I wonder how Danny bridge and Glenn Riley are feeling looking at our team at the moment, was last season just too much early on in the transition, and too much asked or expected of Riley?



Was it 12 months too soon, or were they just not good enough?

Personally, i don't think they're good enough but time will tell.

Look at Philbin, he looks the part already.

Currie and Laithwaite have just slotted in and both are machines in defence.



I doubt Riley and Bridge will play for Wire again.

Whilst coaching the round ball game our team were in the same league as Culcheth and they had this larger than life character who was either striker, goal keeper and/or defender depending on the need of the team, he was bloody good wherever they played him, take a bow Joe Philbin. What a prospect he is now for the Wolves. He was again very good on Friday hope he keeps the momentum goingicon_smile.gif

Pretty sure they've both left on permanent deals haven't they? I never saw Danny Bridge play I don't think so can't comment on him. Don't think Riley was good enough but I hope he'll have a good career. Anyone know how him and Dwyer are getting on in London?

London got beat again yesterday, club in freefall.

Philbin's haircut is extreme, as is Russell's. Appreciate they're only kids but we need to keep an eye on this. We don't want another Daryl Cardiss situation on our hands.

thats the thing, Riley looked the part when he was introduced in 2013.



Bridge definitely wont play for us again, i dunno if Tony has one eye on Riley's development this 12 months. Its too much of a coincidence both him and dwyer being sent down at the same time, but on different terms.

He makes a damn good point

Interesting question. Einstein once thought that there was certainty in the world that he explored ( "God does not play dice" ), but he got it badly wrong. The same seems to be true for whether a junior will make SL standard or not. You can perhaps pick out a group that are more likely to succeed, but its impossible to predict exactly. Some develop quickly, then plateau whilst others look like no hopers and develop late.. A couple of years ago how many fans would have laughed if you told them Penny would be playing for Wire ?



So what we are left with is probability. TS's decision to release Riley and Bridge presumably means he believes there is a better chance of some of his other youngsters making the grade, than either of them.. so he is 'playing the odds'. They didn't show enough to convince him when he let them loose in the first team.

Laithwaite, Harrison, Currie, O'Brien and Penny all regulars this season for us, been a while since we could point to a steady core of the week in week out line up that has come through our Academy and shows that things are turning now it's not all about buy some quick fix from the NRL who wants a pension but having patience in your own youth to come through: its what Wigan and Leeds do.

I think Toby King made his comeback last week from a broken jaw, best young centre in English RL imo

Alas, you are correct. If only we had a few more like Roy Asotasi to do the long hard 40 minute shifts. And of course Ashton as well, I had a look on the SL stats page, his average metres is astonishing.



But on a more serious note, how many of our RL players are being chased by the NRL ( as opposed to that second string comp that they run). Sadly we have a pretty poor quality competition these days, and that is due to long years of under-funding and neglect of the youth / grass roots game. Flooding the game with ageing Aussies is not the answer, it's a bit like a medic treating the symptoms but ignoring the underlying cause. I suspect there will be a reaction from the RFL and SL clubs to the current problems - we may get marquee players appearing perhaps, but there is not the money in the British game to buy in 2-3 young Michael Monaghens for a SL side. It's going to be a long hard slog.



How is the speech writing for Dave's campaign going ?