From what a good source as told me he loves his rugby loves to train but has hated been away from Hull so this can only make him happier, just wish he had been here for pre-season.

Looking forward to see him play for us, think he will be a good addition.

you can't use past players as comparison unless they have played super league in the last 5 years, rugby league has come a long way since the 80-90's. It seems he is being punished by bath for signing for a league club he is better than the Argentinean wing they have. he will take 3 months at least to get his fitness levels up as i can't remember the last run of games he played. he does run up right and is very strong in contact so that part of his game will be helpful, i think its a useful signing for hull fc and i think he will be a good player when he gets used to league.

no doubt in the mean time every fan/armchair coach on here will keep coming on and slating him a bit like andy powell for us (although he doesn't have the same problems as powell).

If league has come a long way since the 80's-90's then Union has come light years. He's a fulltime rugby player and has been for 10 years or so.

If anything union is as close to league than ever before. Just look at all the ex league coaches kicking around who have been successful in bringing union out of the dark ages and moulding it into the professional sport it is today. So to me previous players who have made the switch, such as Sully who had never even seen a game of league then travelled all the way up from Wales to train Tues/Thurs as well as working full time Imo would of had a far tougher time settling in.

defense, wrestling and line speed isn't even close in union. He is a full time rugby player but his fitness levels won't be anywhere near where it should be for a rugby league player. argue all you want the games are completely different and it will take at least 3 months for him to be fully fit. The ex league players are there to teach line speed, wrestling trying to chokehold a player up right, basic handling skills that get neglect at an early age with union players in Britain and how to get the backs putting on basic moves. Rugby league players from the 80-90's would struggle with todays game the speed isn't even comparable.

not saying he will be useless or won't make a good league player he will eventually in my opinion but it will take a lot of work.

the difference in the physical sides of the two codes tackling wise is the reason why I mentioned the Gareth Thomas incident earlier. personally I wouldn't think he'd be that far behind in terms of fitness but in terms of technique he'll need a good few games on dual reg imo

thats my point really, just because he plays professional union doesn't mean he will be ready for professional rugby league. look at powell for example played full 80 minutes most weeks at lock in union couldn't last 15 minutes with out oxygen in league.

I am not saying he won't turn out to be a good player but it won't be straight away. league players that cross codes get lost in matches because of the game play but they don't get physically tired.

I like him, and he can't arrive quickly enough.

Quite.

Im all a quiver as well. Bit like when we knew Jonathan Davies was turning. Bound to be better than David Bishop obviously.

So did Kevin James. Loads of Union winger converts make it in League, so i think Biggs will make the grade no problem.

Wing to wing is the easiest position to transition!
Still has to field kicks, and finish opportunities. Biggs is known for being defensively strong, is physically strong and is built like a tank. He's also grown up watching the game so he'll be more aware that anyone the elements he'll have to work on.
Personally I'm looking forward to seeing him and think he'll go well

It's a complete & utter pointless signing, negative & shortsighted. It's as if someone is feeling sorry for him because we seriously do not need hime & could have a detrimental effect elsewhere IMO.
He'll have to fight his way into the 17 after having some dual reg (probably), as we have lots of wing options at the moment he may not even get a game in 2014.

As 2015 comes along, we'll have a 30+ winger with limited RL experience wasting cap space when that money could be spent elsewhere, it's such a negative signing IMO

Your not wrong, I doubt he will get much first team action while at FC. All the extra attention and one on one training to get him upto speed could have been used on a young lad looking to make the break into the first team. I know some do but I see very little positives regarding this signing.

Seeing as your a rover's fan and all your post on here are 100% negatives about hull im not really surprised.

As said above its a no lose situation, doesn't count on the cap. We only have one great winger, one average one who in injured and one unknown.

If we had a young winger coming through then I could your point a rovers dan talking about investing in youth is laughable.

Bet he plays over 10 games next season and does well.

Oh dear that's a bit overboard, at least give the kid a chance first.

Are you on the sherry?

Don't worry about our focus on youth development programme, The RFL think it's a blueprint for other clubs
[urlhttp://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/hull-fc/hull-fc-s-teenagers-prove-to-be-in-class-of-their-own-1-6366710[/url


In the context of Lineham, Crooks, Shaul, Green and Bowden breaking through in the last couple of years, the average squad age coming down and this:
[urlhttp://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Hull-FC-youngster-Harry-Tyson-Wilson-seven-rising/story-20313132-detail/story.html[/url
I'd counsel using the positive broader context in the signing of one off-cap England Saxon winger.

And they're never wrong!



Tbf, Hull FC do seem to have a genuine and renewed focus in this area that should start to pay dividends within a handful of years. Despite the endorsement of the RFL.

Edit - Biggs will need a bit of time to adjust, but i'd think roughly a couple of months and he'll be up to speed. The issue is more if you don't get him until mid-May.

I don't think we have a choice if we want to challenge consistently in the medium term. There's no option but to generate a pipeline of your own talent who are trained intensively and to the same system as the first team so players can slot in. Otherwise you're locked into continually bringing in average experienced journeymen on shorter deals whilst ignoring creating the nucleus of the side in 3-5 years time. I really hope the success of Lineham/Crooks etc, plus the 7 England academy lads is the first evidence of this change in emphasis and its results.

I agree about Biggs. Could be a very good signing, but hurry the feck up please.

I've got absolutely nothing personal against Tom Biggs, I'm sure he is a nice enough person and he plays at a decent level but doesn't set the world on fire by any stretch. Hull FC is a sports club that needs to be aiming high and this signing is the signing of a club aiming to be top 8 and nothing more.

That's the problem he isn't a kid, and as talented as some might think he is he'll still be 30 at the start of the 2015 campaign and if we decide to keep him he'll be taking up a decent amount of the salary cap (2 youngsters wages easy)and still not probably have played a single SL game, why aren't we looking at spending the time & energy elsewhere? Why do we need another winger when we have 3.

He will play some games this season I'll bet he plays a few games this year.

3 wingers isnt enough especially when one is average and out for a few months, another is great but does seem to pick up injuries easily and the other hasn't played for 2 years and will either be awful or average.

Biggs is off the cap as he is classed as an 'international standard' RU player. Yes his age isn't ideal, but he's a Hull lad and an FC fan, and I think his size and power will add something different to our team and suit our style of play.

where does it say that? Don't the players from 'new player pool' have to be under 23 to qualify?