Youngsters are really coming of age, some outstanding players we've got in our ranks! Can only get better, very impressed with what I've seen of them all.

The future has been bright at the start of every season since I can remember, there have always been supposedly great youngsters in our ranks.

Interesting to see the youngsters breaking through since the departure of John Bastion!

Warrington talent breaking through at Wigan and Saints after some questionable management decisions over the last few years seeing lads on our books move on to the for named.

You should know you're not allowed to be positve about the future on here. Tsk, tsk.

Interesting to see a contender for worst post of the season before the season has even started.

Which youngsters have broke through since the departure of John Bastian? We haven't even played a single competitive game yet.

Can you also list out all the "Warrington talent" breaking through at Wigan and Saints especially the ones that were on our books and moved on.

Talking absolute rubbish again.

It's interesting that John Bastian was highly successful at Leeds and Tony Smith brought him to us, we had an Academy Grand Final win a couple of years ago but when he was here you would get a few complaints every off season on here about how we were releasing top talent, Warrington only wanted lads that were big and fit and ignored skill, and our players were getting signed up by other clubs and would come back to haunt us.

We hear this every year. But none of these players who get signed up by the likes of Wigan or Saints ever come back and haunt us. Fancy that! I expect the excuse is, when they were driven away by Warrington's bad management, their confidence was ruined, or it put them off rugby league, and they were lost to the game....

Most likely what happens is every year a few lads get released because our coaching staff don't think they're good enough to make it with us, and disgruntled parents/family come on here and complain about it. If they get picked up as squad padding by other clubs they use it as justification that they were obviously great players.

But I could be wrong. Anybody in the know able to make predictions of 2 or 3 Warrington lads that were released in the last few years who will go on to be top SL players at other clubs? Or even one?

The biggest reason so many Warrington players were released was the re-structure into the U19s competition,. And that is the fault of the RFL.

The under 19s were introduced by the Super League clubs, against the advice of the RFL. Warrington ans Saints voted against. Ian Lenegan probably voted in favour then went crying to Martyn Sadler.

The way I look at it, is when we have put out a much weakened side, we have been shown up by clubs such as Widnes, London and Salford. Last year Wigan and Leeds bought very young, inexperienced sides to the HJ and only narrowly lost. Saints played much of the year with only rookies available.

Long way to go yet.

Sorry I didn't phrase it that well.. yes the other clubs voted to scrap it as a cost cutting measure. Go figure.

Why is it that the same posters always question?
Its not rocket science to do a little research yourselves...

Here's just 2 of the last Bastion released.

Lewis Charnock half back to st helens.
Callum Wright hooker Wigan.

Quote ="rubber duckie"Why is it that the same posters always question? Its not rocket science to do a little research yourselves... Here's just 2 of the last Bastion released. Lewis Charnock half back to st helens. Callum Wright hooker Wigan.'" Easy bit of research using the search function: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=420911&hilit=Charnock&tsmp=1391537226 So the "last Bastion(sic) released" were two 15 years from 2009 that between them have made 1 first team appearance. Guess that's your case proved conclusively then. Why is it always the same posters who write rubbish?

Quote ="rubber duckie"Why is it that the same posters always question? Its not rocket science to do a little research yourselves... Here's just 2 of the last Bastion released. Lewis Charnock half back to st helens. Callum Wright hooker Wigan.'" Easy bit of research using the search function: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=420911&hilit=Charnock&tsmp=1391537226 So the "last Bastion(sic) released" were two 15 years from 2009 that between them have made 1 first team appearance. Guess that's your case proved conclusively then. Why is it always the same posters who write rubbish?

Quote ="Paul Youane"Easy bit of research using the search function: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=420911&hilit=Charnock&tsmp=1391537226 So the "last Bastion(sic) released" were two 15 years from 2009 that between them have made 1 first team appearance. Guess that's your case proved conclusively then. Why is it always the same posters who write rubbish?'" Why is it always the same posters who are so incredibly frustrated and angry with the world?

