Im sure if a club offered us a fee for Griffin we would snap their hand off. His agent has being shopping him around before the end of last season.

Could Huddersfield be interested in taking Johnson on loan havent they lost Levi ?

Yes, but they’ve replaced him by signing Peats

Ian Kirke for Chris Thorman. Done deal.

Not sure what will be from sharky stuff above but been told that Nene MacDonald is complete

Hope he improves his defence.
Would rather have had Lafai but fingers crossed for MacDonald.

Didn't he do pretty poorly in the RLWC?. TBF though he would be facing lesser opponents

Lafai had a great year for Salford last year, but I think on balance Nene is a better bet. At 28, he's three years younger than Lafai and in terms of achievement in the NRL he certainly doesn't have to take a backwards step. He'll get plenty of good ball down that left hand side and at six feet four he'll definitely be a threat in the air. Smith knows him and has coached him before and I think he's earned the right to back his judgment. Lafai is also under contract at Salford, so even if they had been willing, it would have cost us money we don't need to be spending.

Yes you are probably right AC and the majority of games to date in the WC make it hard to judge a players ability.
Lafai did look good for Salford and MacDonald looked good for Leigh against inferior opposition last season.
But I`m happy we have a player Smith clearly rates in a position we are weak in.

I'm hearing that Sam Walters could be on his way out of the club. Him leaving makes sense about a young player wanting more game time that has been rumored. Not sure which other club he's linked with maybe could be involved in the swap deal Sharky has suggested. Him leaving makes sense imo he is down the pecking order in our pack in the Prop department and second row department he's probably 7th or 8th choice for both positions.

I like Walters, I think he improved a lot under Smith and I think as he gets older he will grow into his frame a bit more. If he was the player in a swap then given his age, his England age grade performances and his development last year then whoever was coming the other way would need to be a fairly decent player. Not sure who that potential player could be but as I say they would need to be a decent player for me

He does have potential but he doesn't yet use his size as aggressively as he could. Having said that he's only just started the switch from second row to prop, which (despite Agar's middles nonsense) is a very different role. Him leaving would mean more hope pinned on Holroyd, or maybe the assumption is McDonnell will be a prop?

No idea who is available, but looking at our squad a halfback wouldn't go amiss. Austin/Sezer missed a lot of games last year, and its not ideal to have to move others out of position to cover. I get the impression Smith will not want to pick Sinfield or Simpson unless he has no other options due to their age.

What about Cudjoe and Halsall? Connor has also played in the centres.

That would be a pity and if true it's a shame we weren't able to develop him as a player who might offer something different. But if Smith sees him as a prop then he'd probably be a fairly ordinary one anyway. For me, a player with that build needs to be running wider, using those long limbs to put a supporting centre away. Run him at prop and you might just be throwing away a chance of unearthing the next Ali Lauititi.

Wow to even mention Walters in the same breath as Ali is something beyond belief. I would be happy for the lad if he was half the player Ali was.
I wish Walters had done more, perhaps it’s a confidence thing but he does not use his physical assets to his advantage. It is possible he will have a breakout season and really believe in himself but equally it might be a case of being a really good young player due to his size and strength compared to kids the same age but can’t make the step up into the more physical demands of the senior game or he missed being closer to family and friends. Whatever If he is leaving I sincerely wish him well wherever he ends up.

Lafai would be my ideal choice but at 31 it's fairly short term. Nene is the better bet longer term and fits in with Smith recruitment so far. I think Smith will improve him no end and he's certainly a unit. Can't be far off being announced as squad nos due anytime now..

Although Walter's is very tall, he is very skinny. If he could put some size on, it would make him more difficult to defend. As it stands, he is a big target with not much infrastructure to help him burst through tackles.

ok, a long shot I agree. Nevertheless coaches in general seem less and less inclined to develop these unusual kind of players.

I think Walters may end up at the bulls rather than any swap deal

Yeah Ali and Walters being mentioned in the same post did make me chuckle but the second part I agree with re the game being less encouraging of flair and too rigid, thankfully we've a coach in Smith who is about as open to individuality as any are going to be in the modern game.

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On loan I would hope. With Prior now gone we are down to six props, which is about right, but I would expect prop six (Walters) to be needed at various points in the season. Loan with a recall facility would surely suit both parties.

Walker - Hooley
Briscoe - Olpherts
Sutcliffe - McDonald??
Hardaker - ??
Prior - Lisone
Thompson - Sangare
Mellor - McDonnell

Is that a fair assessment?

Plus Ruan, Roberts and Warren in and Dwyer out. The players leaving are just as important as those coming in. Of those leaving only Hardaker is a real loss.

Yeah I’m inclined to agree.

Oledzki and Tetevano starters

With Sangare, Holroyd, Lisone being the main interchanges. Only way I see Walters leaving permanent is if someone else is coming in to take his place.

Wasn't nene primarily a winger throughout his NRL days?