Wrong... Yeaman is definately eligible for the long service discount next season if not this season anyway!! and Horne will drop his wage to account for the remainder in that case.

I don't know how much they get paid but £50k each would mean we qualify for the maximum discount!!

It's ok for teams that don't spend full cap but we couldn't benefit at all from it..

It's a good way for a skint club to save money, but you'll never get an extra player out of it so it wouldn't help us!!

Correct Monkey. Almost every year halfbacks turn up from the NRL that no-one has heard of, and yet turn out to be great in the English game. The blinkered view that there are only about 4 to choose from is absolutely ridiculous. At best, if it is true that Hull can only find that few to choose from, we need to totally restructure our scouting network/ recruitment techniques. FFS, it was Whitehaven that brought Obst over, why can't we identify talent?

It's just a bit harder to get them into the country these days.. although that is due to change!!

As Sheldon mentioned, we tried that with a couple of young NRL halfbacks and couldn't get them through the visa process. Times have changed and with the new visa system it's practically impossible to get a low-profile Aussie or Kiwi over here.

The [ispeed[/i is about to change - maybe. The criteria for entry will stay the same AFAIK.

It may have changed recently but I'm sure it at least was £50k discount in total from all players with 10+ years of service. So even if you had 3 or 4 players that are long time servants its only £50k between them.

That's right, that's whay i said..

IF Yeamo and Horne were both on £50k contracts then they would each save 50% (25K) and thus achieving the maximum discount available!!

I'm not sure if that would explain how Saints signed Lance Hohaia, Wigan signed Brett Finch ... and other teams signing the likes of Sammut (low profile?), Holdsworth, Rangi Chase, Witt, Dureau.

Obviously I am only naming half backs but they are not the only overseas players still coming to SL

I'm not saying you are wrong Kosh, but other teams seem to manage it. We have a massive chunk of salary cap available next year (should we choose not to renew Long & Hornes contract) therefore we deserve a quality, perhaps proven play-maker. The club ought to have started the search a long long time before now so I would feel a bit disappointed if we turn up with the same crocked players


EDIT: Hohaia and Finch are obviously not low-profile - I used a bad example!

Then we want to employ Mark Aston who somehow managed to overturn "practically impossible" odds to sign many lesser known quality antipodeans, the latest being Quentin Laulu-Togagae.

Do you by any chance mean Samoan International player Quentin Laulu-Togagae? A player with international rep honours, as is the case with all the other 'antipodeans' in the Sheffield squad? They don't count as low-profile for visa purposes.

Not sure he counts as an Aussie or Kiwi either TBH.

Any player without rep honours or several seasons in the top flight will struggle to get into the country.

Plenty of fringe players will have clocked up enough 1st grade games

Paul Cooke?

Surely people like Fitz will have an idea of potential halfs in aus?

Quote ="Wilde 3"Is Horne's long kicking game (or lack of) actually blinkering people's opinions of how well he has played this season? comparing him to an 'in form' Kevin Brown: www.superleague.co.uk/statistics ... eason=2011 Horne is being relied on to do the kicking game due to Obst being rubbish at gaining round, and long being injured. Get a fit number 7 in with a good kicking game to take it off Horne and nobody would be complaining at how he has played'" I said a similar thing in a post posts previous. New 7 with long kicking game would help us no end.

Quote ="Wilde 3"Is Horne's long kicking game (or lack of) actually blinkering people's opinions of how well he has played this season? comparing him to an 'in form' Kevin Brown: www.superleague.co.uk/statistics ... eason=2011 Horne is being relied on to do the kicking game due to Obst being rubbish at gaining round, and long being injured. Get a fit number 7 in with a good kicking game to take it off Horne and nobody would be complaining at how he has played'" I said a similar thing in a post posts previous. New 7 with long kicking game would help us no end.

Players like Jeff Robson are getting games in the NRL, if there was a load of young halfs floating about they'd be getting games.

longs contract should not be renewed, whens hes on the pitch hes still a good player see the rovers game and makes a big diffrence to our play when in the side but the obvious problem is that he only gets on the pitch half the time which is no good for us. id rather have a halfback who might not be a high profile big name but plays week in week out then someone like long who still is a very good player but only plays 50% of games. i dont see the 6 posistion as a massive worry and as long as horne keeps improving and stays in good health then id offer him a new 1 year deal but vastly reduced. our main concern is getting a good 7 and a top fullback seymour and bowen? these 2 for long and phelps would be good bussiness

i can't see us getting rid of Phelps, he's settling in nicely and improving every game, but I agree it's time Longy left, I think he'll go into a lower league or coaching role somewhere

I totally agree with you apart from losing Phelps

i'm undecided - I would see how he goes the rest of the season. I would certainly rather invest in a scrum-half rather than a full-back, I think it's where our team needs it the most.

phelps has certainly improved and is doing pretty well so far but going forward a player in the vain of matty bowen would be fantastic, the fullback posistion is now more important then ever and you look at what hodgson has done at hudds and wire and i would certainly look at bringing in a top fullback but its great for us to have phelps performing and trying to earn a new deal

I'd like Long to set up a half backs academy, were the top halfs in every age group can spend a few hours a week with him, a bit like Johns does but more in-depth.

He's getting better every week. Apart from his brain fart of kicking on the line I can't think of a single mistake he made on Friday. His kick returns are solid, he looks so comfortable under the high ball and he comes into the attacking line well.

Signing a 6 and a 7 for 2012 is just unrealistic.

Long has been decent for the games he's played, but we can't have the salary cap space he commands sitting in the stands for half the season. Horne I think we should keep for another year, a new 7 is a must.

Lauaki needs to step it up in the next few months to warrant the quota place, at the moment I'd release him, is performances are nowhere near consistent. Moa - get the guy signed up, 3 year+ deal I hope. Fitz, we'll see how he gets on and who's available to replace him. If we do keep him, we can;t rely on him to do the amount of work he has been. Phelps, again it depends on who's available. If we have a chance of a top fullback, then we must go for it.

Priorities:
1 - Scrum Half
2 - Full Back
3 - Prop
4 - Second Row (youth to step up).

Has anyone seen much of Mike Burnett, hows he been getting on?

sounds very good maybe look at ex players for certain posistions like radlinski obviously for young fullbacks, cunningham for the hookers. i certainly think the 1,6,7 and 9 posistions should be done been the most important posistions and the lack of players weve had at these posistions

I'd agree with you here, if we have O'meley, Moa and Obst we'd still have three quota spaces spare for those positions.