Joined: Jul 15 2005 Posts: 29811 Location: West Yorkshire
Mild Rover wrote:You haven't heard?
Yeah, me either.
Looking at our OOC list, Heffernan has a bit of stardust but he's non-fed. Around the rest of the league, there's a few forwards who could do a job on the fringes of SL squads, but I suspect many of them are better off part-time with another job. Y'know when people sometimes say 'there must be somebody in the Championship' and then maybe cite Zak Hardaker or Chris Hill? Well having seen every team on HKRTV, that still seems optimistic to me. With full time training, I'm sure there's a few that could step up and not look out of place, but it really isn't a deep talent pool. Gary Lo at Sheffield scored an excellent try off a brilliant offload by that Aussie half we loaned for the 8s in 2015 - but again, both non-fed.
Using Heffernan as a hypothetical example, and say a SL club was interested. Are players recruited in the off season contracted to Hull KR beyond this year? If not, you could imagine the best ones would get creamed off by SL clubs, or at least those looking highly likely to stay up, and this could start happening now, presumably If so, do they have release clauses if Rovers don't get promoted? I'm not suggesting that we are interested in Heffernan, just using him as an example of a good player who might attract attention.
Joined: Mar 14 2003 Posts: 25931 Location: Back in Hull.
Rovers are easily the best side in the division and there isn't one of their first team I would sign to improve our side apart from Abdul. They have a couple of young kids worth keeping an eye on though. Certainly worth keeping an eye on that division for the likes of Hill and Walmsley though.
Joined: Jun 01 2007 Posts: 12664 Location: Leicestershire.
Mrs Barista wrote:Using Heffernan as a hypothetical example, and say a SL club was interested. Are players recruited in the off season contracted to Hull KR beyond this year? If not, you could imagine the best ones would get creamed off by SL clubs, or at least those looking highly likely to stay up, and this could start happening now, presumably If so, do they have release clauses if Rovers don't get promoted? I'm not suggesting that we are interested in Heffernan, just using him as an example of a good player who might attract attention.
Aye, it's a challenge for all the teams entering the middle 8s. If we get up it'll be one of those nice problems, if we don't it'll be amongst the least of our concerns.
Looking at our ooc list is fairly reassuring to me. Players are mostly either signed up for 2018 or, being realistic, have their best shot at SL through promotion. Which probably speaks of a need to upgrade in some areas, if they achieve that. Difficult balancing act too - a Leigh fan pointed out the value in your 8s squad being fully focused and committed to the task, a while back, and it seems sensible advice.
Heffernan may well attract attention, but being non-fed, maybe not from the top half of SL for now. Johnson has looked good since he arrived, but being a prop wouldn't be irreplaceable. Injuries haven't helped for a few others.
'Thus I am tormented by my curiosity and humbled by my ignorance.' from History of an Old Bramin, The New York Mirror (A Weekly Journal Devoted to Literature and the Fine Arts), February 16th 1833.
Joined: Jul 15 2005 Posts: 29811 Location: West Yorkshire
Mild Rover wrote:Aye, it's a challenge for all the teams entering the middle 8s. If we get up it'll be one of those nice problems, if we don't it'll be amongst the least of our concerns.
Looking at our ooc list is fairly reassuring to me. Players are mostly either signed up for 2018 or, being realistic, have their best shot at SL through promotion. Which probably speaks of a need to upgrade in some areas, if they achieve that. Difficult balancing act too - a Leigh fan pointed out the value in your 8s squad being fully focused and committed to the task, a while back, and it seems sensible advice.
Heffernan may well attract attention, but being non-fed, maybe not from the top half of SL for now. Johnson has looked good since he arrived, but being a prop wouldn't be irreplaceable. Injuries haven't helped for a few others.
Yeah, it's tricky. I personally think that currently Rovers will get up without needing the MPG; Huddersfield, last week notwithstanding, Widnes and Leigh are all there for the taking and it sounds like you already have a number of new players coming in shortly, so should be "straightforward". Not sure how close these other clubs are to the cap, but much closer than Rovers I'd have thought and with therefore less capacity to bring new players in, assuming they can even be found. Sheens contacts and reach in Oz you would think would be more impressive than Betts or Dukes for starters.
Joined: Jun 01 2007 Posts: 12664 Location: Leicestershire.
Mrs Barista wrote:Yeah, it's tricky. I personally think that currently Rovers will get up without needing the MPG; Huddersfield, last week notwithstanding, Widnes and Leigh are all there for the taking and it sounds like you already have a number of new players coming in shortly, so should be "straightforward". Not sure how close these other clubs are to the cap, but much closer than Rovers I'd have thought and with therefore less capacity to bring new players in, assuming they can even be found. Sheens contacts and reach in Oz you would think would be more impressive than Betts or Dukes for starters.
It's possible, but over 7 games anything can happen. Injuries, the odd call from the ref, even the order of the fixtures are all imponderables. Not so very different from having to win a one-off game like we did in 2006, of course, and Rovers just have to give themselves the best chance they can.
The SL teams have significant advantages, and it is no more a gimme after Leigh succeeded than it was the virtual impossibility many suggested after the first batch of 8s. We have to hope Widnes et al. didn't learn too much from our mistakes. It certainly won't be straightforward.
'Thus I am tormented by my curiosity and humbled by my ignorance.' from History of an Old Bramin, The New York Mirror (A Weekly Journal Devoted to Literature and the Fine Arts), February 16th 1833.
Mrs Barista wrote:Yeah, it's tricky. I personally think that currently Rovers will get up without needing the MPG; Huddersfield, last week notwithstanding, Widnes and Leigh are all there for the taking and it sounds like you already have a number of new players coming in shortly, so should be "straightforward". Not sure how close these other clubs are to the cap, but much closer than Rovers I'd have thought and with therefore less capacity to bring new players in, assuming they can even be found. Sheens contacts and reach in Oz you would think would be more impressive than Betts or Dukes for starters.
Hard to sign players though when there's no guarantee of top flight rugby. Can see Leigh's chairman splashing out. Super League seems a bit of a vanity project for him. Think he's also more likely to sack the coach more than Widnes are. Widnes look fragile to me, but very hard to judge them when they can never get their first 17 on the field at the same time.
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