Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Thu Nov 11, 2021 12:47 pm  

NickyKiss wrote:

Miller is a far better player than guys like Hampshire and Richardson IMO and would probably have been a better fit to partner Harry Smith than a guy like Abdull. It’s all about balance I suppose and if you had Abdull, you’d probably put him alongside Field. Ultimately though we’ve no chance of getting guys on long term contracts out of fellow superleague clubs at the minute. Hull KR are showing plenty of ambition and like many clubs, seem to have come out of the pandemic more prepared to splash the cash than they were before, which is quite strange. I’m not complaining though, I like to see teams showing ambition.

Agreed.

If we are going to persist with Smith as it seems we are, then no point in Abdull.

If however you play with a Hasting style half and it comes down to Abdull or Smith then it would be Abdull all day for me.

It’s important to get balance and I really wouldn’t be surprised to see Field running as our strike 6 off Smith with Tommy playing a back up role off the bench.

Smith and Tommy for me don’t work either.

I think that is why there was interest in Miller, I’m not saying he is a Hastings but he adds strike which allows Smith to sit in the pocket and be the midfield general, which for me is his natural position.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Thu Nov 11, 2021 1:13 pm  

Strong rumour Rocky will be signing for Toulouse so that’s been put to bed unofficially anyway.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Thu Nov 11, 2021 1:22 pm  

jonh wrote:

Agreed.

If we are going to persist with Smith as it seems we are, then no point in Abdull.

If however you play with a Hasting style half and it comes down to Abdull or Smith then it would be Abdull all day for me.

It’s important to get balance and I really wouldn’t be surprised to see Field running as our strike 6 off Smith with Tommy playing a back up role off the bench.

Smith and Tommy for me don’t work either.

I think that is why there was interest in Miller, I’m not saying he is a Hastings but he adds strike which allows Smith to sit in the pocket and be the midfield general, which for me is his natural position.

Agree pretty much with all of that.

Right now I'd take Abdul everyday of the week before Smith. However, I really want Smith to succeed and therefore hope that 2021 was a year of learning pretty much on his own and that Peet will "put his arm around Smith" to help him develop his obvious skills albeit rarely seen last season.
I found the idea of Miller a bit meh. That could be unreasonable as I haven't seen that much of him but when I have I can't honestly say he has wowed me in anyway whatsoever.

A few months ago I said I'd take Abdull over Hastings primarily due to Hastings playing too much for himself and was not a team player by any stretch of the imagination. I'm pretty certain that if Hastings had suggested an extension on his contract that the club would not have pursued that as a possibility for the 2022 season because he was deemed to have a detremental impact on the squad.

I agree I think Smith & Field will be the starting HBs maybe a few weeks into the season which will be a huge risk due the fact nobody knows how good or bad Field is and if Smith really is the real deal. If Smith doesn't find his kicking boots out of hand and for the 2 points then I forsee a similar season to 2021 with maybe a marginal improvement. Our lack of a kicking game infuriates me. Personally I expect both HBs to have an excellent kicking game backed up with the FB to also have it in his armoury and the hooker also to have at least the ability to kick for territorial advantage when the opportunity arises.

Ideally I'd like a proven HB to be signed as soon as possible but I'm now thinking that quite possibly the best "ships have sailed" and we will have to make do and hope that Field is top drawer and Smith finds his mojo.
After an awful 3 years and 150 years celebration not what I wanted nor if I'm honest expected.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Thu Nov 11, 2021 1:25 pm  

BoredWiganer wrote:

Think i would take hampshire, recently released by wakefield. I was surprised at how young he still is when i looked it up, feels like he has been around forever.

Assuming the price is right, on a 1 year deal with an option of an extra year in the clubs favour. Alright he isn't going to have season tickets flying off the shelves, but it's the type of signing where you never know how it could turn out. The lad is in need of a career reboot and is still young enough to make it work. The contract length gives us time to persue our options. whether thats a top halfback signing in 1-2 years time, or maybe even stick with hampshire if he takes his chance and impresses. Plus the lad is a very versatile player, can play in the halves, fullback or on the wing if needed,

we could certainly do worse.

Why is that? I thought Wakefield was the reboot he needed following Wigan?

We don't need this and the club should stop signing so many versatile players.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Thu Nov 11, 2021 1:30 pm  

100% Warrior wrote:

For me Abdul has a good all round game, manages it well, has a good boot a good creative eye and is a good ball runner. He’d be a good acquisition IMO but I do take jonh’s point earlier on about him and Smith being too similar.

I find it pretty sad we’re here debating who’s the best option between Miller/Hampshire - I’m half expecting Richardson’s name to crop up as well. Like I said before, if this really is the standard we’re looking at I’d rather we not bother.

