Re: Preview of 2013 squad - who's left plus rumours : Fri Dec 14, 2012 3:35 pm  

Only time will tell,i dont think he is over the hill though he his only 30.

Re: Preview of 2013 squad - who's left plus rumours : Fri Dec 14, 2012 3:46 pm  

BOYD2 wrote:

Trust me you did,and please dont tell me you think Sidlow is a better opstion.

If you look back through older posts you'll see that I said I'd prefer sidlow over mason right back when mason became available. Think sidlows a better fit for what we need in our squad. Mason may be a better player on his day but he's a luxury we can't afford without having the solid players like sidlow to cover when he has a brain fart.

Re: Preview of 2013 squad - who's left plus rumours : Fri Dec 14, 2012 3:53 pm  

Franny must not of had that thinking when he offered KM a deal 2 weeks ago, and the only reason Sidlow is there now is that KM turned it down ,but there again what does FC know.

Re: Preview of 2013 squad - who's left plus rumours : Fri Dec 14, 2012 4:04 pm  

BOYD2 wrote:

Franny must not of had that thinking when he offered KM a deal 2 weeks ago, and the only reason Sidlow is there now is that KM turned it down ,but there again what does FC know.

Mason would have been in addition to sidlow, not instead of.

Re: Preview of 2013 squad - who's left plus rumours : Fri Dec 14, 2012 4:10 pm  

Maybe Franny`s offer was less than Mason wanted or maybe Platt`s rumoured proposed move to Salford falling thru because of Salford`s financial position scuppered any deal. But like Mat says Sidlow is preferable for the Bulls. Also think Masons onfield attitude could give the wrong signals to the younger players.

Re: Preview of 2013 squad - who's left plus rumours : Fri Dec 14, 2012 4:18 pm  

I'd have Mason over Sidlow every time but what's probably happened is Sidlow accepted what we have to spend and Mason didn't.

I'm encouraged it looks like we tried to sign both. Add one more prop and it's beginning to look like a squad - a thin squad but nevertheless a squad.

Re: Preview of 2013 squad - who's left plus rumours : Fri Dec 14, 2012 4:29 pm  

15 tries in 87 appearances (AS) against 8 tries in 203 appearances (KM)
Slightly less average mtrs gain last year but set against 2 errors, 12 penalties and 29 offloads (AS) as opposed to 13 errors,25 penalties and only 2 offloads (KM) for virtually same number of appearances
On his day mason can be great but we need a solid grafter and can't afford to be on back foot from errors and penalties so IMO sidlows the better fit for where we are as a team. If we could have got mason too then great but if its one or the other then the stats speak for themselves.

Re: Preview of 2013 squad - who's left plus rumours : Fri Dec 14, 2012 6:57 pm  

I suspect the collapse of the deal involving Platt heading to Salford has left us unable to bring in a 2nd Prop. I think Mason would have definitely improved our pack but we have a tight budget to stick to unfortunately.

I fear it could be a tough year for us once a few injuries to the pack inevitably happen.. but we have SL rugby and for that we should be very grateful.

Re: Preview of 2013 squad - who's left plus rumours : Fri Dec 14, 2012 7:40 pm  

BOYD2 wrote:

Makes you wonder why Mason turned you down and chose Cas instead.

Probably cos we didn't want to pay the silly money he was asking for?

Did the same thing when Fielden was asking for a wage that was laughable for someone who's not played 80 minutes of rugby in the last 2 years.

Re: Preview of 2013 squad - who's left plus rumours : Fri Dec 14, 2012 7:46 pm  

I doubt many teams have greatly strengthened next season with the exception of Hull FC.

We will finish above Widnes, London, Cas, Wakefield and Salford for starters.