Board index ‹ Super League ‹ Hull KR - theprideofeasthull.co.uk ‹ The Rovers One Stop Rumour Thread

Personally, I would love to see a Rovers team containing all the youngsters mentioned, playing their hearts out for the shirt, week in week out (obviously not a viable option, particularly for the ones just breaking into the first team.) And if the results don't go our way as long as the heart and desire was there I would be happy to take the step back to go forward Hudge has spoken of. However this is a business, and I worry that any drop off in competetiveness in the team could have a massive negative effect on gates and revenue, particularly in the current financial climate. I just hope the cuts in spending aren't so severe as to knock the steady progress that has been made since our promotion.

An honest question.

Do you think Dobbo and Blake Green, plus a few other more 'senior' players will be comfortable playing in a side that is likely to be largely uncompetitive for a few years until all the younger lads have bedded in?

Wytchfynder General wrote:

An honest question.

Do you think Dobbo and Blake Green, plus a few other more 'senior' players will be comfortable playing in a side that is likely to be largely uncompetitive for a few years until all the younger lads have bedded in?

An honest answer.

I have absolutely no idea, and anyone who says different is either Blake Green or Michael Dobson.

[Mild Rover]

Wytchfynder General wrote:

An honest question.

Do you think Dobbo and Blake Green, plus a few other more 'senior' players will be comfortable playing in a side that is likely to be largely uncompetitive for a few years until all the younger lads have bedded in?

I don't think we'll be following the full SmokeyTA model in all its ludicrous glory. I doubt we'll be competing for Super League in the short-term, but the aspiration has to be to at least compete in Super League, even while 'building for the future'.

But yes attracting and retaining players during a transitional period might be a challenge - true also of fans, so it is a question of finding a balance.
Getting battered every week is no good for bedding in younger lads either.

I wrote out a 'back of a fag packet' 2013 squad based on the more plausible rumours t'other day. It looked alright.

I wouldn't expect that any CEO would take such a huge risk as bank all on building a young, local/english squad from scratch, particularly in the franchise system, however, given that both Rovers and Hull have stated publically that they see the future being youth and English, I wonder just how this can be achieved for a range of reasons/concerns.

1). Both clubs are way behind the likes of Wigan, Leeds, Warrington, St Helens and even to some extent Huddersfield, in respect to their youth structure, although I would consider that Rovers are slightly ahead of Hull at the present moment, in terms of the overall quality of its youth squad.

2). Without investing considerably in experienced players, including Antipodeans, how do they maintain the competitive process and as pointed out by MR, confidence is a keystone to developing high quality players, getting battered every week is not going to produce 'confident' players

3). With a struggling team/squad, how do you entice and retain the 'right kind of experienced player' who it is hoped will make the team competitive and nurture the younger players

4). How long will fans stick with such an ethos in the face of indifferent results

5). For how long could the club(s) maintain such an ethos if crowds dwindle and finances continue to be a driving issue

For my part I want to see a highly successful Hull FC, being competitve and winning trophies as I'm sure that Rovers fans want to see the same for their club, quite how long we/they would stand for the development phase to materialise is open to conjecture, at a guess I would say that the troops would become extremely restless if the process didn't produce within 3 seasons. In terms of development, I suspect that that is quite a short period of time, particularly if you are already 2 or 3 steps behind your major competitors. I would like to think it is attainable for both clubs, but I have my doubts, in the same way that I don't think that the salary cap is working as it should or was envisaged that it would.

[Mild Rover]

Wytchfynder General wrote:

I wouldn't expect that any CEO would take such a huge risk as bank all on building a young, local/english squad from scratch, particularly in the franchise system, however, given that both Rovers and Hull have stated publically that they see the future being youth and English, I wonder just how this can be achieved for a range of reasons/concerns.

1). Both clubs are way behind the likes of Wigan, Leeds, Warrington, St Helens and even to some extent Huddersfield, in respect to their youth structure, although I would consider that Rovers are slightly ahead of Hull at the present moment, in terms of the overall quality of its youth squad.

2). Without investing considerably in experienced players, including Antipodeans, how do they maintain the competitive process and as pointed out by MR, confidence is a keystone to developing high quality players, getting battered every week is not going to produce 'confident' players

3). With a struggling team/squad, how do you entice and retain the 'right kind of experienced player' who it is hoped will make the team competitive and nurture the younger players

4). How long will fans stick with such an ethos in the face of indifferent results

5). For how long could the club(s) maintain such an ethos if crowds dwindle and finances continue to be a driving issue

For my part I want to see a highly successful Hull FC, being competitve and winning trophies as I'm sure that Rovers fans want to see the same for their club, quite how long we/they would stand for the development phase to materialise is open to conjecture, at a guess I would say that the troops would become extremely restless if the process didn't produce within 3 seasons. In terms of development, I suspect that that is quite a short period of time, particularly if you are already 2 or 3 steps behind your major competitors. I would like to think it is attainable for both clubs, but I have my doubts, in the same way that I don't think that the salary cap is working as it should or was envisaged that it would.

That's the challenge and it applies to a lot of clubs, whoever does it best will flourish. I think fans will stick with it, as long as today isn't too bad and there's a realistic prospect of things getting better in the forseeable. Cas fans still turn up decent numbers despite their problems retaining players and no immediate prospect of it getting better.
Leeds, Wigan, maybe Saints now? - They're the de facto big clubs have structural advantages. The rest of us just have to try to come up with that elusive formula, hoping for a golden generation, or a wealthy benefactor to oil the wheels.

[Gavin Miller - Legend]

I reckon we will sign a new centre and 2nd rower.
But they have to fit in with the club's valuation of them.
Some players we will of enquired about and not got any further once the players agents gave the wage demands.

from a hull player i was speaking too but he obviously knows people in the game,and at rovers. Reckons u may have signed omari caro from london and richie faa'oso from newcastle knights

[Mild Rover]

airliebird,runninglate! wrote:

from a hull player i was speaking too but he obviously knows people in the game,and at rovers. Reckons u may have signed omari caro from london and richie faa'oso from newcastle knights

Yeeees! My power knows no limits. It was just a case of harnessing it, so I didn't do things like send our highest profile SL signing to a different sport and country.

Take that Jemima Puddleduck, yeah.

On t'other forum, apparently Hull are trying to sign Craig Hall.

Well it is now definitely silly season