Potential Signing

[moto748]

Hamlin though is so very raw he will be hit and miss,the reception to his debut bordered on hysteria in my eyes and Wane rightly tried to downplay it for his sake rather than anyone else’s,I don’t see he will go back to an NRL side if I’m honest but he will much like Quinlan carve a career out over here if he so wishes

I think that's spot-on.

[TrueBlueWarrior]

It all depends if he will be given a chance. When we signed Sam Hopkins from Leigh he was going to be the next big thing, but was never given a change and then shipped back to Leigh, where he's looked good.

What's happened to Bretherton ?

Sadly Hopkins attitude didn't match his ability.
Bretherton got injured in a reserve match early in the season.

What attitude problem? Leigh didn't seem to have an issue with him

Didn't they tear up his 3 year contract though?

[markill]

Sadly Hopkins attitude didn't match his ability.
Bretherton got injured in a reserve match early in the season.

What attitude problem? Leigh didn't seem to have an issue with him

Didn't they tear up his 3 year contract though?

he's with Toronto now, even though I thought he palyed pretty well in Super League last year for Leigh

[DaveO]

He played tonight in the Reserves ????

And he played very well. He looked like a first team player. Hamlin played and didn't, which is very disappointing.

Hamlin though is so very raw he will be hit and miss,the reception to his debut bordered on hysteria in my eyes and Wane rightly tried to downplay it for his sake rather than anyone else’s,I don’t see he will go back to an NRL side if I’m honest but he will much like Quinlan carve a career out over here if he so wishes

There was nothing wrong with the reception he got. It was simply a reaction to a player playing in a way that was a breath of fresh air and Wane was not deliberately down playing anything. He seemed annoyed a player not playing to his plan did well and chose to criticize both the fans for their reaction to that as well as the player. What a twit.

That said we have seen plenty of young players have an impact and then instantly go off the boil. So if he is this raw and not ready for the first team why on earth did we bring such a player over here? Surely the only justification for him being here and taking up pay and a position in the squad over home grown players when we supposedly have such an exceptional production line is because he is himself an exceptional prospect and one we'd expect to see in the side ahead of any of the other junior props?

He's either higher up in the pecking order than the home grown young players or I fail to see why he is here.

[Firestarter]

And he played very well. He looked like a first team player. Hamlin played and didn't, which is very disappointing.

Hamlin though is so very raw he will be hit and miss,the reception to his debut bordered on hysteria in my eyes and Wane rightly tried to downplay it for his sake rather than anyone else’s,I don’t see he will go back to an NRL side if I’m honest but he will much like Quinlan carve a career out over here if he so wishes

There was nothing wrong with the reception he got. It was simply a reaction to a player playing in a way that was a breath of fresh air and Wane was not deliberately down playing anything. He seemed annoyed a player not playing to his plan did well and chose to criticize both the fans for their reaction to that as well as the player. What a twit.

That said we have seen plenty of young players have an impact and then instantly go off the boil. So if he is this raw and not ready for the first team why on earth did we bring such a player over here? Surely the only justification for him being here and taking up pay and a position in the squad over home grown players when we supposedly have such an exceptional production line is because he is himself an exceptional prospect and one we'd expect to see in the side ahead of any of the other junior props?

He's either higher up in the pecking order than the home grown young players or I fail to see why he is here.

bang on daveo

[No straw damn us]

There was nothing wrong with the reception he got. It was simply a reaction to a player playing in a way that was a breath of fresh air and Wane was not deliberately down playing anything. He seemed annoyed a player not playing to his plan did well and chose to criticize both the fans for their reaction to that as well as the player. What a twit.

That said we have seen plenty of young players have an impact and then instantly go off the boil. So if he is this raw and not ready for the first team why on earth did we bring such a player over here? Surely the only justification for him being here and taking up pay and a position in the squad over home grown players when we supposedly have such an exceptional production line is because he is himself an exceptional prospect and one we'd expect to see in the side ahead of any of the other junior props?

He's either higher up in the pecking order than the home grown young players or I fail to see why he is here.

The club obviously do see him as a great prospect. That's why they signed him. The problem is he's a forward and they generally take longer to develop into the finished article so most forwards who are signed under the age of 23 are still going to be developing their game.

As for the last paragraph, he is currently higher up the pecking order than the home grown young players - so everything is okay then?

Wane obviously likes to have plenty of depth in the forwards and it just so happens that so far this year we haven't really needed to test that because lots of players have been playing well and there haven't been many injuries.

We've seen Flower, Clubb and Sutton play well from the start. Tautai is now starting to play well. Isa has had a brilliant season so far. Joel started the season at second row and surprised many with how well he played and had some good games at loose forward too (and at worst is very dependable defensively). Add to that Navarrete on the fringes who is progressing well.

At the moment we've got the depth to keep these players fighting for places and it's tough for anyone to break into it. That doesn't mean there's no point in signing someone like Hamlin.

