Joined: Aug 19 2011 Posts: 21799 Location: Across The Universe....... Jai guru deva om - Nothings gonna change my world.
I have to say that I'm not at the worrying stage yet. I'm also aware that we're in phase 2 of a transition period in our 5 year plan. Players will come and go, so I think we need to put our trust in our recruitment whoever comes in, and when it's announced at an appropriate time, we can then adjudicate whether we approve of those players.
Cokey wrote:I have to say that I'm not at the worrying stage yet. I'm also aware that we're in phase 2 of a transition period in our 5 year plan. Players will come and go, so I think we need to put our trust in our recruitment whoever comes in, and when it's announced at an appropriate time, we can then adjudicate whether we approve of those players.
Recruitment will become a lot easier when we don't have to sign players from other clubs on first team contracts, specifically to play for the reserves. Likes of Jones, Gannon, Baxter, Nisbet and possibly Brand and Wilde all players unlikely to ever play for the first team again, and taking up more cap space than if those squad places were taken by players to come through the ranks. Hopefully we can start to see that happen a bit by the end of Lam Snr's new contract.
But I am concerned about next year's recruitment. If Lam goes, we will have to find someone else to give a non-overseas marquee contract to, and no idea who that will be. And while we have some graft left in the pack, we lose a lot of quality in Asiata, O'Donnell and Amone.
For me , replacing Asiata will have more of an impact than replacing Lam.
Moylan will undoubtedly go back into the halfback role with support from McNamara and O Brien worst case, providing he does go and we don’t replace
Although neither have set the world alight when playing halfback , sometimes all you need is someone to get you around the park and they have the ability to do that.
LeythIg wrote:With top 6 looking an increasingly distant possibility, at what point should team selections have more of a reflection on next year's plans?
For example, if we're signing David Armstrong, should Moylan move to 6 now, with McIntosh at full back, allowing Moylan and Lam to link up with a pacy full back behind them? Are the club bringing in two new centres, or planning to promote (e.g. Brand) or move someone (e.g. Hanley) that is already in? If the latter, why not make that switch now? Should everything go through Asiata when he's back, if we don't have a similar 13 coming in?
We've only managed to win 2 games in a row once this season anyway, so not even much to lose.
If Hanley and McIntosh carry on playing like Friday, they’ll have the 2 and 3 shirts next year. They’ll make mistakes but they look much more threatening than we did with Hardaker there.
I’d love to see Ricky have another year and help develop the younger players. Bailey / Hanley will learn heaps off him and he goes about his business more or less every week and never really gets the plaudits.
It’s no suprise on how well Lam has played with the master back at 13 - it’s just ridiculous how good Asiata is and will go down as one of the best ever to don the Leigh colours. Although best years have past , Hull have an absolute pearler of a player.
"Youth, Speed, X factor." If Hanley and McIntosh are anything to go by, I can't wait to see Armstrong and Hodgson. Leigh have seldom had a backline blessed with real pace.
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