Hull FC turn down massive offer for Jake Connor...

[DoubleD]

2 hours ago, MyMrsWouldPreferSinfield said:

Walker, whilst he's got talent is an absolute country mile of NRL standard.

He doesn't have the brain to be a great FB or the physical attributes to be a good tackler.

He's got a good step, he's very agile and he's quite fast. He will peak early.

Teams already target him now. 

His agent might be banging the NRL drum but I doubt many will come knocking.

IMO, like many others kids, he is somewhat of a hype job.

He isn't nearly as good as Tomkins was at 19 or 20, nor will he mature into the conductor & runner that Hardaker is.

 I don’t disagree but am just pointing out what I hear. I don’t think he’d make NRL first grade at present 

[Rhino369]

Hastings is out of contract at end of this season so can be approached at end of this month for 2020 onwards. However for 2019 a transfer fee would be required by Salford. Have Leeds got spare capacity under salary cap and player qualification?

[Loiner]

On 25/04/2019 at 23:43, Old Frightful said:

Correct, I would say he's twice the player of both.

So there. 

What ever the outcome I hope he s***s on Hull like he did Huddersfield.

[Old Frightful]

1 hour ago, Loiner said:

What ever the outcome I hope he s***s on Hull like he did Huddersfield.

That's nice and very well thought out.

[MZH]

2 hours ago, Loiner said:

What ever the outcome I hope he s***s on Hull like he did Huddersfield.

In what way did he s*** on Huddersfield? 

[Loiner]

14 hours ago, MZH said:

In what way did he s*** on Huddersfield? 

Signed on for Hull for more money (no problem) then tried to get out of the contract because Huddersfield offered more, then went back to Hull.

[Wellsy4HullFC]

7 hours ago, Loiner said:

Signed on for Hull for more money (no problem) then tried to get out of the contract because Huddersfield offered more, then went back to Hull.

So how did he s*** on Huddersfield then?

He tried to get out of his contract and stay with Hudds but couldn't. You've already said you have no problem with him signing for Hull to start, so what actually is the problem? What should he have done next?

If anything, Huddersfield tried to s*** on Hull by signing a player that wasn't available anymore.

[Old Frightful]

38 minutes ago, Wellsy4HullFC said:

So how did he s*** on Huddersfield then?

He tried to get out of his contract and stay with you but couldn't. You've already said you have no problem with him signing for Hull to start, so what actually is the problem? What should he have done next?

If anything, Huddersfield tried to s*** on Hull by signing a player that wasn't available anymore.

"You"?!?!

Loiner is surely a Leeds fan.

Wake up Wellsy.

[Wellsy4HullFC]

37 minutes ago, Old Frightful said:

"You"?!?!

Loiner is surely a Leeds fan.

Wake up Wellsy.

Whoops!

[Loiner]

On 28/04/2019 at 08:32, Old Frightful said:

"You"?!?!

Loiner is surely a Leeds fan.

Wake up Wellsy.

Well done OF I'm definitely a Leeds fan. Maybe he just played you and the giants off against one another on reflection.

[MZH]

A couple of posts on here (and it's been mentioned elsewhere too) have suggested that Hull are in a bit of financial hardship.

Well they have just announced profits for 2018 of £106,000. Not really sure where that chat came from.

[Denton Rovers RLFC]

47 minutes ago, MZH said:

A couple of posts on here (and it's been mentioned elsewhere too) have suggested that Hull are in a bit of financial hardship.

Well they have just announced profits for 2018 of £106,000. Not really sure where that chat came from.

This is what makes me laugh when I hear people (on a certain forum) stating that AP has lost a load of money, that he's pumped loads of money into the club, needs paying back etc etc. he's invested, to make money/pay a salary, we've made profit (according to the official sources) in the last three accounting years AFAIK. AP has been the sole director for a couple of years now so he's certainly taking a significant salary before the profits posted.

