Sheens reveals Mantellato and Sio are yet to commit to Hull KR for 2017

Hull Kingston Rovers coach Tim Sheens has revealed that wingers Josh Mantellato and Ken Sio are yet to commit their future to the club one way or the other for next season.

Mantellato and Sio are, according to Sheens, both yet to decide on whether they will stay in 2017 as the club continue the process of re-signing the players they wish to keep with them in the Championship next year.

Sheens revealed the news as part of an Q&A on the club’s website, and said that any potential departures could still open the door for some younger talent to shine.

“I could put a team on paper right now, but we need to strengthen the halves,” Sheens said.

“You always want another front rower, a left centre to replace (Iain) Thornley and the two wingers, Mantellato and Sio, at those (sic) moment are not committed, although that could open up some opportunities for the younger players.”

Sheens also said that they will have a smaller squad than their Super League rivals in 2017 as they begin life in the second tier – adding that some of the club’s quota players are still deliberating over new deals.

“We won’t work on as big of a squad as most Super League clubs, we’ll be around 25/26 players but that might fluctuate a little bit. We have quite a lot of import spots available to us, currently five out of the seven, but some of the imports who have left are still considering contracts with us. We’ll see how many more come on board over the next few weeks.”