We should be testing the water with a few Bradford players they have rejected a 10% pay cut this morning. They are willing to listen to offers which there cannot be a fee involved surely it should be about getting wages off their books like anyone else should do like we had to!

Wings
Foster or Kear

Scrum Half
Sammuit

All is fair and they cannot expect to get bailed out again they must have consequences like we had to. There the positions we need lets test the water !

Whey should there surely be no fee? We expected and got fees for players.

It is suggested that one of the reasons Bradford are in financial problem is that they have been paying their players far more than they are worth. We also know these players want to remain on their good wages hence the decision to refuse a pay cut.

I would therefore assume that in order to tempt their players to join us we would also have to match their inflated contracts. Our club seems to have moved on from such stupid tactics, so unless their players greatly reduced their expectations and demands I can't see any coming our way.

I think the difference Jinjer is that they have told their players they can leave as they came under fall pretences like we did with Tuson

I think I'd look at the younger guys who are a step behind a big name rather than the big name.
I wouldn't take Sammut for exactly the reason Jack In th Box details. No point getting rid of high earners we liked and then replacing with the Bradford version of the same.

Personally I don't see an Atkins type being held back that we could take. So apart from maybe Luke Gale, and I'm not sure he is the best firt for us, I don't see who we would take.

I'd love Elliot Kear as he is just our type of player but I'm thinking he is very effective for bradford and will probably be one of their average paid players, so he's more likely to be kept when others go. Just good business.

Hull were linked with Gale but they didnt have room left on their cap apparently. Makes you wonder what some of these are on. If bulls and London dont sort their troubles out soon could It be easy for the rfl to tell them both to drop out before season starts.

very hypocritical OP

considering if this was on another board, about wakefield's players, there'd be uproar

Not really, we needed to offload players to cut costs, apparently so do Bradford. There was, IIRC, no 'uproar'.

you guys can't afford any of these players for a start - they've rejected a 10% wage cut on their inflated prices already. They'll not then accept a 15% cut from wakey - hypothtically speaking.

I just think it's a bit unsportsmanlike, given the situation you guys were in two months ago.

It's like a RED LEAGUE "haha laugh at everyone else strugglng" kinda attitude

When Salford were talking of cherry picking DK on the cheap, there was a lot of tantrums from Wakefield fans Khlav, this is no different.

Like I say, it's all irrelevant anyway considering they aren't accepting a wage cut

I think many were resigned to him leaving and we're fairly pragmatic about it, RED LEAGUE rattled a few cages but that was his antagonistic posting style more than anything else.

true, he's a unique kinda guy.

I just think this topic is fairly irrelevant considering the recent news of a declined pay cut - as well as insinuating wakefield should act as vultures when they've been in that position a few weeks ago.

Although you're probably right to say that Wakefield are not in a position to sign any of the Bulls players, at least our club has been bold enough to realise that we were in the poop and take the necessary remedial action.
The one aspect of the Bulls situation a couple of seasons ago, was their reluctance to offload players to help pay the bills and this still seems to be the case, although the timing of their crisis is not helpful in this respect.
They could certainly have raised some capital if they had sold few of their stars.
There is no doubt that they will still have to off load some cost and bearing in mind that most clubs have completed their recruitment, this will mean selling some of their players at bargain prices or maybe for free, to clear some of their wage bill.

Its in bad taste imo.

this, exactly. It's just poor form all things considered.

The Bradford fans will be wishing they will have been managed like wakefield over the last few months... Alas they have not been. Though I don't think their players are now free pickings for wakefield

I get the feeling that won't be many players leaving Bradford. I think they will get some help to honour existing contracts and possibly the backroom will suffer.

Removing backroom staff wont make à dent in 400k plus this might not cure their long term problem which more than likely paying too much to team achieving nothing and not enough money coming in.

BTW for CasDave as posted on another topic sentiment is out the window for me. Too many times wé have fallen fowl of other teams. everyteam in sl is out for themselves and so should we be.

Bradford look to be in trouble. They have a 400k hole to plug, the players have rejected a 10% cut and clubs in the main have their roosters and/or salary caps full for the season.

They need to offload players quickly otherwise the 400k may increase and become problematic. As others have suggested, we've only just managed to reduce our wage bill and the Bulls players are likely to demand high wages. We must be careful to ensure we get value for money

The thread has been started by a child so he doesn't really know any better.

So are you saying, if they have a player we fancy and can afford we should not go for him ?????

Provided a deal is acceptable to both teams whats the problem.

Although I don't like taking advantage like happened to us in admin, that's not the same as people wanting players that are for sale.
In my opinion Sts, Leeds and Hull KR didn't do anything wrong as we said the players were free to go.
If Bradford make people available we would be silly not to consider them, but should only consider those that are affordable and work for us.

^^^this^^^

Forget Bradford.

Sign Goulding on for another year and sign up Ben Roberts or someone of similar quality if there is enough money. The half back position is crucial to have some creativity as well as someone who can kick and take on the line like Roberts. Think we have enough in the squad to cover wing/centre we need a man in the middle to create and dictate plays like Smith did, Sykes is a good second fiddle or foil only. He's also 33 and injury prone.

We won't win many games grinding down other SL teams down the middle even with a more impressive pack (on paper).

Is it bloody hellers like in bad taste; they're in exactly the same position we were in and I didn't see any outraged rants about vultures and cherry-picking from fans of other clubs; in fact, what I did see was some gloating and amused 'who's next?' type musings, but very little condemnation of those clubs who had come here to do a bit of early Xmas shopping.

Dave - your posts on this subject sound a touch desperate; given that we're just about the last club to finish up our recruitment for next season, I suspect a few clubs would *like* to come in for Bradford players but aren't able to - if we do, that will only increase the worry that we appear to have shaped up rather better than many of our close rivals would have liked us to.

Bradford need to shed costs, like we did - the players have been told they can talk to other clubs; it would be negligent if RA didn't at least have a look.

Aside from any players, I guess Trinity need to build up the off field team too, so if their any decent backroom staff at the Bulls who are made redundant then if possible the club should be looking to take these on.

We are in a position of relative strength now, compared to 3 months ago.
I would say, let's have a look who could fit the bill but not get too excited and giddy.
Rumour is the Gale could be off to Hull as has been mentioned earlier.
Who is a the Bulls who could be of use to us?
They have got some good players but no point signing players just because they maybe available.
We still have to find a spot for Jon Molloy!