Will AP sign a marquee player for next season, honestly I don't think he will. The only reason we got Pritchard was due to the Bulldogs paying most of his salary and as he was a flop I don't think AP is going to risk a very large salary on a player who doesn't guarantee anything.

We do need a few forwards of quality and that yet again isn't coming from our own stable.

[MyMrsWouldPreferSinfield]

13 hours ago, scotchy1 said:

Walker is far ahead of where Tomkins and Hardaker were. He is 19 years old, first choice fullback with a grand final and 3 years under his belt. Tomkins didn't really become a first team player until 20 and didn't really move to fullback until 21/22. At 19 Hardaker was playing championship rugby and was still 2-3 seasons from establishing himself at fullback. 

It remains to be seen how far he goes, but because he started so young people forget just how young Walker still is. 

I am not forgetting his age Scotchy but to say he is 'far ahead' of Tomkins at 19/20 is just wrong.

Look I think the kid has talent and I'm glad he's at Leeds but Tomkins is/was a different class and arrived on the scene with much much more of a bang. Trust me I'm no Tomkins fan boy either!

Tomkins started the 2009 season as a 19 year old and was much more accomplished than Walker is now, at 19 (20 in a few weeks).

Tomkins played 5/8 that year, was installed as first choice 5/8 for England, as the Young Player of the Year and also in the SL Dream Team.

I would say it's clear Walker is somewhat behind that standard, at the same age of 19/20, rather than the other way around.

It's not like Tomkins had a fluke great first season either. He was the Young Player of the Year again in 2010, SL top try scorer in 2011, Man of Steel in 2012 and in the Dream Team in all 5 seasons before he went to NZW.

Regarding Hardaker; I didn't reference his age. I suggested that, IMO, Walker will not mature into the conductor or runner that Hardaker is. For all his failings off the pitch he's easily the best try stopping and organising FB in the comp.

[Old Frightful]

15 hours ago, scotchy1 said:

It remains to be seen how far he goes, but because he started so young people forget just how young Walker still is. 

We're hardly likely to forget, especially as,  according to the Sky commentators, his first name is Young.

[Eleftherios]

1 hour ago, Old Frightful said:

We're hardly likely to forget, especially as,  according to the Sky commentators, his first name is Young.

Surprised he's not being called Young Sky Walker!

[MyMrsWouldPreferSinfield]

1 hour ago, scotchy1 said:

Tomkins has played 1 game before he turned 19 and wasnt a fullback. Walker has 3 year under his belt including a grand final. 

Walker has years to mature in to where Hardaker was. Its no surprise he isn't where hardaker was in those regards. He is however already a much better passer than hardaker ever was 

Maybe you need to reread my original post Scotchy. I said that Walker is not as good as Tomkins was at 19 or 20.

Therefore I am comparing the Walker of today, (19, turning 20 soon) to the player Tomkins was when he was 19/20, which is the 2009 season.

If the two boys were in the academy together, 2009 for Tomkins is 2019 for Walker. They both start the season aged 19 and finish the season aged 20.

I would say Walker is not showing the level of form in 2019 that Tomkins displayed which earned him the Young Player of the Year title, England Jersey and Dream Team berth in 2009.

Hence my objection to you stating Walker is 'far ahead' of Tomkins at their respective same age. In truth it's the other way around.

And again regarding Hardaker; I did not reference age. Walker may improve but my reference to Hardaker was merely that Walker, IMO, does not have the game brain to organise a defence or the physical attributes to be a great tackling FB, unlike Hardaker. I don't think this will change so much with age or experience, hence why I originally posted that I think he will peak early.

For all the sparkle he has going forward (it's easy to shine in a moderate team) he is targeted by opponents. As much as you won't like to hear it, he is also a major contributor to our very weak defence, given he marshals the defensive line poorly and is a poor 1 on 1 defender.

Now I don't jump on kids learning their trade and he will be a good player given time. My original post was simply objecting to the fact he's apparently so good the NRL are sniffing around him.

