I was resigned to losing Welsby given all the achievements you state (plus the England captaincy) and was very pleasantly surprised when he signed again. Don't think there is a clause in his contract although I stand to be corrected, I certainly hope not as most of our attacking threat is carried by him currently. He's certainly got the game to succeed over there but he's still only 23, I think it's simply a matter of if/when he chooses to go.

The contracts for 2026 I mention above, I don't think an external coach comes in and gives them out personally. Lomax, Percival and Walmsley have all spent significant time on the treatment table and I think we would be in a better position from a cap spend perspective if we had been more ruthless and kept them waiting until this point of the season before making decisions on all three. With that said I can't really speak to the succession plan as it isn't particularly clear given the contract status of most of the squad - there is every chance we have offered them longer deals on reduced terms with a view to naturally phasing them out for the likes of Robertson, Whitby, Vaughan and Stephens. Will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Wigan have a lot of players tied up long term, it looks like a smart move now given the current state of the market but the true test of that will be in another 18 months - how is the cap going to be managed if and when players fall out of favour with time left on their deals, and will it prevent the club from being able to offer good deals to the next batch of players? The short term succession plan for players looks pretty clear but Wigan have been more susceptible to NRL interest than most so even that is not without risk.

Good news is that if they keep flogging Walmsley to death ,come towards the end of this season he will be knackered like last season.

Said the same thing on Redvee on both fronts, I don't understand letting Bell go with Knowles already going. It's going to be a massive ask to get a replacement rotation that's anywhere near as good as the Knowles/Bell rotation so unless Hull just provided an offer we couldn't match then I don't really understand it. Think Bell is coming off quota next year or the year after too. Also agree that whilst I don't see Smithies as being as good as Knowles, he's pretty much the best possible replacement we could get for Knowles, short of Radley coming over which obviously isn't happening. I understand the biases but I don't really understand people saying they wouldn't want him, can't think of anybody else that would be a better fit and obviously fed trained too.
That said I don't actually see Smithies coming, pretty sure that was just some clever seed sewing from Rogues! Going to be very very interesting to see how we line up come next year anyway, going to be a massive shift in personnel.

I can't see Morgan returning to SL. The question I would be asking is did Saints try to retain Bell. I suppose the acid test will be who Saints replace Knowles and Bell with.

Straight away you lock down the 13 shirt for at least 5 years if you sign Smithies and you don't tie up a quota spot. You need the right sort of forwards around him (metre makers, a bit of pace and threat with the ball) and I think Saints have some of that with Walmsley, Paasi Clark, Sironen etc. If there was a chance of him coming home, I could see Saints throwing good money at him because of the need for non quota players. I'm really struggling to see where British replacements for Knowles and Batchelor come from at the minute and if quota spots are needed to replace Hurrell, Bell etc then it's going to get tricky. It feels a bit like the house is being bet on kids like Robertson, Whitby, Stephens and Dagnall not only making it but making it big. If that doesn't happen then replacing Lomax, Walmsley, Clark, Percival etc in the years to come will be a massive challenge. 

Are Saints dark arts at play here? Ex-St Helens man could be facing huge ban after biting charge - Serious About Rugby League Oldham outside back Jumah Sambou has been handed a Grade E charge by the RFL’s Match Review Panel following a biting accusation. The allegation comes from Sunday’s Championship clash with Barrow Raiders, a game which saw Sean Long’s side fall to their first league defeat following their promotion from League 1. Sambou is the man at the centre of the allegations with the former St Helens youngster set to face an independent tribunal before a verdict is reached and a punishment is potentially handed out. Sambou will be given the opportunity to argue his case and fight his corner if needs be. However, if he is found guilty of biting he could be looking at a lengthy ban. All Grade E charges result in an immediate referral to a operational rules tribunal with bans set at a minimum of six games, with a full disciplinary points penalty decided by the tribunal.

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Are Saints dark arts at play here? Ex-St Helens man could be facing huge ban after biting charge - Serious About Rugby League Oldham outside back Jumah Sambou has been handed a Grade E charge by the RFL’s Match Review Panel following a biting accusation. The allegation comes from Sunday’s Championship clash with Barrow Raiders, a game which saw Sean Long’s side fall to their first league defeat following their promotion from League 1. Sambou is the man at the centre of the allegations with the former St Helens youngster set to face an independent tribunal before a verdict is reached and a punishment is potentially handed out. Sambou will be given the opportunity to argue his case and fight his corner if needs be. However, if he is found guilty of biting he could be looking at a lengthy ban. All Grade E charges result in an immediate referral to a operational rules tribunal with bans set at a minimum of six games, with a full disciplinary points penalty decided by the tribunal.

403 Forbidden