As not to clog up the other threads with the recruitment debate I thought it might be worth having a separate thread for rumors, wishes, and hopes on our recruitment for next season.

Obviously this season was a disaster recruitment wise pre-season with only Jake Maizen out of all the signings getting anywhere near close to holding down a regular spot leaving us with a squad which Grix himself admitted needed a bit of a freshen up. Things improved as the season went on with the Crooks and Lannon signings but their were still doubts with Pickersgill been allowed to sit in the stands even when it was clear there could be an opportunity but a lack of belief in JWH's leadership qualities meant a move to half back didn't come for him right up to the very last minute in Keyes rehab and you wonder what could have been if that change happened sooner as Pickersgill showed why he is regarded as such a good Championship Fullback. The signing of AOB has injected a bit of spark but caused a bit of unrest with Tom Inman now not even been a bit part player and Brandon Moore playing an expensive supporting role.

So what does everyone want to see for next season in way of comings and goings?

There are a lot of questions to be asked and answered in the next couple of months as a number of players will leave. Some of the topics up for discussion:-

Ryan Lannon - Has been very good for us but there have been rumors of SL interest. He has an option for another year, will he take it up?

AOB - Can we convince him to stay? Personally I think theres a good chance and that increased with Bradford improving Jordan Lilleys contract so they are very unlikley to rival us for his signing. He will want to stay local so that really only leaves Fev and ourselves with the money to pay him. We are in the box seat for this one.

Brandon Moore - The AOB decision leaves a dilema over Moore. Can we afford to have one of our top earners playing a cameo role which I am sure even his biggest fans will admit that is what he is doing behind AOB who is a true 80 minute hooker. The simple solution seems to be look to move Moore on and keep Inman who will be on a pittance compared to Moore.

Tom Inman - Use him or lose him seems to be the theme and its obviously tied in to the 2 players above. Yes his defense is nowhere near as good as the two mentioned but his distribution is quicker and better than both. If we manage to keep both the above players then it would make sense for Inman to move on, at his age it makes no sense to be sat in the stands watching.

Will Maher - Obviously contracted for next year but there will be a break clause in that but the intrigue with this one is Finn taking him to Dewsbury on loan. Does Finn rate him? Does he think he can do something with him? Or was it just a favor to a friend? I'd be amazed if we saw him in a Fax shirt again but stranger things have happened.

Brandon Douglas - This one really hurt Mark Aston and after missing out on him to Sheffield last season he has decided to make the move over to us. Teams at our level are crying out for big bodies up front and we have got one of the best props in the Championship coming in.

There are a load of little side stories as well like will Walmsley get picked up by a SL team? Was Cornwall announcing McComb's signature just a joke? Was the Alex Sutcliffe loan with a view to becoming a permanant signing? What will happen to the "project" lads in Tibbs, Oakley and Forster?

Agree with everything that has been said in this post regarding recruitment etc.
Obviously gfb has stated we have no money for next season so whilst most of the recruitment has been done we will probably have to settle for up and coming youngsters or journeymen to bulk out the squad. On the flip side I’ve also heard we’re spending £ 600k so don’t know what to believe.

My reservation regarding Finn is that we don’t address what is the root of our problem, indiscipline, the indiscipline and brainfarts contributors are primarily larroyer , tangata, fairbank and our poor game management and kicking game which is very one dimensional. It’s going to take a brave coach to address these issues has the players mentioned are loyal longstanding members of the club . If recruitment continues in the same vein as lannon , crooks , obrien, Douglas then we will have a strong squad if not maybe not so .

I have said before that we need a good clear out more so up front and there is also some backs that could be moved on too. I think it would be a big risk for Finn to make small changes to the squad with the hope that he can get more out of the current group of players, that said if he did then fair play to him. I would be looking to move on. Tibbs though he did play his best rugby when Finn was assistant so i could have my arm twisted for him to stay, Oakley for his own good needs to leave, Maizen like Tibbs i wouldn't mind if he stayed but it depends on who we could replace him with, Maher, Fleming, Murray, Larroyer could all leave for me, and it depends on if Finns wants 2 hookers in his match day 17 or not if i would keep Moore if he does then we need 3 in our squad if not then 2 will do. If we are not able to get O Brien on a permanent deal Amir bourouh contract is up at Salford he could be a option. Also some genuine competition in the second row for Kav who is not getting any younger and Gee.

Ryan Lannon has already signed up for 2024 so if anybody wants him they’ll have to pay up.

Why does every post have to have an underlying narrative of some kind of rift between the coach and the players woven in?

In this one it’s doubts over Pickersgill sitting in the stands and lack of belief in JWH leadership qualities etc.
It’s just a load of tripe.

BP knew when he came here there was already one of the best fullbacks in the Championship in the 1 slot but he also knew Woody can be a bit fragile on the injury front and he decided to take his chance at being number 2 choice at Fax instead of being number 3 or 4 choice at Fev and as it’s turned out this is exactly what has happened proving to be a shrewd decision both by him and the club.

For the reason stated JWH was kept in his best position with Kyle and Tom both being tried in the halves when Keyes got injured which was simply using the squad to try and find something that worked.

Still not completely satisfied / convinced he was getting the best out of the squad SG then decided to leave Kyle and Tom out and tried a different combo with BP at 1 and JWH at 6.

You simply can’t play everyone or every combination, it’s one or the other and from what I’ve seen in the absence of Keyes Pickers at 1 and JWH at 6 proved to be the better option from what was available.

As to future signings the board and LF are working as hard as ever on them.

I agree with pretty much everything there, the only one I would look to keep would be Murray, I think he has been very good for us although his form has dipped this season, another where I think he should get a chance with a change of coach where maybe a few others have already had enough chances.

Brilliant news about Lannon taking up the option in his contract of a second year, it looks like I missed that announcement although like with most contracts the SL clause will be there. Lets keep our fingers crossed that the rumors are exactly that because personally I think he has been our best forward since signing.

While I've been a supporter of Grix I hope a new coach will come in and give all the squad a clean slate, and have the courage to give some of the younger players a chance to prove themselves, not just bin them after a mistake/bad game. I think if the coach had had the courage to put his faith in JWH earlier we could have had 2 or 3 more seasons of one of the most talented players we've had for years. Last season Tibbs looked to have fantastic potential but after an early injury has been largely ignored. On the odd times he's come back in you could tell he was completely lacking the confidence that comes from playing regularly. Inman is obviously another who has the potential , but they need a run in the team to prove that. I think both are already signed up for next year but no real point keeping them if they're not going to get a look in.

One of the main attributes of a good coach is their ability to improve players. How many of our current squad can we say have become better players over SG's tenure?

Calcott , walmsley , jouffret, Murray had a stormer last season, woodburn hall , McComb, tibbs last season.

Grixs’ biggest mistake is relying on players who’ve been here a long time , tangata , larroyer primarily who are penalty machines ( I think larroyer came on at Wembley gave a penalty away straight away then went off pretty quickly). Murray , calcott , lannon hardly give any penalties away . I’d have even dropped salty a couple of times and tried maizen on the wing where he was successful for Italy in the wing . Inman should’ve had more game time.

As regards recruitment I haven’t heard anything, social media activity has been sparse , only one who seems to be showing any interest is Jack billington a Huddersfield giants academy prop who converted from rugby union and was coached by John pendlebury . A couple of dewsbury players were mentioned on their forum but just speculation.