Id have him at a drop of a hat. He knows where the try line is.

I'm quite disapointed that we are not looking at furthering a younger players education while we have two adequately good wingers currently occupying the two places.

Now I don't think Latus has what it takes right now to make a first team winger at a progressing SL club but there must be youngsters out there in the lower leagues that are more than able to make the step up. The Briscoe brothers at Hull came from Featherstone and are both likely to have long careers in the game. Hull took a punt on two young kids and it is baring fruit for them, we should be looking at this and not a 29yr old who is looking at a couple of years to end his career.

And yes I know Liam Colbon has yet to break in to double figures for tries while at Rovers and Foxy has been getting between 11 and 17 tries so not exactly prolific however maybe that says more about our attacking play rather than our wingers ability?

I'd make a guess that the majority of tries Hodgson has scored have been relatively easy catch and fall over the line due to the way Huddersfield draw teams over to one side of the pitch and then get the ball shifted quickly to their wingers. Rovers play a line break game where they use big centres and second rowers to punch holes from short passes. This means our wingers see much less of the ball than other clubs and possibly what Tony Smith was talking about when saying Justin is easy to read.

Which lower league players are better than Hodgson - or as good as? We can have a strong squad with plenty of experience in depth and bring players through the ranks. You could potentially say the same about any signing from another SL club, unless we just introduce an arbitrary cut-off - we're not signing players over 28 or 26 for example. Why limit your options? there isn't sufficient quality available for us to do that.

Because look at what we do with players coming in to the side as youngsters, we put them on the wing. It is an ideal training environment for a lower league player to come in to. It isn't about getting someone as good as Hodgson it is about someone with the potential to be better.

Hodgson is not the answer to our wing issues, he has lost bags of pace over the years and he doesn't do anything sensational that a lot of fans want or expect from their wingers.

Fox is having an off season, he needs to settle down a bit and build himself back up, I would even say he needs to slim back down a few Kg's. Colbon is a good player to have around the squad IMO but we do need a more flambouyant winger that can do something magical...who? I don't know but then I am not paid to make that decision.

If we sign Hodgson he'll get my full support but I doubt we'll get any better rewards with him on our wing as opposed to a youngster learning his trade (for proof of this just watch St Helens this season).

[gordon brown mode] I agree with Nick [/gordon brown mode]

We don't have Saints production line though, and behaving as though we do won't make it so.

I see your point, but depth isn't something to be afraid of. It's hard to judge recruitment and retention until it is done, but...

say we go:
FB. Briscoe/Sheriff.
W. Hodgson/Colbon/Fox (+ Latus or AN Other)
C. Welham/Webster/Hall (+ Salter)

That's 10 backs on full time deals, only one quota, 4 club trained, 5 of them currently 24 or under.

If Hodgson were to come here for Ben Cockayne's salary then fair enough but i'd put a few quid on the table to say he'd want at least half of it on top again due to his years of experience and big club success.

I honestly think Colbon and Briscoe will be at Widnes next year. Going back to an area they call home is something that I think will get them wanting a move. Hodgson likewise may want to stay closer to the Wigan area and if Widnes manage to get all three then they won't be doing too badly for backs IMO.

The two signings made by Widnes today are Ben Cross (after his loan spell at Wigan) and Hep Cahill.
Further evidence that Hodgson is imminent?

Are either of them wingers? I don't think they are! Widnes need a pretty big haul of players if they are to try and compete next year. I would also suggest they will be spending to the full salary cap and could and probably will offer more than we will. The fact there is no promotion and relegation also means players can concentrate on the money rather than anything else. Let's face it us or Widnes, neither of us are going to win anything any time soon (I hope I am wrong) so it has to be purely financial.