I agree with that, maybe if we had signed a quality off-off instead of Dobson, Cooke could have played in his most effective position, scrum half. But the signing of Dobson was a master stroke and it clearly was a good move by the club.

I must have fallen asleep for a year and missed something...in what way is/was it a masterstroke...???

A reasonable scrum half in this country with an admittedly very good kicking game but thats it..anyone who saw the match up with Orford last week will have seen what a top class scrum half is all about...

Signing the Albert Goldthorpe Medal winner wasn't too bad I don't think.

Orford is a good player but until hes played in more than a friendly I dont think you can compare him to Dobbo.

Did you??

Orford was ok and for his first outing he looked like he'll be a good acquisition but he was nowhere near as good as dobbo was in his first game for us, which was competetive. Dobson was the difference between us finishing outside the PO's in 2008 and 4th in 2009.

I'd go as far as saying Kearney looked better than Orford last week, guess he's the big name Aussie tho' so anything he does will be creamed over.

He has played in slightly more than friendlies, take the Rovers specs off..when Dobson has played anywhere near as many NRL matches or got any grand final medals or Dally M player of the year awards then perhaps he can be compared in the same post code as Orford....

Orford is widely acknowledged in Aussie RL as the best uncapped Australian scrum half...the same RL community regard Dobson as reserve grade fodder.....

Dobson is a middling scrum half with a very good kicking game, he has not shown he is a winner of any sorts, when he guides Rovers to victories in big games then i will be convinced...

So because Orford is rated the best uncapped Aussie scrum half that in some way diminishes the merits of signing Michael Dobson. Slightly skewed logic you have there. Personally I'm more than content to settle for the still improving 23 year old who has already proven his worth in SL for Wigan, Catalans and Rovers.

I'm sure its just jealousy because he never signed for your club!

Just check out his points tally for last season, says it all to me.

Why is it so many fans are taking pre-season friendlies so seriously these days? lol

FFS thats over in the NRL, not here!

If Orford is getting the reputed 850K over the 3 years of his contract, he should be the best player on every park this season. If not, then he's failed.

Its all about performance per £ in the days of a salary cap.

Probably due to the fact that it's the only rugby we have had for ages. They are a good indicator but ultimately mean nothing other than giving the players some decent preparation.

Orford is a fantastic scrum half and has nothing to prove over here, he is one of the best around and I am confident he will go well for Bradford.

As for Dobson, I have never really liked him as a player but you can't doubt he did a good job for Rovers last season.

I'm sure the respective coaches and fans at KR, FC and the Bulls are happy with their SH's, lets just see how the season goes.