Meh, Sammy boy Tomkins has proved you don't have to have an ounce of traditional full back traits regarding catching a high ball or 1-on-1 tackling and he's done alright..

I think Hall will do OK if he knows from day one of pre season that he will play at the back a trains for it, We will still need cover there but do we have any youngsters who play there? that could be given a go.

Whilst a part of me thinks that is tongue in cheek your right. I bet wigan fans are looking through their fingers when a bomb goes up. Slater has been known to fumble a few as well.

Are you planning on playing Hull FC at FB next year? Fuckwit.

His point is valid. We saw how dire Craig Hall is and got rid of him. You wanted to keep McDonnell and couldn't.

PLEASE put him at fullback. Dare ya.

Jesus wept.

You really are hopeless.

We didn't want to keep McDonnell for the money he was asking for, he may well go well for you. Personally I'm struggling with the last few years interpretation of what a full back is. From game one (and feel free to check my posts) I had deep concerns about his defensive positioning, he does not read the game well or instruct the defence, and that's before we come onto his one on one which is none existent.

He is capable of chiming into the line, and in this respect he's a very modern full back but his passing, particularly from right to left is a horror show.

My assessments of Hall are writ large across these boards and I do not think he's the answer for us but McDonnell is far from the super star coup tits like you are proclaiming.

albeit in a team that is virtually always on the front foot,in the challenge cup semi when leeds took it to them he produced a few howlers,would still have him in my team mind.

Andrew Johns made the point a couple of weeks ago, that if he had played in today's game he wouldn't have been as effective, as the full back is a much more key role especially in attack. This has been proven with Ben barba, billy slater, sam tomkins and even Greg ingliss now at full back (all players who are dangerous with ball in hand).

I like Craig hall he's a good lad and a decent player. But in reality we saw him at full back for hull and he's not in the top 14 full backs in the league. As a rovers fan I hope and expect we bring in somebody more natural in that position. I liked young Louis Sherife and think be would have kicked on this season.

That aside I totally agree with the macdonnel comment, hes a decent player but not at the wage he wanted IMO

I've made the odd comment about Craig Hall, over the course of his (stuttering) career (either over on our board or on here), from time to time.
The kid is/was a natural born left centre with an acute eye for an opening coupled with an in-bred attacking running game to take full advantage of gaps out wide.
At least that is what he should have been. However, he has ended up a victim of the modern curse, the dreaded utility back. He was messed about by our coaching regime of 2008-10 who tried to put a square peg into a round hole and simply ended up stifiling Hall's natural instincts. (Admittedly I tend to blame our coaching staff circa 2008-10 for most of our shortcomings in recent years).

It would now appear that rovers are contemplating the same career path for Craig, a career path which very nearly finished him as a SL player.
Of course, he is now a little older with a touch more expeirence under his belt and he may have listened & learnt from past mistakes and in 2013 be far better equipped at playing full-back. But I would think most on here would surely agree that going with Hall as first choice FB is at best a gamble/calculated risk with the outcome very much unknown.

As various other Fc fans have already mentioned, we watched Craig at FB and it was not a pretty sight (at times it was a horror show). And this is coming from an Fc fan who had high hopes for him as an Fc player and who tried to defend him long after all around me had elected him the scapegoat for a collective shortcoming.

I'll repeat it again, if Sandercock goes with him as first choice FB, he's taking an almighty gamble which could blow up in his face not too far into 2013 (although I'm sure Sandra doesn't need me to spell it out).

Good luck with this dilemma anyway.

PS
As for McDonnell. I don't think he's the answer for us either. He's no more than Wade McKinnon mk2 (ie bog standard average) although hopefully he will stay a little while longer (if indeed he does actually sign, rumours rumours rumours).

Why would that effect Johns?

Barba's improvement at fb is because he's worked hard at the basics, Inglis is just a freak.

How about the welsh kid scored a try against the frogs

Richard Owen - Cas Tigers ?

Yes he plays for Cas, what about him?

I think Richard owen would be a very good signing, although he has a court case next month so cant see anything finalised before then !

He would appear to be a bit of a =#FF0000Edit-Sticky-AS, one to avoid I'd think. This probably means we will sign him if he stays out of clink.

May as well bring Charlie back, he may have been found guilty of assault, and have a tendancy towards casual racism, but even he wouldn't beat santa up.

Rumours in Tigertown he's going to HKR.

Edited for accuracy.

Still a worry for us, I think we should still go with Hall at FB. But it all depends on how Sandercock coaches the team to play .
Briscoe was an organiser who took on a leadership role & helped organise the defence, McDonald was not & Hall is not that sort of player if he is used the defence must be based on individuals knowing their role in the side & being trusted to perform that roll without thinking or needing prompting, Hall would then be able to chime into the line & use his undoubted flair at its best. That is why Slater at Melbourne is so good as the players around him do their job as a team.
Gone are the days when you can have players out on the field who dont know what they are doing or need coaching on the run it should be their natural reaction & that should come through coaching & repetative drill.

Just heard Greg Eden will be a Robin very shortly.

Would be a transfer timely boost - I hope so.

Signed up until 2015 at the Giants, though.

Good with ball in hand, not so under the high ball IMO, could do well though.

A good fullback only has to have one quality. The ability to shout mine very loudly.

If this comes off, i think it will be a great signing. Tongue-in-cheek comment, but if i remember right, Stevo had him as the next England full back. He was that impressed with his early form.

From what I remember seeing wen giants were on sky I'd be pretty pleased with the signing