Rumours he maybe coming to Salford, Is he any good? And is there any truth in it????

I rate him personally, works hard when he plays and would be disappointed if we let him go. Think there could be a chance that he will be leaving though as next season will have Soliola, Wilkin, Flannery, Flanagan, Dixon and hopefully Scott Moore all in front of him in pecking order for back row so might find first team opportunities limited, would like to see him loaned out for a year but keep him long term

He's steady and that's about it really.

Is He Any relation To Bill Ashurst

Could be truth in it. He's 'solid' but unspectacular so far. He's looked more lively recently but has never made an impact with the ball, but has always looked strong defensively.

It's a strange one, when he has struggled for game time he has looked decent. But earlier in the year when we had some 2nd row places up for grabs and regular appearances for our academy 2nd rowers, the ease of getting a spot seamed to reduce the performance level.



I'm not making this up either, I think Ashurst put a piece on the Saints website saying how he needed to up his game.



So a pitty if he does not make it at Saints but on current form, not a huge loss.

But if both him and Moore leave as is being rumoured it puts us into a position where we've got far too few first team players again.

Matty if you want a lift i'll drop you off free of charge

Its a fine balance between quality or quantity I guess. Does Ashurst offer more to the team than someone like Hale, who we can presume will get more chances next year? Is it worth keeping someone who we know isnt good enough, at the expense of someone who may develop into a top player?

No it's not. But there is also the balance of depth. Teams like Wigan, Wire and the Giants have more first team players than we do. In this situation they would sign Ashurst up for another two years and put him out on dual reg if he wasn't going to get into the side.

With Hale getting a new deal I wouldnt be suprised to see him leave. Steady player who may or may not progress over the next few years.

He'll be too old to go on dual reg next season won't he? 21 is the upper limit and he's the same cohort as Foster and so I would imagine will be 21 before next season.



Why should we stick with Ashurst (or indeed any of the young players) if they are not shining brightly?* We have plenty more young players of talent coming through the ranks. If the coaches feel that the club has given Ashurst enough time to show his ability, and he hasn't shown enough of it, then I'd say it was good sense to let him go and give another young player time to prove HIS worth. That way we will be more likely to end up with the best players on the pitch.



We will have a good balance in the squad next season: some elderly chaps and some kids. That's the balance we need to retain.







*I'm not saying Ashurst isn't shining brightly, just that we shouldn't be sticking with a young player just for the sake of his experience.