Westerman is also potentially a great player but not sure I can see him taking the trip across the Pennines to ourselves. Much more likely to stay at Cas or go to Leeds when the money comes offering in! But we should definitely have a go hey?

Too old.

No, from what ive seen he is no great shakes.

Reminds me a bit of tony tatupu that we had a few years back.

i wouldn't mind seeing us having Shenton and McCarth-Scarsbrook. we need a centre and also a forward for when Rah retires so therefore i can see us trying to get McCarthy-Scarsbrook if the board look at young English players. however, as much as i'd like to see Myler, Fox, Westerman and Shenton at the HJ i don't know if they will come across the penines bar Myler who will probably stay at Salford for a couple more years

Deluded, utterly deluded....

What...so lets guess...you think he is world class dont you?

Tried to put together a young, English 1-13 of potential transfer targets! Just on the games I have seen may have missed out others but nonetheless here it goes:

1. Richard Owen
2. Peter Fox
3. Michael Shenton
4. Michael Lawerence
5. Leroy Cudjoe
6. Sam Tomkins
7. Richie Myler
8. LMS
9. Scott Moore
10. Sam Burgess (Not a good season but the potential is still there)
11. Luke Adamson
12. Joel Tomkins
13. Joe Westerman

He's up there, yes. And he's just getting into form now gelling with a great team. To compare him to Tatupu is ridiculous - the only similarity is the physical build. I'm wasting my breath here. Keep dreaming kiddo.

Not sure what people have got against Paul Sykes, up till recently everybody was saying that he's the type of player who should get a shot at international level rather than same old faces of Senior, Gleeson etc. Tony Smith rates him anyway.

Tony Clubb is another worth a mention as a younger option.

I would really like Myler and Westerman. Westerman can kick goals although i am not sure how well.

I'll go along with all the hype surrounding Shenton, so i'll have him too. Same with Atkins

However said Sykes - You are Sykes agent and I claim my ten pounds (or has someone slapped you silly)

May as well have Graham, Roby and Eastmond too

The problem when you sign good "young" players from other clubs is that they are coming to you because of the premium you pay on wages compared to what you pay players developed "in-house" eg incentive to move.

To be honest I do not think we have the need to look outside of the club for young talent at the moment.

Although Tony Clubb is a good call.

Exactly. Tatupu had the odd moment, like that home win over Wigan but generally not in the same class as Puletua who has been the best forward in Super League so far this year IMO.

Like your sig by the way, one of the funniest shows on TV...

The Rhyme-nocerous and HipHop-apotamous. Genius.

Puletua is indeed a big unit but IMO i dont think he is anything other than decent.

If you have other opinions of him then thats great.

Lets not get over excited about it tho

Tatupu had oodles of talent. Unfortunately, he had much more can'tbed.

Surely you pay the market rate, the influencing factor is going to be on whether the player is at or going to a club where he fancies his chances of winning trophies and enhancing his international aspirations.

Eg Saints Academy player comes through the ranks, plays in the first team, offered a new contract on £45000 a year. Warrington offer £50000 a year, he probably says no whats the point. Warrington offer £65000 a year, maybe he's tempted. He comes when we offer him £75000.

Reverse situation, Warrington Academy player comes through the ranks, plays in the first team, offered a contract on £45000 a year. Saints offer to match it at £45000 a year and promise him first team action. Do Saints need to offer a premium because he's not trained 'in house', or does he say cheers for the memories guys, I'm off to get some medals.

For most players I think money is important, medals and trophies probably come second.

If Wire offered a player £100k a year and saints offered the same player £70k a year Im sure you would see him running out in the P&B.

However, if saints offered £90-95K per year it may be a different story.

ie, it will be the whole package that the player looks at with money being one of the key factors.

Couple of things:

a) we're not talking about Saints recruiting our young talent; and

b) on tv Sunday morning (Tim Lovejoy general/cooking show) they had on the show an ex-basketball player called Amaechi(sp) who turned down $16m from the LA Lakers to stay for less pay at his current less successful club. He explained for him it wasn't all for money and he felt loyalty towards the club that had given him the chance. Not saying everybody is like this for there are some people (eg bricklayers) who will change employers for the smallest of increments.

You second paragraph exactly indicates what I'm on about. The truth is you will be able to secure your own youngsters for less (eg re-new contracts well before they expire and other clubs come sniffing) than you will be able to buy-in youngsters of an equivalent standard from elsewhere.

That would be the Lee Briers who is SO much trouble he has been at Warrington for over 12 years and has had five (?) different coaches, many of whom saw fit to have him as team captain?

Big old bag of trouble if you ask me.

I thought you had inside knoweldge? How you can possibly comapre Briers to Goulding when it comes to troublemaking is beyond me.

Come on Mark, we all know what he is refering to.

If you wanna keep your head stuck in the sand and ignore it then go for it.

There is no doubt that Briers is a talented rugby player but we all know he aint no saint

But he isn't anywhere near as bad as people like to paint him to be. In fact he is rather aneglic compared to some other high profile players, hence his long career at our club.

I agree with you but the point about loyalty needs to be backed up by the ability to win trophies. Leeds have kept a very good squad together and stay under the salary cap by paying "stars" lower than they would get as the big fish at another club, but the basic unit of lads who have been playing together with their mates for a long time winning trophies, holds together (the odd one slips the net, eg Calderwood). I think this is much easier to achieve when you have a group of players who come through together rather than one shining talent who thinks he can do better elsewhere.

Like you say if you can renew contracts well in advance of their expiry you can save money, this obviously can only happen with your own players as when you are targeting players from other clubs they are 'on the market' and by definition looking for the highest bidder.

Jon Amaechi's from Stockport, he went to my school but was a few years above me, everybody knew him as Big Jon because he was 6ft 11, he played second row for the union team. First British player in the NBA, he used to come back to our school doing talks and basketball sessions. Very principled and intelligent bloke, got a PhD in Psychology, openly gay and left wing politically, he became a controversial personality in the States by being highly critical of US foreign policy, the Yanks didn't like a gay black man talking politics and he got death threats, had all the "if you don't like us, f off home" stuff. In the end he came back and set up a basketball Academy in Moss Side and works with kids in deprived areas. Fantastic guy.

just not very good at basketball.

maybe or maybe not, who knows?

probably only the lad himself.

I wasn't very good at basketball either but the LA Lakers didnt offer me a $17 million contract