He's not, he's unlikely to ever be, it took Tomkins 5 years of Dream Team standards before he went over and he was moderate himself at that level playing week in week out.

[Old Frightful]

17 minutes ago, Eleftherios said:

Surprised he's not being called Young Sky Walker!

Or "Luke" for short.

[Just Browny]

18 hours ago, scotchy1 said:

 

It remains to be seen how far he goes, but because he started so young people forget just how young Walker still is. 

That feels unlikely with Barrie McDermott banging on about Young Jack Walker every set of six.

"Eddie, look at the positioning of Young Jack Walker there. Sure, Young Jack Walker dropped the ball and then fell over as he tried to regather it but, as a young player, he will learn from that and be a better player."

[bobbruce]

2 minutes ago, Just Browny said:

That feels unlikely with Barrie McDermott banging on about Young Jack Walker every set of six.

"Eddie, look at the positioning of Young Jack Walker there. Sure, Young Jack Walker dropped the ball and then fell over as he tried to regather it but, as a young player, he will learn from that and be a better player."

It’s like he’s in the room with me. 

[MyMrsWouldPreferSinfield]

43 minutes ago, scotchy1 said:

Except Walker wouldn't be playing academy when Tomkins was. Walker is a first team player with 3 years under his belt including a grand final. At this point in his career Tomkins was a bit part player for Wigan playing at stand off. You are comparing what Tomkins did at 20, 21, at stand off and 22, 23, 24 at full back with what Walker did at 17, 18, 19 at full back. 

And the point re hardaker is that of course Walker doesnt have those skills at his age. Hardaker didn't have those skills at that age. He was years away from showing them 

I am not comparing academy performances of the two guys or what Tomkins was like at 20 with Walker at 17 – I have only made reference to how good Walker is today (aged 19 almost 20), with a Sam Tomkins of the SAME AGE.

I only mentioned academy as a way to put them into an age category together to make the comparison easier to grasp - maybe that has confused the matter.

To be clear: -

At the start of the 2009 season, Tomkins was 19. At the end of the season he was 20.

At the start of the 2019 season, Walker was 19. At the end of the season he will be 20.

This is the comparison to make, nothing else.

You stated that Walker is ‘far ahead’ of Tomkins at the age of 19 or 20.

How on earth is he unless of course you believe that the form Walker is showing in 2019 is superior to that produced by Tomkins in 2009.

It is not even close.

Hardaker; we can agree to disagree on this. We simply do not know how much Walker will develop further. I made no claim to Hardaker being better at the same age but rather offered an opinion that I don’t believe Walker has the brain to improve sufficiently to be a comparable organiser. Time will tell I guess.

I never thought I would be sticking up for Tomkins or Hardaker, especially against a Leeds player I like!

[Roy Boy]

I'm confused!  (Easily done I know!!!)  So why did Leeds sign Ash Golding if Walker is that good?

[rhinos78]

1 hour ago, Roy Boy said:

I'm confused!  (Easily done I know!!!)  So why did Leeds sign Ash Golding if Walker is that good?

Ash Golding came through our Academy before Jack, Ash got a long contract and the number 1 shirt, wasnt very good, Jack took his spot.

[Cheshire Setter]

6 minutes ago, scotchy1 said:

Will he improve as they did between 10 and 24/25? Who knows maybe much more, maybe much less

I hope he doesn't go the same way as Hardaker to be honest!  I don't think he'll have the overall influence Tomkins has, it was clear from an early age that Tomkins was a match-winner.   I suppose we haven't seen the best of Walker though due to the fact he's not (with respect to Leeds) playing in a team as good as the one Tomkins came into.   We'd probably see the best of him off the back of the Saints/Warrington pack and hookers.

[DoubleD]

Isn’t this a thread about Jake Connor?

[Cheshire Setter]

17 minutes ago, DoubleD said:

Isn’t this a thread about Jake Connor?

That’s not how it works.   We start a thread, change subject, then lock it when it gets out of hand