Just come out and say it: Old.

Glad we didn't sign him he's past it now

Hopefully, the offer was made by the [iold[/i regime.

I believe it was.

Hasn't he actually announced he'll retire now? So even he is of the opinion that his body's had enough yet we wanted to probably make him one of our higher earners. Brilliant.

Good, relieved he turned us down.

going to be hard to find any decent british players out there, clubs will want silly money now they know we are willing to pay for players with transfer fees

Believe it was when we started our overseas recruitment, glad he's not coming.

Controversial but I think Ryan is a signing that would have made a load of sense in terms of leadership on the pitch.

Next season there is gonna be a load of weight on Tickles shoulders hopefully he can step up and be our leader otherwise it will be back to before we had Fitz with the side just stood around in silence looking deflated after conceding a try.

ANOTHER well past his best..thank god he's done the right think and called it quits, saved us a small fortune no doubt..... hope long,fitz both do the same......

www.thisishullandeastriding.co.u ... story.html Why the hell are we trying to sign a player who admits he is shot

www.thisishullandeastriding.co.u ... story.html Why the hell are we trying to sign a player who admits he is shot

The mind boggles, who the hell is in charge of recruitment at the club? Agar? and why another back row forward? its props we need.

With the squad as it is, we only have 3 back rowers with more than 2 Super League games, so I'd say back row was more of a priority than prop tbh.

Ali Lauatiti?

Personely i would use Lauaki in the back row if we keep him, be far more effective running out wide than used as a battering ram down the middle.
That would give us Tickle, Manu, Washbrook, Westerman, Whiting, Lauaki, Kent and Green who could all play in the back row,
We need another big prop and a top class centre for next season imo,

Same goes for props though, and we need at least 4 of those. Even if Dowes signs again we need another IMO. We probably do need another backrower too though, depending on what happens with Lauaki.

Fits in with our recent recruitment policy

The squad is an absolute shambles. I hoe they have a couple of signings up their sleeves or it looks like our forwards next year will be significantly worse than this year when they've hardly set the world alight

More controversy here; I'm not convinced how much Fitzgibbon's leadership on the pitch has really done for us. Off the pitch he appears to be a great example to others as a pro, but I've not seen him rally the players and them then look fired up for a spell. Our indifference and passionlessness is the same whether or not he plays.

Also, there's no point signing a player just because he's a leader if he's no longer up to the playing side of the job. If we're going to do that we might as well pick up somebody like Glenn Morrison who'll probably be cheaper and is already over here.

Totally agree, the forwards, particuly the props is the biggest worry for me.

Far from a shambles. We need a couple of forwards and possibly a centre if Gleeson goes but other than that we are fine.

do you really believe that Paul, are we a top 4 side with the squad next season (with the right coach)?

Never said that (see Expectations thread), top 6, not a shambles though.

Thinking, the squad is a mess, taking only players with top level experience, we currently have sure to be here next year:

1 Full back
3 Wingers (including Reece)
2 Centres
1 Stand off
2 Scrum halves
3 Props
3 Hookers
2 Second rowers
1 Loose man
Richard Whiting

Any signing at all in any position would strengthen us, apart from hooker and scrum half.

Serious strengthening needed IMO to even make the top 6 for next year, even with a new coach.

is top 6 really good enough, you happy to pay £270 to watch us compete to get knocked out of the CC and play offs?