I understand hampshire would not be everybody's preferred option, get the thought process behind that and agree to an extent. As said he would not have people rushing out for season tickets. Just trying to be realistic with our options and expectations. Hampshire on a short term, reasonably priced "prove your worth" deal doesn't sound like not too bad a deal to me, and gives us that extra breathing room to find the right man for the job long term (realistically this should have been the time with Hastings here, but we are where we are). Prefer that then going into the season with a current unknown in field and a now useless 36 year old leuluai.

Don't see how the miller signing would have ever come off, Wakefield tend to keep contracted players when they still want them, with very few exceptions. Seem to be one of the things they are best at. As soon as i read the statement from them saying they wanted to keep him, i didn't see how we would sign him,

Abdull is a pipe dream for me, he is under contract with hull kr and is there star player that they are building there team around. A team that seems to be getting stronger and i am sure they are hopeful will be competing at the top in the next couple of years. If hull kr want that to come into fruition, they need to start holding onto players like Abdull and if they can't, putting big prices on there heads where possible. From the outside looking in, Abdull looks very happy at kr and i don't see how we prize him away from that, he seems to be back on good form which is usually a good indication of a players happyness.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Thu Nov 11, 2021 1:44 pm  

nathan_rugby wrote:

Why is that? I thought Wakefield was the reboot he needed following Wigan?

We don't need this and the club should stop signing so many versatile players.

He has been a good signing for wakefield, there fans seem to like him and are sad to see him go for the most part.

I think some here are overexaggerating how "bad" hampshire is supposed to be. If i remember correctly, wasn't the reason he left more to do with him and his agents unwillingness to budge in contract negotiations as opposed to his playing ability? Apologies if i am wrong.

Just not sure how comfortable i feel going into the season with a current harry smith, an unknown, and a way past it hooker playing halfback who, and i repeat, adds absolutelty nothing to the team. The guy scored 1 try last season and assisted in 0! Adding bevan french as an option would be a cop out as i have seen articles doing, we would really have to be in dire straights for him to get a look in there, with hardaker needed in the centre he is nailed on fullback if he is fit.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Thu Nov 11, 2021 3:50 pm  

BoredWiganer wrote:

Think i would take hampshire, recently released by wakefield. I was surprised at how young he still is when i looked it up, feels like he has been around forever.

Assuming the price is right, on a 1 year deal with an option of an extra year in the clubs favour. Alright he isn't going to have season tickets flying off the shelves, but it's the type of signing where you never know how it could turn out. The lad is in need of a career reboot and is still young enough to make it work. The contract length gives us time to persue our options. whether thats a top halfback signing in 1-2 years time, or maybe even stick with hampshire if he takes his chance and impresses. Plus the lad is a very versatile player, can play in the halves, fullback or on the wing if needed,

we could certainly do worse.

Plus can kick goals.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Thu Nov 11, 2021 5:00 pm  

If we are running with Field/Smith in the halves we need to give that a chance IMO and that means a good portion of the season. If we need to act, I’m sure we will and in all likelihood have marked up someone from the NRL. The benefit Field/Smith have is a full pre season together. 4 months of solid working with each other and adapting to each other’s style of play. That’s a relatively decent amount of time for it to work - or not.

Either way, signing or not signing a HB is a gamble. If Field/Smith works we’ve wasted money, if it doesn’t we’ve missed the boat (again). I honestly don’t think there’s a right or wrong option here now when it comes to signing a half, it’s only going to be seen as right or wrong with the benefit of hindsight. The only thing we all know we should have done and are baffled we didn’t, is plan properly for this.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Thu Nov 11, 2021 5:03 pm  

I had great hopes of Hampshire and so did the club. As a junior we gave him a five year contract. I do not know if he was badly managed by the club, in trying to turn him into a fullback, or badly advised or if he just has an unrealistic self opinion but he has never settled in one position at one club. I thought that he was leaving Wakefield because they could not agree a new contract. It seems par for the course. I just cannot see Wigan offering him a contract although as a back up he would be fine. The problem is that we do not need a back up, we need a dominant player to build an attack around.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Thu Nov 11, 2021 5:38 pm  

BoredWiganer wrote:

He has been a good signing for wakefield, there fans seem to like him and are sad to see him go for the most part.

I think some here are overexaggerating how "bad" hampshire is supposed to be. If i remember correctly, wasn't the reason he left more to do with him and his agents unwillingness to budge in contract negotiations as opposed to his playing ability? Apologies if i am wrong.

Just not sure how comfortable i feel going into the season with a current harry smith, an unknown, and a way past it hooker playing halfback who, and i repeat, adds absolutelty nothing to the team. The guy scored 1 try last season and assisted in 0! Adding bevan french as an option would be a cop out as i have seen articles doing, we would really have to be in dire straights for him to get a look in there, with hardaker needed in the centre he is nailed on fullback if he is fit.

Why aren’t Wakefield giving him a new contract?
Why are only Leigh and Bradford linked?

Enough said.