The Transfer Rumour Mill Thread

[graveyard johnny]

where now? if anywhere for Gareth Widdop? after Cas show him the door- is this the end?

[Gooleboy]

Just now, graveyard johnny said:

where now? if anywhere for Gareth Widdop? after Cas show him the door- is this the end?

Could be London.

[Chrispmartha]

1 minute ago, Gooleboy said:

Could be London.

he’s retired 

[graveyard johnny]

1 minute ago, Chrispmartha said:

he’s retired 

so hes in the England team for sat then?

[paul hicks]

23 hours ago, Barley Mow said:

Craig Lingard and Danny McGuire confirmed as Castleford coaching team

https://castlefordtigers.com/article.php?id=8793

they can only coach the players the board have signed and to be honest thats not looking that good

[Rovers13]

1 minute ago, paul hicks said:

they can only coach the players the board have signed and to be honest thats not looking that good

Lingard gets the best out of players best coach for job if you’re not spending much. 

[paul hicks]

12 hours ago, Barley Mow said:

I really hope that the SL incumbency advantages in the IMG system don't lead to clubs actually reducing investment in playing squad (or anything else) due to a reduced risk of relegation.

well cas have already said they are working off a reduced budget for next season

[DoubleD]

£325k a year plus a £200k fee is a lot by SL standards. The pressure will sure be on Croft. He struggled under the weight of pressure and expectation at a top club like Melbourne, it’s far from certain that he won’t again, particularly when he’s the main half.
He won’t have Sneyd to lead the team around the park, allowing him to play a freer role

[NRLandSL]

14 minutes ago, DoubleD said:

£325k a year plus a £200k fee is a lot by SL standards. The pressure will sure be on Croft. He struggled under the weight of pressure and expectation at a top club like Melbourne, it’s far from certain that he won’t again, particularly when he’s the main half.
He won’t have Sneyd to lead the team around the park, allowing him to play a freer role

Yeah I might agree, I feel one of the reasons he shone so much at Salford was the fact the pressure of being the “next Cooper Cronk” was gone, he didn’t have to worry about silly NRL critics who destroy you after one bad game. I find this is a reason that a lot of NRL players find themselves over in England. 

Hopefully Croft is not going to be affected by the pressure and expectations but his past could suggests it.

Edited October 18, 2023 by NRLandSL

[Chrispmartha]

20 minutes ago, DoubleD said:

£325k a year plus a £200k fee is a lot by SL standards. The pressure will sure be on Croft. He struggled under the weight of pressure and expectation at a top club like Melbourne, it’s far from certain that he won’t again, particularly when he’s the main half.
He won’t have Sneyd to lead the team around the park, allowing him to play a freer role

Frawley will be the steady half leading the team around, a job he’s been doing for canberra.

[DoubleD]

11 minutes ago, Chrispmartha said:

Frawley will be the steady half leading the team around, a job he’s been doing for canberra.

Frawley is an average journeyman who hasn’t been able to hold down a first team place at any of the clubs he’s been at. He will lead us around the park as well as Beau Falloon did.

Our best hope is that Sinfield kicks on and can pick up the mantle

Edited October 18, 2023 by DoubleD

[paul hicks]

Leeds still have a couple of signings to come it seems

[LeytherRob]

12 hours ago, Rovers13 said:

3k attendance outside top flight? Not a chance. Teams didn’t average that last season with promotion available lol. Plus champ clubs will never outscore the top 12 on crowds because even a poorly supported home club will get Wigan saints etc going to their grounds. Crowds in champ next season are more likely to drop not improve. 

There have been plenty outside the top flight averaging 3k over the years in recent times. Leigh have done it multiple times. Widnes, Bradford, Toulouse, Toronto too off the top of my head and I'm sure Wakey probably will next year too.

[bigbaldnmad]

14 hours ago, Rovers13 said:

3k attendance outside top flight? Not a chance. Teams didn’t average that last season with promotion available lol. Plus champ clubs will never outscore the top 12 on crowds because even a poorly supported home club will get Wigan saints etc going to their grounds. Crowds in champ next season are more likely to drop not improve. 

Fev's average this season was 3100, and I think would have been more last season.

[Chrispmartha]

7 hours ago, DoubleD said:

Frawley is an average journeyman who hasn’t been able to hold down a first team place at any of the clubs he’s been at. He will lead us around the park as well as Beau Falloon did.

Our best hope is that Sinfield kicks on and can pick up the mantle

We’ll see.

[The Magic Rat]

8 hours ago, Chrispmartha said:

Frawley will be the steady half leading the team around, a job he’s been doing for canberra.

Has he?

Admittedly I only watched Canberra after he had signed, but he was not the main organiser in that game. He may well be up to the job but I'm not sure it's a role he has been doing weekly in the NRL.

[Chrispmartha]

11 minutes ago, The Magic Rat said:

Has he?

Admittedly I only watched Canberra after he had signed, but he was not the main organiser in that game. He may well be up to the job but I'm not sure it's a role he has been doing weekly in the NRL.

When he’s played he has.

we will have to wait and see but I don’t think he’ll be the dud some people think.

The Leeds squad is looking far more balanced than it has for a long time.

[NRLandSL]

8 hours ago, DoubleD said:

Frawley is an average journeyman who hasn’t been able to hold down a first team place at any of the clubs he’s been at. He will lead us around the park as well as Beau Falloon did.

