover rather than giving an opportunity to their kids, or even other young british players in the lower leagues or on the fringes.

Well, one of our up and comers has switched to Huddersfield for an inflated pay packet. So if you want disappointing I'd point the finger at the Giants first as they're paying over the odds for our young players instead of developing their own.

And you mention going for a british player from the lower leagues, but you're the one bagging Royston simply because HE was signed from the lower league. You might want to go and work on your argument a bit more

no im 'bagging' Bradford for giving a shot to an unproven 28 year old Aussie instead of a young british player, im not 'bagging' him for being from the lower leagues, id be happy to see you give a chance to a young british player from the lower leagues, i would have praised you for doing so.

And there is no problem with competition for players at youth level, competition breeds innovation.

But again, most knowledgeable watchers of the game call Royston the best back in this country not playing SL and most people are surprised it's taken so long for a SL club to snap him up.

1 of Bradford's 9 wins this season came against a team in the top 6. When you were 4th, other than the comeback win against Wigan, pretty much every one of your wins came against teams that finished below you. Not saying that you wouldn't have finished higher up the table without injuries but I don't think you were anywhere near a top 4 side this year.

We got a draw against Leeds at Headingley. Even in the poor form Leeds have been in this season, there's still not many teams that get points there.

And, even though we were in 4th, we weren't a top 4 side. Hmmmm. That makes perfect sense

Way to spectacularly miss the point. I assume if you were 1st after 1 game, we'd be calling you the best team in the league, eh?



I don't think you would have stayed in the top 4 over the course of the season. 6 of your 9 wins came against teams outside that finished outside the playoffs. That speaks volumes about Bradford this season - without the injuries, (which every team has to put up with anyway) a middle of the table team.

We were 4th at the half way point of the season. We had played all teams in the competition. How much change to the table from that point has their been over the season? And as for the "everyone has injuries" yes they do, however, if you were to take out players from any side from the positions that Bradford had injuries to those teams would struggle

And as for you point. As fair as I can see it's "I don't like Bradford, so will look for any opportunity to slate them"

Carlos Mendez Varela quits Toulouse Olympique for St Estève XIII Catalan.
The Catalans Dragons wants to see him play with the reserve, in perspective to play in Super League

On the contrary, I'd much prefer to see you winning things again rather thanthe likes of the teams who ended up occupying the top 4 spots. Who did you beat on that run to 4th though? Salford, Catalans, Wakefield, Castleford, Hull Kr, Harlequins, Crusaders and Wigan, with a draw against Leeds. You won the majority of your games agaisnt teams in the bottom half of the table and lost the majority of games against the top sides. Surely you don't think that even with a fully fit squad you'd be on a par with the likes of Wigan, Warrington, Saints and Leeds?

Out of curiosity what players did you lose for long periods?

At cas we played most of the season without a scrum half or an interchange hooker, had long term injuries to two second rowers, lost our winger/reserve fullback 3 games in for the season, had multiple injuries to our centres as well a whole host of injuries across the team through out the season (irrc we had only two players that hadnt missed a game halfway through the season.

Lifted this list off another forum to show how many players we have had to use and how we have missed some of our senior players due to injury. nb this is from the week before the last round.

Senior Squad
Joe Arundel - 7 apps, 2 tries
Rangi Chase - 24 apps, 7 tries
Ryan Clayton - 18 apps, 2 tries
Kirk Dixon - 18 apps, 7 tries
James Evans - 9 apps, 5 tries
Brett Ferres - 17 apps, 5 tries
Liam Higgins - 23 apps, 1 try
Craig Huby - 25 apps, 6 tries
Ryan Hudson - 26 apps, 4 tries
Paul Jackson - 19 apps, 1 try
Stuart Jones - 25 apps, 5 tries
Ryan McGoldrick - 25 apps, 7 tries
Richard Owen - 3 apps, 1 try
Mitchell Sargent - 24 apps, 2 tries
Michael Shenton - 21 apps, 9 tries
Steve Snitch - 24 apps, 7 tries
Jordan Thompson - 15 apps, 3 tries
Mike Wainwright - 24 apps, 10 tries
Jonathan Walker - 6 apps, 0 try
Joe Westerman - 24 apps, 8 tries
Dean Widders - 15 apps, 7 tries

