no not all coming , expect the bulls 3

and one or more of the newcastle knights lot

I'll be completely underwhelmed wth Gaskell. Why do we insist on signing average halves from lower placed teams?

we have been after gaskell for a long time, would have been here sooner if it wasnt for nathan brown not letting him join when in charge at saints.

we need a squad of players.... look what happened this season when we went into it light

maybe we can sell more season tickets and sign someone like thurston though

I'd sign Jamie soward from London quality half back apparently super league clubs r fighting for him also I'd give pelissier from Catalans a chance

Gaskell looked to be a very young promising player when at saints. NB didn't want to let him go to us as a rival when we tried to sign him and instead he went on loan to Salford. We tried again to sign him and he then went to Bradford- you have to give him his due- he agreed to honour his Bradford contract rather than "do a kopczak" and stuck with the club when he was relegated so he's certainly shown some loyalty. He's still only mid twenties- and with a good coach could develop further - he was the undoing of us at Salford I seem to remember!!

Granted he's a talented player. But he seems a bit of a crock of late and I'd rather we sign a decent full back or centre, rather than a half back who can fill in. He's basically an older, more expensive, more frail Jake Connor! I'm not saying we need to sign Thurston, I'd like us to spend our money smart...

Yeah I'd rather see Sam Wood promoted unless we can sign some real quality

I suppose I can see the Bradford 3 as squad players, and Gaskell could be a first choice if he stays fit, but if these are signed as first teamers it's not a good sign. And has Rick Stone been involved in these signings? Doubtful!

No he hasn't- these were Anderson's doing. As you say we don't know whether they were signed intended as cover or first team. Given the panic loanings and injury issues which exposed a painfully thin squad I would hope the former.

Thing i remember most about Gaskell when i first saw him for Saints , and something else he has in common with Connor is he looked very slow off the mark. Pretty glad we have got shut of connor now to be honest, his pace is awful, if you watch the try against Leeds where their player waltzes round him it literally looks like he is stood in treacle. No matter how good his skills are that lack of pace is going to hurt you in the backs

Connor isnt the quickest but he has power, excellent handling and a good kicking game and he has grown into a good attacking centre

His defensive reads need work, but his ability to get to the ball first v HKR helped win us a spot in Superleague

Agreed, he's also learnt how to control his temper, he's still very niggly, but doesn't react half as much as earlier in the year or last year.

Doesn't matter now.

Due to typically inept man management, he's a Hull FC player.

Gaskell is very quick. I'm a Saints fan and coach in their youth system and when he was a first teamer he was often in the first 3 in sprints. He has done many length of the field efforts including a good try against you men in 2013?

I'm not saying he is going to be the answer for you but he is a VERY good player who is far above the level he has been playing at. Him and Lomax dragged Saints to the grand final in his debut year. I hope he is played as a 6 and not at centre as he is a nightmare to defend against when coming at 2nd receiver and a more rounded half back than Brierley in terms of kicking, handling and game management.

He has been fit for a very long time to but Bradford have not been playing him and wanted him to do his rehab elsewhere (Get off the wage bill) I wish i could give out a source for this but may be treading on peoples toes at the club.

Hope he goes well for you

Yep

Anyway Sam "Bambi" Wood looked like he had potential to be absolutely top centre, just needs to bulk up a bit and have a full on preseason

do we need a half back? brough, brierley and ellis. money can be spent better elsewhere

decent full back? well we are in the market for one aswell as signing gaskell who i think will be a centre but can cover other positions too which is a bonus

Im hoping we can move Ellis on tbh...I genuinely don't think he would stand out in the championship if he ended up there.

i was under the impression gaskell had some pace too so abit surprised to see someone say hes as slow as connor!

could ellis be a good hooker?

anycase if brough or brierley got injured then we would need ellis to slot in

then again gaskell can do that too

He only had to beat the crocked Aussie to get to it though.....

could ellis be a good hooker?

anycase if brough or brierley got injured then we would need ellis to slot in

then again gaskell can do that too




I suggested that a few times last season but it got slated by people who thought Ellis was our future. I don't know if he would make a good hooker or not but i reckon he would be better than he is at half, Really we need to be setting our sights a bit higher.

As regards building for next year, start with Brough and Breirley and try to build a pack ( or coach a pack ) to give them the oportunity to play. Regards backup we should be training and coaching Brough's replacment now.

Could Ormsby be a full back?

What would make you say that?? Seems a strange choice.. He has no characteristics in his game to show that he's a fullback.. wing and fullback are two entirely different positions.

In regards to Ellis at Hooker, I think he could be a really good Hooker and would add a different dimension. But he would have to play that position regularly to make him effective. Depends if Rick would be prepared to do that...

Why is it a strange choice? Many full backs start in different positions. I think he could be a really good Full Back and would add a different dimension. But he would have to play that position regularly to make him effective. Depends if Rick would be prepared to do that.