@mckviking there already mentioned in the forum ...gilmore will be a great signing just not for the fans that clearly haven't watched rl for the last 2yrs ....rhys Evans not sure still amazed he's only 29 been around for years but probably better than some last season
@sandgroper completely agree ..just does ye head in fans thinking we have to sign 6 SL players n if there not from SL their instantly crap ..
I think people affiliate super league players with super league ambitions as a club
@mckviking true but our clubs immediate ambitions and budget don't make that a remote possibility...
@cumbria-viking unless we have an investor interested now IMG are getting involved. I hope their input makes rugby league a higher profile sport and appeals to a wider international audience.
we have to make a big splash to get noticed in this league and get players interested in playing for widnes especially without an academy
@mckviking completely agree mate but unfortunately other clubs are capable of making far bigger splashes ..if you haven't got big money then you need to move very smartly recruitment wise and sadly that's something we massively fail at ...I do think we'll be far better equipped next season but so will probably 6 other teams....look at barrow for example ..already signed ben evans..Jack Wells..Greg Burke.. Greg Worthington....that's the kind of team we're trying to catch up on n there recruitment's far better ...Halifax bringing Ryan King and others in...york again signing well..keighley spending big ..sheffieldrumoured to be strong next season ..dont think people have twigged on that one of the main reasons gilmore hasn't been announced is because he's the biggest of the ones left to announce n will probably do so when season ticket sales slow ...will the squad be stronger next season ..definitely...Will we get in top 4 ..no chance...top 6 ..possibly
@cumbria-viking agreed
we don’t have the money to compete with Toulouse but should be competing with fev, York, keighley etc
aiming for 2nd/3rd should be achievable for our budget so what’s stopping us?
is it lack of playing pool in the area or just poor recruitment year after year?
we should be looking at fringe players from saints/wire or local lads who want to play for the jersey
@mckviking can't compete with fev they were on 1m spend ..probably will again ..should be there with fax..york ..keighley...barrow...won't be coz how we recruit ....look at retention ...grady played what 5 games ? Got new deal ..absolutely abysmal decision....heard others have got new deals that shouldn't be anywhere near if we're being serious for 2023 ....you can't seriously finish 8th in a 2 horse race ..be woeful for 70% of the games you've played and then retain most of that squad ...
@mckviking I'll say this ....if we finish 6th ...get slapped by 30+ in the 1st round of the play offs that will actually be seen as an improvement on the past season....n that says everything about where we are and where we'll stay ...
@cumbria-viking I hope we are both wrong but that’s a fair prediction, I hope the new recruits next season bring a stronger work ethic as some players like Lawton would improve vastly under those circumstances. I think we might look at a couple of loan deals again which could help us win a couple of close games
@mckviking possibly mate ..heard running on a smaller squad to last which would leave space for loans ...9 out ..6(3announced 3 to come) in would pretty much confirm that ...
@cumbria-viking hopefully stay injury free to key players, that’s a lot down to S&C coach and a solid preseason
do we know much about who’s going to be the back room staff
@mckviking completely agree mate but unfortunately other clubs are capable of making far bigger splashes ..if you haven't got big money then you need to move very smartly recruitment wise and sadly that's something we massively fail at ...I do think we'll be far better equipped next season but so will probably 6 other teams....look at barrow for example ..already signed ben evans..Jack Wells..Greg Burke.. Greg Worthington....that's the kind of team we're trying to catch up on n there recruitment's far better ...Halifax bringing Ryan King and others in...york again signing well..keighley spending big ..sheffieldrumoured to be strong next season ..dont think people have twigged on that one of the main reasons gilmore hasn't been announced is because he's the biggest of the ones left to announce n will probably do so when season ticket sales slow ...will the squad be stronger next season ..definitely...Will we get in top 4 ..no chance...top 6 ..possibly
Cumbria-viking, I agree with you, we have recruited poorly recently and that is down to Finney over the last couple of years, and now we are bringing back players who weren't great first time around. Our fans seem to only look at who we are bringing in and not at the other teams around us, and are then shocked when we get beat every other week.
7th place at best for us this year.