They obviously brought Hamlin over because he offers something different to the props we've got - and that does seem to be the case, plus he's a few years ahead in development compared to several.

We've got Bretherton, who's a big, tall athletic prop and plays the game in a completely different way to Hamlin. He's also had rotten luck with injuries so that's one reason for needing depth.

Field is on the fringes of the first team but seems similar to Ben Austin and Rob Lever for me - very good at academy level but perhaps not outstanding enough right now to step up to Super League and might be a late bloomer.

Caine Barnes and Ollie Partington have lots of promise in the U19's (Barnes has already had two successful loan spells) but they are still teenagers, so you want to be choosing when they get a taste of Super League rather than having to risk throwing them in.

That's the benefit that Hamlin brings. He's already had one brilliant first team game - since then he's shown he's a useful player but isn't rivalling our more experienced props at the moment. I'd guess that things with Hamlin are exactly as anticipated.

c.p
That's an excellent post. I would add one more name to those props you have mentioned, Liam Byrne. He really has stood out at academy level and looks to me to be a big athletic no nonsense straight up prop. He could very well be the "bolter"
I also like the looks of Ethan Havard, who although only 17 years of age looks an outstanding prospect.

[TrueBlueWarrior]

Sadly Hopkins attitude didn't match his ability.
Bretherton got injured in a reserve match early in the season.

What attitude problem? Leigh didn't seem to have an issue with him

Didn't they tear up his 3 year contract though?

he's with Toronto now, even though I thought he palyed pretty well in Super League last year for Leigh

I didn’t say that above markill!

[DaveO]

There was nothing wrong with the reception he got. It was simply a reaction to a player playing in a way that was a breath of fresh air and Wane was not deliberately down playing anything. He seemed annoyed a player not playing to his plan did well and chose to criticize both the fans for their reaction to that as well as the player. What a twit.

That said we have seen plenty of young players have an impact and then instantly go off the boil. So if he is this raw and not ready for the first team why on earth did we bring such a player over here? Surely the only justification for him being here and taking up pay and a position in the squad over home grown players when we supposedly have such an exceptional production line is because he is himself an exceptional prospect and one we'd expect to see in the side ahead of any of the other junior props?

He's either higher up in the pecking order than the home grown young players or I fail to see why he is here.

The club obviously do see him as a great prospect. That's why they signed him. The problem is he's a forward and they generally take longer to develop into the finished article so most forwards who are signed under the age of 23 are still going to be developing their game.

As for the last paragraph, he is currently higher up the pecking order than the home grown young players - so everything is okay then?

Wane obviously likes to have plenty of depth in the forwards and it just so happens that so far this year we haven't really needed to test that because lots of players have been playing well and there haven't been many injuries.

We've seen Flower, Clubb and Sutton play well from the start. Tautai is now starting to play well. Isa has had a brilliant season so far. Joel started the season at second row and surprised many with how well he played and had some good games at loose forward too (and at worst is very dependable defensively). Add to that Navarrete on the fringes who is progressing well.

At the moment we've got the depth to keep these players fighting for places and it's tough for anyone to break into it. That doesn't mean there's no point in signing someone like Hamlin.

They obviously brought Hamlin over because he offers something different to the props we've got - and that does seem to be the case, plus he's a few years ahead in development compared to several.

We've got Bretherton, who's a big, tall athletic prop and plays the game in a completely different way to Hamlin. He's also had rotten luck with injuries so that's one reason for needing depth.

Field is on the fringes of the first team but seems similar to Ben Austin and Rob Lever for me - very good at academy level but perhaps not outstanding enough right now to step up to Super League and might be a late bloomer.

Caine Barnes and Ollie Partington have lots of promise in the U19's (Barnes has already had two successful loan spells) but they are still teenagers, so you want to be choosing when they get a taste of Super League rather than having to risk throwing them in.

That's the benefit that Hamlin brings. He's already had one brilliant first team game - since then he's shown he's a useful player but isn't rivalling our more experienced props at the moment. I'd guess that things with Hamlin are exactly as anticipated.

That's a long post that seems totally irrelevant to the point I made. To remind you I was replying to Fozzie who argued Hamlin was hit and miss and won't be going back to the NRL and will have a career here instead. That being so why is he any different to any of our other props of a similar age was my point. Why recruit him unless he is exceptional which despite his crowd pleasing debut he does not seem to be?

We are supposed to have this exceptional production line and yet feel the need to recruit a junior player. I expect us to recruit more senior players because I subscribe to the John Monie theory you were lucky if you get three from a top junior team graduating to the first team and if Fozzie is right there is no guarantee Hamlin will be one of those few who makes the grade.

There just seems to ba a contradiction here. He's either no better than what we have and won't be off back to the NRL or he is better and so will be off back home.

[jao711]

Cronulla have released Trent Hdgkinson with immediate effect.

[jobo]

Cronulla have released Trent Hdgkinson with immediate effect.

He's signed for Manley hasn't he?