Lance Hohaia Retires : Wed Apr 29, 2015 11:04 am  

From the official website:

St. Helens announce that Lance Hohaia has informed us of his retirement from rugby league and will therefore not play for the Club again.

Lance has been a valued and integral member of the squad for the last three-and-a-half years and we thank him for his service.

We wish him and his family well in their life after rugby league with St Helens.

St Helens will make no further comment on this matter.

Quite shocked by this!

Re: Lance Hohaia Retires : Wed Apr 29, 2015 11:05 am  

Just seen it on Twitter quite short and too the point.

Re: Lance Hohaia Retires : Wed Apr 29, 2015 11:07 am  

Strange how vague the announcement is on details. I wonder if he's decided after more weeks of being moved from pillar to post or not being picked at all that he's just had enough.

I any case, fair play to him - I don't think it ever really worked out for him at the club, but I always got the impression that it wasn't for want of effort. Best of luck to him.

Re: Lance Hohaia Retires : Wed Apr 29, 2015 11:18 am  

That press release doesn't have an air of amicability to it.

Re: Lance Hohaia Retires : Wed Apr 29, 2015 11:20 am  

Wow, strange announcement. Seems to me from that wording that the club hasn't been involved with the diagnosis of retirement required and that it has come from Lance himself.

He's been on the periphery of things and IMO McManus was to blame for a panic signing that was a classic square peg round hole scenario.

This will definitely free up the cap space to do something in terms of a replacement. I'd be happy with McDonnell as rumoured, but if he's currently without a club, I'd expect him to be on very little money. So with Jones rumoured to be leaving shortly, does that leave room for another signing? IMO it should.

Re: Lance Hohaia Retires : Wed Apr 29, 2015 11:26 am  

Saddened! wrote:

Wow, strange announcement. Seems to me from that wording that the club hasn't been involved with the diagnosis of retirement required and that it has come from Lance himself.

He's been on the periphery of things and IMO McManus was to blame for a panic signing that was a classic square peg round hole scenario.

This will definitely free up the cap space to do something in terms of a replacement. I'd be happy with McDonnell as rumoured, but if he's currently without a club, I'd expect him to be on very little money. So with Jones rumoured to be leaving shortly, does that leave room for another signing? IMO it should.

McDonnell is at Wests not unattached. Jones is not going to be on a lot of money at all.

Shame lance came to his end in this manner, I do agree I find the statement quite strange and abrupt. All the best lance, enjoy the GF ring!

Re: Lance Hohaia Retires : Wed Apr 29, 2015 11:40 am  

Billy Slater has just pulled out of the Aussie squad ... #justsaying

Seriously though, it must be something drastic to forego wages for the rest of the season rather than just sit out a few months in the stands.

Re: Lance Hohaia Retires : Wed Apr 29, 2015 11:41 am  

Magic Superbeetle wrote:

McDonnell is at Wests not unattached. Jones is not going to be on a lot of money at all.

Shame lance came to his end in this manner, I do agree I find the statement quite strange and abrupt. All the best lance, enjoy the GF ring!

But wasn't he only in the reserve grades on a trial basis? We can't be paying that much for him?

Re: Lance Hohaia Retires : Wed Apr 29, 2015 11:46 am  

There is the possibility that Saints have something BIG in the pipeline and need to free up the cap/quota space?
1 brown paper bag to Hohaia and job's a goodun.

Re: Lance Hohaia Retires : Wed Apr 29, 2015 11:50 am  

Offside Monkey wrote:

There is the possibility that Saints have something BIG in the pipeline and need to free up the cap/quota space?
1 brown paper bag to Hohaia and job's a goodun.

If there is it'll be Kurt Gidley. He was slaughtered for his performance at the weekend and the Knights are under pressure to drop him.

Possibly untrue, why would we need McDonnell AND Gidley?