Re: Danny Hulme : Sat Aug 27, 2011 10:30 am  

J20 wrote:

Your not quite getting what I'm saying... If he was a stand out for SL yes you'd want maybe a good set of hands, few offloads? Line breaks, dominating in attack and defence (which in fairness at times he does). Have said plenty of times I would have took him up but he will give you a solid job and nothing more, Pickersgill can also do all that but is about 5 years younger too. Varks is unlucky but we must have others lined up. Take Ben Davies as example too, will work hard for you all day but also has good footwork which will stand him well as a SL player.

Put it this way, out of the forwards we have taken, bar Kav, who has really stood out? Allen hasn't, Coyle has had a few good games but is way off the mark for SL. I'm not even sure on Kurt Haggerty but he's young so he has that in his favour. Varks has been up there in our top two forwards this year. Varkulus has turned into a bulldozing machine, he hurts people when he runs into tackles. He runs into every tackle at 200 mph. Props are props, you give them a ball and they run fast, straight and hard. No-one does that better than Richard and i don't see what your trying to get at. He easily deserves a SL contract, nearly every fan i have spoke to has been saying it for the last 3 months.

Re: Danny Hulme : Sat Aug 27, 2011 7:44 pm  

I can almost understand the Varkulis decision (although I don't agree with it), but releasing Hulme is a shocker for me. How many of our other players would have scored some of those tries or made those breaks - pretty much none of them. Unless there are other reasons (ie, his personal circumstances made FT rugby impossible) then I think Betts/Cullen have got this one badly wrong. I think fans deserve an explanation around why one of our most exciting players this year has been released.

Re: Danny Hulme : Sun Aug 28, 2011 5:12 am  

I think this latest decision just shows how badly run Widnes is. I presume its down to Cullen and the sooner we see the back of him the better.
Lets be honest we've been poor all season and we stick with the same coach to take us into SL.
We sign players who quite honestly are not good enough for Championship never mind SL and release players with potential.
Would love to know SOC views on all of this.

Re: Danny Hulme : Sun Aug 28, 2011 7:54 am  

I reckon Danny has been released at his own request.

Either he doesn't want to play full time RL or another club has made him an offer.

We are all banging on about what a good player he is, IMO the most exciting player to put on a Widnes shirt this season, do you not think other SL clubs have been looking at him?

I do & wouldn't be suprised to see him announced for Wire very soon, where he will join his cousin.

Just an alternative view to the idea that our club would be daft enough to let him go!

Re: Danny Hulme : Sun Aug 28, 2011 8:22 am  

wackerchemic wrote:

I reckon Danny has been released at his own request.
Either he doesn't want to play full time RL or another club has made him an offer.
We are all banging on about what a good player he is, IMO the most exciting player to put on a Widnes shirt this season, do you not think other SL clubs have been looking at him?
I do & wouldn't be suprised to see him announced for Wire very soon, where he will join his cousin.
Just an alternative view to the idea that our club would be daft enough to let him go!

Apparently those that know him reckon he's absolutely gutted and those with access to his facebook page say he's posted how disappointed he is.

Re: Danny Hulme : Sun Aug 28, 2011 9:01 am  

Didn't know this Chris, as others say then he may come back to haunt us as no doubt certain Mr Myler will next year (I know we didn't release him administration did).

If this is the case I can't understand the clubs decision TBH?

Danny could be a star in a top class side & coached well, I have no doubts he will get a club even if not in SL. His potential is there for all to see.

[Fantastic Mr Catpiss]

Re: Danny Hulme : Sun Aug 28, 2011 9:59 am  

Viva La Vikings!! wrote:

Put it this way, out of the forwards we have taken, bar Kav, who has really stood out? Allen hasn't, Coyle has had a few good games but is way off the mark for SL. I'm not even sure on Kurt Haggerty but he's young so he has that in his favour. Varks has been up there in our top two forwards this year. Varkulus has turned into a bulldozing machine, he hurts people when he runs into tackles. He runs into every tackle at 200 mph. Props are props, you give them a ball and they run fast, straight and hard. No-one does that better than Richard and i don't see what your trying to get at. He easily deserves a SL contract, nearly every fan i have spoke to has been saying it for the last 3 months.

i'd hazard quite a lot of props in SL do it better than him, and probably have more to their game than he does.

Its one thing doing it at championship.

What the hell is he doing playing prop anyway? he was a centre/winger for us back in 04.

Re: Danny Hulme : Sun Aug 28, 2011 11:15 am  

Varks is a big unit nowadays. He's been a revelation in the front row but still has the versatility and pace to play in the back row and the three quarters.

IMO he would have been an asset in SL due to his performances and versatility.

Re: Danny Hulme : Sun Aug 28, 2011 11:29 am  

As I see it there are three different style of prop in the modern game...

The bulldozing battering ram that just runs headlong into the challenge and tries to make as many yards as he possibly can dragging as many of the opposition with him as is possible. Objective, make yards and break the line.
Then there is the prop that tries to make offloads, hit the line less heavily and try to spin in the tackle keeping his arms free to offload the ball to the waiting support player. Objective, draw in defenders and release the ball.
Finally there is the prop with the good footwork, who runs at the line quickly but might evade one or two challenges by shifting his feet. Objective, gain yards and break the line.

To a certain extent most guys try all of the three styles but might excel at one or two. Kav for example has good footwork and isn't afraid to hit the line hard, but I'm not sure he makes that many offloads. Gannon on the other hand and Julian F O'Neil were all about the spin.
Not for a minute do I think Varks should have been excluded from next years squad.

Re: Danny Hulme : Sun Aug 28, 2011 12:36 pm  

Chris, you forgot about the 4th type of prop. The naughty person, 3rd man in, cheapshot Bailey type who causes a ruck and then runs off when a big man confronts him.

HTH .