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?

Genuinely interested in your: the board’s opinions. Is he any good? I know nothing about him.

MacDonald's Leigh highlights https://youtu.be/E7t-LBkdlkw NRL highlights https://youtu.be/WJ4fmrMYdX0

MacDonald's Leigh highlights https://youtu.be/E7t-LBkdlkw NRL highlights https://youtu.be/WJ4fmrMYdX0

I really enjoyed watching him as a winger and then centre (to answer Seth's question) in the NRL. Just a big, strong, fast athlete. Then he had bad couple of years with injury and like a lot of players over there, got written off at a pretty young age. Looks like he played Smith's North Devils GF winning team and has gone well with Leigh. If he is still anything like the NRL version I'd say he's a big step up from Sutty.

Looks an exciting player. Shame things stalled for a while. Could be a real punchy addition and add some strike on our left edge, something we’ve lacked for a while

He badly broke his ankle and went off the rails for a while.

Back on props, I can't agree with starting with Oledzki and Tetevano. That's exactly the powder puff front row we've been playing, and I wouldn't want them at 8 and 10 for any length of time. If you start with them against Sts you could be several tries down before you make an interchange. I'd rather see them sub for each other, with the other props rotating amongst themselves.

Morning fellas. Update was yesterday but it was a very impromptu day session lol. Nene is a done deal. He was Ronans top target, apparently it took some negotiating. The swap deal here we are, it was going to be Corey Johnson for an unknown Giants players. It’s not happening as Corey is now happy with his role. Sam Walters wants more game time and might go on Loan nothing definite. We have plenty of cap space left now and could bring someone else in if they become available but we won’t be chasing anyone now. Also regarding the Griffin thing, that is what I was told, as that will be third hand info, so most likely Hull want him gone and Catalans might go for him.

Thanks again Sharky,good news all round,glad we aren’t losing either Johnson or Walters!

I miss Walter Mitty…

Tee hee hee

On strings