Hull Kingston Rovers coach Tony Smith has reiterated the club’s current struggle to strengthen their squad.
The Robins are desperately searching for forwards to beef up their pack following the injury to Mose Masoe, but are struggling to find appropriate recruits.
With most clubs having their squads settled and players having contracts secure, their options are currently limited.
But Smith insists that Rovers are doing everything in their power to bring reinforcements in.
“We’re not sitting tight, we just don’t have the magic wand,” he said.
“It’s not a good time to recruit, February isn’t a good time to recruit, September and October aren’t a good time to recruit too.
“Maybe something will happen during the Aussie trial games. But we’re not sitting tight, we’re looking for something suitable that’s going to have an impact. There may well be some people we could go and get, but they’d have no impact and I’m not sure that’s worthwhile. But we’re certainly not sitting tight.
“They’re just not there. If there are good players, they are tied up at this time of the year. Most teams now want to safeguard and stockpile. They like to have as many as they can in certain positions, and very often that means props, where we are looking to recruit.”
The latest blow for Smith is the ankle injury suffered by hooker Matt Parcell last Thursday night, which could keep him out of action for eight weeks.
Meanwhile, Rovers owner Neil Hudgell took a swipe at Toronto Wolfpack during a Q&A on the club’s Twitter feed.
Hudgell was asked whether he believed there would a league restructure to prevent Toronto being relegated, and whether the same would happen if Rovers found themselves at the bottom.
He said: “I don’t know about that, my focus is solely on looking after our own backyard.
“It does irritate me though all the hue and cry over Toronto & their travails. We have our own, but don’t seem to be cut the same slack. It seems to me that some would happily see an established club, with history and a decent fan base go to the dogs in favour of this week’s flavour of the month.”