Our best hope is that Sinfield kicks on and can pick up the mantle

'Average Journeyman", he's an established first-grade halfback who took the 6 jerseys at Canberra off Jack Wighton. It's not every day an "average journeyman" is chosen over an Origin player. He's had a great year in the NRL and is a very talented player.

[DoubleD]

26 minutes ago, Chrispmartha said:

When he’s played he has.

we will have to wait and see but I don’t think he’ll be the dud some people think.

The Leeds squad is looking far more balanced than it has for a long time.

That’s not the case. Fogarty is the controlling half in the Raiders team 

[The Blues Ox]

12 hours ago, graveyard johnny said:

where now? if anywhere for Gareth Widdop? after Cas show him the door- is this the end?

More and more likely that he has signed a contract with Fax. I'm torn, he always said he wanted to finish his career at Fax but its a player who will be on decent money in a position that we really don't need to strengthen and that money could be better spent on the pack. I'd like it if he were to be part of the coaching team as well though. The play on words from Widdop's statement has caught some people out though.

[Chrispmartha]

3 minutes ago, DoubleD said:

That’s not the case. Fogarty is the controlling half in the Raiders team 

As I say we’ll see how he goes.

I think Miller Will actually turn out to be the mist astute signing that Leeds have made.

[DoubleD]

4 minutes ago, Chrispmartha said:

As I say we’ll see how he goes.

I think Miller Will actually turn out to be the mist astute signing that Leeds have made.

Miller should tear it up in SL and is certainly the most exciting signing 

[DoubleD]

46 minutes ago, NRLandSL said:

'Average Journeyman", he's an established first-grade halfback who took the 6 jerseys at Canberra off Jack Wighton. It's not every day an "average journeyman" is chosen over an Origin player. He's had a great year in the NRL and is a very talented player.

That couldn’t be further from the truth.

Wighton got moved because the Raiders outside backs got decimated by injury and he is comfortable at full back and centre. 

The stats for when Frawley played in the halves are telling - they directly coincided with Canberras season falling apart:

Performances without Frawley

Won 12, Lost 7

Performances with Frawley in the halves

Won 1, Lost 5

After the pummelling by the Panthers earlier in the season, Frawley got dropped in favour of Schneider. If Schneider had remained at the Raiders, there’s no guarantee that Frawley would have even played at the back end of the season when the Raiders season fell away

[Harry Stottle]

20 hours ago, Chrispmartha said:

Yet I bet you’ve attended games throughout your time supporting RL with ‘no meaning’

Leigh might be challenging at the top end again why would your games have ‘no meaning’?

 

 

That is very true Chris, I went throughout the "locked out" or "locked in" period of licensing whichever way you view it (we were locked out) but it did not matter how well you did in the Championship or how poorly you performed in the SL it was inconsequential in that it did not matter. I will never ever be swayed from my view that each game should be a very meaningful event where *points are accumulated or lost and should eventuate in reward for the best or jeopardy for the worst. If my club was in the Championship now I would be considering turning away from the pro game and just get 'my fix' with the community game.

Secondly, yes my team may be up there challenging, alternatively they may not be, if that was the case and points lost for either team on the outcome of the game were irrelevant I would not go, and I am being totally honest when I say I would sooner watch them fighting to avoid relegation, that would involve me in the game and get all the senses going during the CONTEST culminating in either the agony of defeat or the euphoria of victory.

Yourself and those other Pro IMG fans will tell me that P&R is still feasible under their system, my honest feeling is that it may happen in the first year, but once the numbers on the 'spreadsheet' settle down it will be Licencing all over again but just by a different format, I don't need or want a spreadsheet Chris I want a league ladder that is the only relevant factor.

*yes I know there is a play off in the Championship with a GF to decide the promoted club, but the gaining of points is still very relevant, and there has to be a play off system in my view simply because of the imbalance of not just playing each other team home and away, the extra game of the 'Bash' makes it screw-wiff.

[Chrispmartha]

Just now, Harry Stottle said:

That is very true Chris, I went throughout the "locked out" or "locked in" period of licensing whichever way you view it (we were locked out) but it did not matter how well you did in the Championship or how poorly you performed in the SL it was inconsequential in that it did not matter. I will never ever be swayed from my view that each game should be a very meaningful event where *points are accumulated or lost and should eventuate in reward for the best or jeopardy for the worst. If my club was in the Championship now I would be considering turning away from the pro game and just get 'my fix' with the community game.

Secondly, yes my team may be up there challenging, alternatively they may not be, if that was the case and points lost for either team on the outcome of the game were irrelevant I would not go, and I am being totally honest when I say I would sooner watch them fighting to avoid relegation, that would involve me in the game and get all the senses going during the CONTEST culminating in either the agony of defeat or the euphoria of victory.

Yourself and those other Pro IMG fans will tell me that P&R is still feasible under their system, my honest feeling is that it may happen in the first year, but once the numbers on the 'spreadsheet' settle down it will be Licencing all over again but just by a different format, I don't need or want a spreadsheet Chris I want a league ladder that is the only relevant factor.

*yes I know there is a play off in the Championship with a GF to decide the promoted club, but the gaining of points is still very relevant, and there has to be a play off system in my view simply because of the imbalance of not just playing each other team home and away, the extra game of the 'Bash' makes it screw-wiff.

My point being Harry is you say you might not get a ST because there might be some meaningless games (there are in any system) when in fact most of Leighs games next year could mean a lot if they are challenging for the playoffs.

Your team will be involved in a league ladder and not a spreadsheet exercise. 
 

You do whatever you feel is right but to say you’re not going to get a ST after the year your club has had seems odd to me, each to their own.