Quote ="Paul Youane"Easy bit of research using the search function: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=420911&hilit=Charnock&tsmp=1391537226 So the "last Bastion(sic) released" were two 15 years from 2009 that between them have made 1 first team appearance. Guess that's your case proved conclusively then. Why is it always the same posters who write rubbish?'" Why is it always the same posters who are so incredibly frustrated and angry with the world?

Its about what the kids become not how many first team games they play at 16/17 years old.

Bastion told Kallam to play on the wing or there's the door. Not good management skills if you ask me.

I'm 90% sure that Watkins was never actually on our books.

You are correct.

I am 100% certain, that it was Kash Watkins, (who is Kallum`s older brother), was on Warrington`s books, as an Academy player.

Sadly, he was nowhere near as good as Kallum, who I saw playing for Leeds Academy, & was never on Warrington`s books.

Kash was a very average player, who never made the grade, & eventually left the club....I assume HE was released

This is what worries me about this season.

It's easy to just list young players on the club's books and then say the future's bright but all clubs have young players so it's meaningless unless they have proved themselves. When you have a young side that has shown it can hold its own in SL then you have cause for hope for the future.

Unfortunately with us, we've had lots of talk about how bright our young talent is but like you say above, when we have had a few senior players out and put youngsters in we have lost to lower ranked teams and then people on here said things like well Tony Smith should tell us if he's going to put out a side like that for a league fixture because if he can't be bothered why should we be bothered turning up to watch?

We have lost a lot of experience and talent in the off season and it's easy to just say "well the future is bright because their places will be taken by Academy lads" but the teams people are suggesting for us in 2014 are the type of team that if you saw it go out in 2012 or 2013 against Hull KR/Castleford/Widnes etc you would think we might find it tough here with some of the big guns missing.

This year those big guns aren't coming back, they haven't been replaced, so there are a lot of question marks and I fear that we are going to have a difficult ride in the opening part of the season.

If Saints bring us down to earth in the first game watch how the tone on here changes.

It will take time for the younger players to consistently perform to a standard capable of challenging, but I do believe that they have been given the best of opportunities to succeed. The amount of first team games they have played, be it with us or elsewhere, is far greater than we have had the luxury of before. GOB has played SL for Cas, Widnes and Saints as well as the game time that we could muster up for him. Laithwaite, B Evans and Shaw have all had loan spells at SL clubs. Even beyond that, a lot of our kids played for Swinton last year, Ormsby, Riley, Burke, Bridge et al, which, while being a lower standard, is better than playing u21's/19's.

The platform has been laid by the club, it's now up to the kids to play up to their potential, and to a point, the fans not to get on their backs if it doesn't go to plan as quickly as we'd like. I have faith in 'the system' and I have no reason to doubt Tony Smith whatsoever, so I'm right behind his decision on this one.

I was talking about kallum Wright who has broke into the 1st team ranks for this season.
Expect to see him feature at hooker in games this year for the pies.

Although all his youth he played hooker, Bastion gave him an ultimatum. The remarks of Bastion being shocked, are nothing more than a smoke screen.

Optimistically this, rather than Sally's it's not worked before mantra, although time will tell.

Given a fair run with injuries, it would be great to see young guys bloodied where they aren't expected to step up in half a team of youngsters in a game, for example, to protect the older heads for a following fixture as it's only against a percieved lower standing club not a CC semi-final.

Although the lines are blurred these days as to who is a youngster, hence my optimism, playing with 15 of our first choice 17 might be a fairer assessment of how bright the future really is?

Callum Wright won't make it at Wigan. His passing isn't good enough and if it gets a bit rough he loses his concentration, to go looking for a fight.
Jamie Doran and Luke Waterworth are better players in that #9 position at Wigan.

I find it hard to believe that he's not better than Logan Tomkins.

Not the thoughts of Iyestin Harris!

Today's RL Express reports that Callum Wright has been released by Wigan and has signed for North Wales Crusaders.

I'd've thought that was a pre-requisite to play for Wigan.