That's the one I've heard.
Hope it's only a rumour.

I'd rather us go with what we have than sign him. Imagine been promised a bit of class by Pearson and ending up with Drinkwater

I'm not overjoyed with Cust, who IMO is better than Drinkwater, but to sign both would be a real kick in the knuts.

Dan's article is spot on and also depressing, think we have really messed up the halfback situation, did the club really think Lam was coming, we all new it wouldn't happen really should have had a plan B.

You'd have thought the club would've leaned from past scenarios ,Especially the half back situation .

Looks like our traditional winter sport is on again. Half back hunting.

Would seriously be offering Jackson Hastings to come over!

We really needed a boost after another horror season and reading that it's a massive letdown. No matter what way you look at it doesn't read well.

"Taking stock" after we missed out on one of if not the best HB in SL (which like you say was very unlikely to happen) doesn't sound very positive especially when there's an indication our next option could be a reserve with little NRL experience. I was expecting Asi or a player of similar experience and quality. Maybe I'm being to pessimistic.

Letting our marquee HB leave on the same day isn't particularly good timing whether it's a good decision or not. Like the departure of Connor no fee has been mentioned either.

I'm still prepared to give the the benefit of the doubt and wait and see if we do sign a couple of quality players but after reading that article I'm a bit deflated to say the least.

It’s obvious he was way too good for the championship in his prime, but the point I’m making is that him joining Hull is not the indicator of a huge change in financial situation that some seem think it is. It’s a salary cap sport, players move around. We gave Trueman a huge deal in 23 and offered Clifford big money for 24 way before AP planted the ‘investment’ fairytale in our heads to take the heat off. Asiata joined because we offered him 3 years, Im sure the deal was on our radar and still would have been done under AP, Clark and Smith. As you’ve pointed out yourself and confirmed by everyone in the sport (hence the rule change) these May 1st deals all got done months way in advance.

It’d be tough to get deep in discussions with representatives of a player on the basis that they’re currently plan B. If, more realistically, it was a small handful of names on paper, they might just not have panned out.
Tbh, as a plan B under current circumstances, I don’t think Cust or Drinkwater are that bad. I agree Cust and Drinkwater would be odd.

Abdull-Cust-Smith-Charles (Champ loan with recall option, if possible, for the last) isn’t bad for a recovery position year.

Although it might not help with season ticket sales, a lot the improvement will come from fitness and boring wrestle-in-the-ruck training sessions without a ball in sight. Recruitment can’t be as bad as last year, but a lot of the turnover is to wash away the bad taste and reset the culture as much as it is about adding quality.

Quite frankly embarrassing to know for months that Trueman is leaving and not even having a plan B while pursuing an ambitious and unrealistic option in Lam. We will go into next year with Cust and Abdul in the halves and it will be miserable.

It has been well documented how little quality there is in the half back market, evening been mentioned by Grix, so why are we letting the only half we have with a bit of quality go when there is seemingly nobody else available?