You will notice that the term average I put in quotes- that means it's a quote from someone else-
And I do realise we will have to pay their wages...

Scott Grix, Kyle Wood, Craig Huby all average players who will probably not improve as in late 30s or over 30 years of age.
Huby was better than average at Cas but has been average for us.
Eorl Crabtree - Right time to retire, was once great but now average but plays the odd good game.
Josh Johnson - average, young yes but very small for a prop. (Heard he was to sign for Bradford but obviously now wont be)
Jake Connor - Great prospect and skill levels but very very slow - would have liked him to stay.
Joe Wardle - Wasnt great last season but big loss.
Jamie Ellis - For me not a loss (some would disagree) will go well in Championship but not top 6 super league standard.


Replacements:

Alex Mellor - 2nd row/centre raving reviews in championship only 22, could turn out to be excellent, could turn out to be average - already one of better championship players.
Adam O Brien - Hooker only 23, again could turn out to be excellent, could turn out to be average - one of better championship players.
Jake Mamo - Full Back blistering pace, skill and coming from NRL.
Lee Gaskell - If fit could turn out to be good signing, if not fit wont be.
Paul Clough - Average.
Dale Ferguson - Average half of time but can be good games and gives 100% effort.
Shannon Wakeman - Young hungry prop with plenty to prove, rated highly.

Clough and Gaskell could turn out to be wasted signings but Gaskell if fit could be an excellent centre for us. Clough has been signed to be a squad man.
Ferguson you know you will give 100%.
Mamo and Wakeman - priority signings, expecting big things.
O Brien and Mellor - Prospects that are worth a punt.

I think our recruitment is much better than what we have lost with probably still another prop squad man to come in to complete the squad.

For me we are better taking risks on young players that could be good rather than sticking with players like Grix, Wood etc that you know will not improve much or even start declining.

Yeah good signing, well done Huddersfield? Glad to see your youth policy has come up trumps again!

I like the way Clough is dismissed as average. He might not be a world beater but he has played in four grand finals and two challenge cup finals. That is a massive amount of experience and he is not too old either.

I think it's a case of playing down our recruitment and not over expecting of them which is good really

But I think the recruitment is equal to what we lost short term and much better long term

Nowt wrong with our youth policy but like any club if good young players come up we will take them it's smart business !!

55 posts eh? Well done Lockers! Youve come up trumps!

(If theyre all of ths calibre its a waste of a good keyboard!)

I'm not criticising your recruitment only time will tell if it's been successful, just merely questioning jools's choice of words when he said the club had let average players' go. from my understanding average or not depending on opinions, your club were powerless to stop them going with the exception of Ellis and Crabtree who was retiring anyway.

this

crabtree actually wanted another year but stone had other ideas for him.

O'Brien was tremendous for the Bulls against Leigh in 2015. We struggled to contain him. He appeared less effective in 2016, but seemed to be being used differently (off the bench if I remember correctly?) He also seemed a bit jaded - probably because he seemed to be doing 80 minutes more often than not, in other games. Of all the Bulls players, I would suggest he had most potential to take the next step up. I reckon you have probably got a good one there - I just hope we can contain him in 2017!!

Watched him for budfud, thought yeah he's got the brains to play 9,could be a very important signing.Knows how to play SL 9,unlike Hinchcliffe who is a SL 13 or he is nowt.

There are still a few rough edges to O'Brien's game. Lowes decision to have him play 80 minutes in 2015 (and get racked in the head at least once a game) backfired in 2016 when he wasn't nearly as effective but then neither was the rest of the team. His passing from dummy half can be a little erratic but he's got a good brain and good instincts for the role. The lad deserves to play in Super League and possibly beyond that to the NRL

wont be asked to do 80mins here, think he will share the roll with leeming

gone out on loan to halifax for a month

bit surprised really when he didnt play game 1 at widnes but then again he didnt really perform in the 2 pre season games i saw him in

looks like we are sticking with hinchy in this hooking role!

I'd like to think we offered Bradford the chance to take these two, and maybe others, to help them out

don't understand this decision at all hes a cracking player

On last night's performance, I think we signed the wrong O'Brien lol

Boom, quality signing for Fax. I do think that Huddersfield will be in the bottom 4 with the team they have so its a complete surprise for us to be able to bring in a player of AOB's quality. Great news as well for Fax that 2 of Huddersfields better players last night were their hookers so hopefully that will continue and we can get him for a bit longer.

Just listened to the post match interview with stone. He was asked about Adam Obrien. "We were looking to use him game one with hinchy at lock" "It was a difficult one, he didn't come here to be a trained professional" "the dual reg with Oldham wasnt going to be adequate" "he had to go to Halifax for a moth to get some game time" " hopefully he will come back into our squad in the future " don't know what to make of that?

yeh hard to understand

obv hasnt impressed enough to get in the starting 17 , nows his chance at halifax

Sounds to me like hes been lazy in training and not done what is asked of him - sounded like Stone had intended on playing him initially...

Rick has always said he won't pick or keep players who won't buy into what he's doing, seems Adam hasn't been pulling his weight either then !.

Hard to understand wh if he's been given his chance he hasn't lept at it. Unless he was hoping to be picked up by someone that would play him first choice. At the stage he was selected everyone would have a settled first and possibly second choice hooker.

I'd imagine his nose has been put well out of joint that a younger less experienced player has been picked over him. Leeming has come on leaps and bounds in the last preseason and fully deserves his spot. Hinchcliffe prefers loose, stone prefers Hinchcliffe at loose- all suggests obrien hasn't done enough to show he should be at 9.