Youngsters
John Davies - 1 app, 0 tries
Oliver Holmes - 4 apps, 0 tries
Nathan Massey - 2 apps, 0 tries
Adam Milner - 3 apps, 1 try

Loanees
Shaun Ainscough - 7 apps, 4 tries
Mike Cooper - 6 apps, 2 tries
Chris Tuson - 8 apps, 0 tries
Kyle Wood - 5 apps, 0 tries

Ex-players
Kirk Netherton - 3 apps, 0 try
Brent Sherwin - 12 apps, 3 tries

We started the season with only 1 recognised half back.

Orford was injured during the Magic Weekend.
Langley was one of the hardest working forwards before he was injured and never really recovered his early season form.
Lynch has been the main engine of our pack for the last 4 years, his loss meant our already lightweight pack lost a lot of grunt.
Kearney was a bit of a gamble following his injury record. However he was proving to be an dangerous player his injury cost us a lot of attacking power.

But as you pointed out, Cas were missing players and they struggled.

Along with signing 8 new players the Bulls are keen to hold on to their young talent
[url=http://www.bradfordbulls.co.uk/news/4965/WHITEHEAD%20EXTENDS%20BULLS%20CONTRACTWhitehead signs 3 year deal[/url

www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague ... field.html Jeremy Smith to Trinity.

www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague ... field.html Jeremy Smith to Trinity.

Surprise move for me, he was linked with Melbourne Storm, anyway he could do a good job if he plays to his full potential, hes way to inconsistent though.

Frankie Mariano signed for Wakey. [urlhttp://wakefieldwildcats.co.uk/2010/09/mariano-becomes-a-wildcat/[/url

He has the coolest name. He scored a try against Saints in the cup built like an olympic sprinter (alas he is not as fast as he looks) no wonder Cats are checking him out.

[url=http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,27747937-5018866,00.htmlMenzies to Catalands[/url

[url=http://www.bradfordbulls.co.uk/news/4967/O'BRIEN%20PENS%20NEW%20BULLS%20DEALBradford Bulls England Academy Hooker Adam O'Brien signs a 3 year deal[/url

wakefieldwildcats.co.uk/2010/09/ ... -for-2011/ Jesse Joe Parker to Wakefield

wakefieldwildcats.co.uk/2010/09/ ... -for-2011/ Jesse Joe Parker to Wakefield

Now that is a good signing. He looked excellent in the internationals he has played in.

As rumoured, Penny signs for Trintiy. wakefieldwildcats.co.uk/2010/09/ ... -wildcats/

As rumoured, Penny signs for Trintiy. wakefieldwildcats.co.uk/2010/09/ ... -wildcats/

Quote ="Khlav Kalash"As rumoured, Penny signs for Trintiy. wakefieldwildcats.co.uk/2010/09/ ... -wildcats/'" Good move all round. Penny will appriciate these days he needs to work hard on certain aspects of his game, but still has that one thing you can't coach - pace. Whilst his defensive failings might mean he's unwanted at a club like Wire who are trying to nail down trophies, the tries he'll score for wakefield out of very little will be welcome relief if they dragged into a basement battle. He also makes the entrance fee a little better value.

Quote ="Khlav Kalash"As rumoured, Penny signs for Trintiy. wakefieldwildcats.co.uk/2010/09/ ... -wildcats/'" Good move all round. Penny will appriciate these days he needs to work hard on certain aspects of his game, but still has that one thing you can't coach - pace. Whilst his defensive failings might mean he's unwanted at a club like Wire who are trying to nail down trophies, the tries he'll score for wakefield out of very little will be welcome relief if they dragged into a basement battle. He also makes the entrance fee a little better value.

Catalans Ins:- Rachid Ahlalou (RC Toulon) www.catalansdragons.com/fr/news24092010.php

Catalans Ins:- Rachid Ahlalou (RC Toulon) www.catalansdragons.com/fr/news24092010.php

Tommy Lee to Wakey on a 2 year deal