It says in the always accurate M.E.N that we are poised to sign an Austrailian back row forward now Phil Bailey has retired. Does anybody have any ideas who this could be?

Quote ="LEDGE787"It says in the always accurate M.E.N that we are poised to sign an Austrailian back row forward now Phil Bailey has retired. Does anybody have any ideas who this could be?'" I read recently on the Wakey forum that we were after a player they were looking to sign before they got into financial difficulties. Apparently they are still after signing him but it says on wikipedia that he's signed for us. Could be absolute rubbish but you never know? Must admit I dismissed the story as rubbish until I read about Bailey retiring. Perhaps he was a player we were looking at before we signed Bailey? 6'5 and 18 stone 7 lbs he would certainly add some size to the pack! viewtopic.php?f=33&t=481267

Quote ="LEDGE787"It says in the always accurate M.E.N that we are poised to sign an Austrailian back row forward now Phil Bailey has retired. Does anybody have any ideas who this could be?'" I read recently on the Wakey forum that we were after a player they were looking to sign before they got into financial difficulties. Apparently they are still after signing him but it says on wikipedia that he's signed for us. Could be absolute rubbish but you never know? Must admit I dismissed the story as rubbish until I read about Bailey retiring. Perhaps he was a player we were looking at before we signed Bailey? 6'5 and 18 stone 7 lbs he would certainly add some size to the pack! viewtopic.php?f=33&t=481267

Well Hickey was team mates with DJ and the General at the 'dogs so you never know!! Looks a big unit as well. I think we should really be looking a barn storming prop really but maybe someone who can cover prop and second row.

Didnt I read somewhere that Ryan Tandy has been released? Any views could be worth a shout!!

The difficulty now is signing a replacement that isn't registered with another club.

The thing with Tandy is he is at the centre of a criminal investigation i believe therefore I doubt he would be allowed to leave the country.

Nero did a good job in 2nd Row , + we will have Vinne Anderson at some point .

Will have to see what comes of the Gleeson rumours. before we drag another unfortunate from the antipodes!

If I win the £117m jackpot on Friday, I'll stump up the cash for Jarred Hayne. Lol

How about John Cartwright as player-coach??

Not sure why signing for us is posted on Wikipedia under "Controversy"



Does anyone know if he's any good? He sounds big but not made that many appearances if Wiki is to be believed - 75 in 5 years. Is there a reason no other Aussie club came in for him when his Doggy contract ended?

He does sound the part perhaps like Holdsworth he had people infront of him.?

Nero in 2nd row worked very well Friday tho

Hickey can be simply devastating. As you can see from his stats, the guy's a beast. Wow, this would one hell of a signing in my opinion.

What about Chris Heighington? He had desires to play for England at one point.

Go to YouTube and search for 'Bulldogs v Broncos 2008' At the start of the video It shows him putting a big hit on Karmichael Hunt.

Can you imagine Hickey and Cashmere both 6' 5 in the front row with a more determined Sidlow in the second row at 6' 4 and Wild at loose forward 6' 2? Followed by a fitter 19 stone Feka coming off the bench.

That would be some signing - unfortunately, I can't see it myself.

A little bit off-topic, but I see that David Gower's been named in the St George side at prop this weekend. Seems a little strange him playing that position. I'll have to watch the Dragons on Saturday morning to check out how he goes.

After yesterday's defeat by Cronulla, I'm surprised they have any props left. Cronulla really ripped in throughout the game and Michael Weyman, amongst many, suffered the consequences. He tore the scar tissue from his recent groin surgery in a heavy tackle. There was bruises, cuts and scrapes galore in the St George pack.
I really can't picture Gower at prop but this is Wayne Bennett we're talking about. He had Neville Costigan successfully playing at prop, second row, Loose, stand off and centre in the same season. The guy's a genius!!!

Jesus wept can you imagine him and Big Ray at starting props, there surely isn't (or I doubt ever has been) two props with more physical presence than that.
Maybe worth a contract till the end of the season with the option of extending it if he turns out to be the real deal.
Think Nero is much more affective in the centres as he looks an absolute beast there, with the pace of our wingers that would be a devastating combination, throw in the potential of a more classy centre in Gleeson/Ratchford then you have the makings of a very classy back line indeed.

Think the better weather will bring much more points for our backline and hopefully Patten will continue in the form he showed last week.

Me neither, just thought I'd put it out there.

As regards Hickey not having a club and neither did Holdsworth when we picked him up. I'm sure Holdsworth was offered a big money deal to play union in Japan, but the deal fell through at a late stage and the NRL teams had their squads set for the season. It could be, Hickey thought he had a contract with Wakefield and got left stranded in a similar manner, when their financial problems were exposed.

Not seen enough to comment on Hickey, but everybody said we needed an extra prop and he certainly has the size.

If we get Anderson fit, and he stays that way, the SL website has him at a similar size to Wild. That pack certainly wouldn't get bullied on the pitch.

For Sidlow to play second row he needs to either prove or improve his mobility. If we could get Boyle better conditioned and a bit more muscled we have a massive pack then.

I read he signed a $200K a year contract with the Bulldogs about 3 years ago. He's 25 and has played 72 NRL games but I get the impression he's never quite lived up to the high expectations the bulldogs fans had of him. I also read that he's quite mobile for his size and has good hands. Some Bulldogs fans have been critical about his bay window and feel he needs to work harder on his fitness/physique to cut it with the best. Despite this a few bulldogs fans commented about him still having huge potential when he left the club. He was rumoured to be signing for Manly this year before the interest came from Wakefield.

I suspect if anything was to happen its going to happen quick, salford usually get these things done in bunches rather than retire one player one month wait a month then sign a replacement.

It mention's Jarrad Hickey on the Sky Sports website as a possible replacement for Phil Bailey. It also says he's a second row forward but I'm sure he's a prop. www.skysports.com/story/0,19528, ... 08,00.html Perhaps the reporter has been reading this forum??

It mention's Jarrad Hickey on the Sky Sports website as a possible replacement for Phil Bailey. It also says he's a second row forward but I'm sure he's a prop. www.skysports.com/story/0,19528, ... 08,00.html Perhaps the reporter has been reading this forum??