Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour thread V4 : Fri Nov 17, 2023 10:39 am  

Don't forget we have Toby Warren as well, who should also be pushing for consideration in the front row. Did he recover from the injuries sustained last season?

When Gannon first debuted I wondered if he'd follow his father into the front row at some point in his career. At the moment he has the build of a young Adrian Morley, so I guess it could go either way.

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour thread V4 : Fri Nov 17, 2023 11:38 am  

Maybe we'll use 2024 to see how the likes of Gannon, Ruan, Hudson and Warren develop.
And keep our options open for 2025.
Presume we don't re-sign Martin, then we will have an OQ spot for a big forward.
I still think we're short of a starting prop for 2024.
If we lose Mik and Tom we have depth to cover with Hudson, Goudemand, Ruan etc. but the level of quality drops.

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour thread V4 : Fri Nov 17, 2023 11:38 am  

Exeter Rhino wrote:

Don't forget we have Toby Warren as well, who should also be pushing for consideration in the front row. Did he recover from the injuries sustained last season?

When Gannon first debuted I wondered if he'd follow his father into the front row at some point in his career. At the moment he has the build of a young Adrian Morley, so I guess it could go either way.

I still think Gannon could end up at 13 in the end, in the Farell/Sculthorpe mode. Plenty of time ahead.

On form, Oledski and Holroyd could be as good as pretty much any props in the league. Lisone adds great impact and Sangare is very solid - we looked worse after he got injured.

Warren was reasonably highly rated I think and so is Simpson, and then we have Ruan still developing. We have a very good squad and I guess it's time to test it against opposition to see where some fine tuning might be required. For me we have done the major surgery for the next 2-3 years now.

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour thread V4 : Fri Nov 17, 2023 11:40 am  

Putting his injury record to one side I think Fusi is over rated on here. Some have described him as arguably the best winger in the league. He isn't the best winger at the club imo, I would have Handley over him every time. He is great under the high ball and should have scored more tries from that move with better halfbacks. He runs the ball out of defence strongly but nearly always fails to break a tackle. He doesn't look quick for a winger. He does make decent metres after contact but not sure they would be much better than Handleys. With better service near the opposition tryline he will score plenty because he looks a good finisher but as the full package for a winger he comes up short, especially for a marquee signing.

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour thread V4 : Fri Nov 17, 2023 11:49 am  

Don’t think Fusi was ever a marquee signing?

He’s been hampered by a few things. Injuries, crap halfbacks and not having a consistent centre partner.

Momirosvki could be great for Fus

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour thread V4 : Fri Nov 17, 2023 11:50 am  

Is Fusitua a marquee player? Ive not seen anyone call him arguably the best in the league? I think like myself, some people think hes a good winger in response to criticism of his ability from others. On more recent form id say hes been stronger than Handley. Smith has to play him on the same side as PM, then i think along with the new halves some people would shift their opinion of him.

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour thread V4 : Fri Nov 17, 2023 12:39 pm  

He was effectively on a marquee wage because the Warriors were paying a good lump of it when he first arrived. I doubt he'll be any more than a Miller or a Momirovski now. I think he's a tremendously effective player when he plays. Runs the ball in harder than any other player we have, always wins the tackle and generally attracts multiple defenders when doing it. His try scoring ratio is about one in two which is pretty good to say he plays on our right hand side, which has been criminally neglected over the last few years. That will change this year as both Croft and Miller are great down the right flank. I like Handley and I think he's a great pro, but properly used I think Fus is the superior player. If we can get a good pre season in him, he could (like Johnstone at Catalans) score us a lot of tries.

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour thread V4 : Fri Nov 17, 2023 2:26 pm  

One worry for me is our left side defence with Newman/Handley the likely choices.
Who of our second rowers defends on that left side?

[Ex-Swarcliffe Rhino]

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour thread V4 : Fri Nov 17, 2023 3:55 pm  

RAPIDO wrote:

Poor old Donaldson getting bagged when he gives 100% every time he pulls on the shirt and talk of wasted cap yet the club are still happy to keep paying top dollar for a winger who as yet to play more games than he misses and his try scoring record is rubbish, they could have got 3x Kershaws for less.

Sheesh.

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour thread V4 : Fri Nov 17, 2023 4:21 pm  

I think ad others have said,it will depend on injuries.
We have the cover but the quality drops alot if we are relying on olphrrts,Martin to centre or relying on Goudemand / Donaldson for games