Yes awaiting their confirmation of being at the top table - only a week to go !
Wasn't Wellington Albert at Fev? Passes the bulk test!!
@sandgroper think he’s back in PNG now, think he was there this whole past year
I heard that Frank Sergent, young winger released by dire, was on loan at Swinton last year is coming to us. I'm not 100% sure on the reliability of the source but we will be in for a winger or two, so maybe....
Had this reinforced, believe its its true. Will be a good signing, a good lad with a good attitude, quick and a good finisher. Believe he had an offer from Swinton but chose Widnes, hope he grows and fulfils potential.
If we have signed Akauola that's 3 players signed with an element of risk. He will be 34 in April and only played about 6 games last season. Langtree will be 35 by the start of next season and must have played under 20 games in the last 2 seasons. Abdull missed the entire 2025 season.
With a relatively small squad, we can't afford to sign anymore players that are good but a gamble fitness wise. Abdull is worth the risk as he will be one of the best players in the Championship if he gets up to speed.
Its a hard sell tbh, any player young enough and convinced that he has a chance to be FT will hang on hoping to get a big offer.
You can wait and wait, hoping but you still need a squad.
Looking at our record last season we were put to the sword often enough by players well over 30!!!
On the fitness I would hope that any new but 'old' players are thoroughly checked on the injury front!!
@sandgroper For me its two different things, if you are playing regularly in your mid 30's then no issue especially with modern training, diet and rehab. McShane at York is a good example. However if you suffer from injury and don't play many games in your mid 30's it's a harder thing to bounce back from the older you get.
Its a calculated risk, but I don't like the odds if we go any higher than 3.
In terms of Abdull I don't mean his age, more that he missed the 2025 season. It got me thinking about the age of the team though, I didn't realise but of the current 20 man squad, 10 of them will be over 30 come kick off of the new season in 2026.
We don't really have any young players, McWhirter is the youngest at 24 and then Roberts and Edge are 25. Something we will need to look at in a year or 2.
You are correct in what you are saying o course.
That's why we need our own Academy but even with that Saints and others will poach our best because they are SL and full time. The long game that the club are playing is the only chance we have, in my view at least.
I suspect that the benefits or risks with would be money men buying a short cut to SL will become clear as time goes on, indeed some are already feeling the pinch.
It annoys me that Saints have the pick of all the best players from Widnes and even give out tickets at the Hornets. It would be tough to compete with not being in SL but with no academy the young lads don't even have a choice.
Not all players are good enough for SL, but also I think increasingly more will look at an apprenticeship alongside semi pro RL. I bet a qualified plumber with a top contract in the Championship earns more than most SL players these days.
Craven, Gilmore, Lawton, the Chapelhow brothers, Ince, Lyons, Edge, Owens. All have come through the Widnes system but have become established Championship players rather than SL. Where do we get the next generation of these lads from?
That is the question but it has to start with an Academy and a bigger identity in the borough somehow. The concept of being a rugby player as a full time occupation depends on the pay that you can count on being enough to set you up for life.
I don't have a clue what SL players can earn but if a son of mine was clever enough to be able to qualify through Uni and into a professional lawyer/accountant/teacher/engineer, it would be hard to decide on his best policy.
Putting all your eggs into being a full time RL player with all the injury risks would have to be a big gamble and guess that my option would be playing as a PT player with a job for the future.
Not a problem for me, my kids are at retirement age!!!!!
@sandgroper The SL salary cap is only £2.1 million. In simple terms if you divide it by 25 players it's £84,000 per player. Obviously some of the young lads in squad numbers 21-25 will be on less. The top 2/3 in some of the top teams will be on £200k a year as marquee signings. Hence why the big clubs are losing over £1m a season paying them and the huge number of backroom staff they all seem to have.
If you want a career you are better going to the NRL, it's £5.8 million for the top 30 squad players in the NRL.
In the UK to put into perspective what a mess the game is in, in 2002 the SL salary cap was £1.8m, 23 years later it's 2.1 million. With inflation and cost of living it should be £3.5 million to stand still. Even more shocking in 2025 the clubs got a distribution based on a broadcasting fee from Sky of £21m, from 2017 to 2021 the figure was £40m per season, so it's virtually halved.
With the small increase in salary cap over the last 25 years, TV deal almost being halved and clubs losing over £1m per season it puts the viability of the game as a full time sport into doubt.
Judging from NRL press articles (worth a read !) they are concerned that our game is dying, making northern hemisphere RL look very poor and subsequently damaging their 'international' image!
They have ploughed cash into the Pacific Islands and the Vegas effort, including us as an attempt to widen our image.
The Ashes games are another attempt to boost the international game as it will become challenged by the latest breakaway RU debacle. From articles on line the NRL are aiming to broaden the RL game by taking the NRL funding into the RFL territory but aren't very impressed by our efforts!
What worries me is that our game below SL level is deteriorating and could be allowed to die, the SL clubs hoping for our supporters transferring to the nearest SL club. That may happen over time but not in my lifetime! I just wonder how long Oldham, Sheffield etc would have been able to hang on without cash handouts!
@sandgroper the Ashes is just what the game needs as long as we are competitive. The Vegas England vs Australia womens fixture set the game back, let's hope we are competitive and can win a game. With the wait to play them, who knows if they have taken another big step forward and will blow us off the park. But 2 sell outs including 52k at Everton is rare for RL so shows the market does exist.
Back on topic im hearing a number of signings are imminent possibly up to 5! Seems a lot given the uncertainty over the leagues/teams at the moment. Will just have to wait and see. 3 mentioned are Akuoala, Gee and Sergent from Warrington reserves.
All matter of judgement of AC and Cttee! Wait and see all your options snapped up by others or make decisions and hope you are right!!!
There are many who will criticise whatever you do and either option can be the right one!
The question is have your critics ever made similar big decisions themselves, and if they have were they always right?