It seems churlish to have a thread about the new kit without anything on the proposed new manager!!!

I have a sneaky feeling for Brian Noble. But I think Guisset would be my choice.

The local press is going big on Laurent Frayssinous at the moment... wonder if there is truth in that.

I've heard that too from elsewhere. I suppose that if he's not ready now, will he ever be? As long as the support structures around him are solid, then it could work. Evolution not revolution and all that

it's Laurent!

Frayssinous it is then. Well, on the one hand, a Frenchman. Promoting from within... continuity etc.

On the other hand, Rob Powell was promoted from within.

Hopefully he coaches better than he defended.

I'm pleased we've not gone back to an Anglophone

The light-heartedness of the post taken on board, but...

It's easy to show there's no correlation between the success or otherwise of a playing career and the success or otherwise of a coaching career. He's worked alongside the Colonel, Walters and Trento and must have learned lots - as much from what went wrong for Walters as what went right for the other two - in that period. If he's not ready now, when would he be? It's a risk, sure, but should ensure that Trento leaves some legacy rather than ripping all that up and starting over.

But the big question remains - what do we nickname him? I'll offer Lo-Fres for starters.

Lo-Fres works for me... will alter my signature accordingly.

No, I agree completely. I hate it when people suggest coaches should be appointed based on their playing career, or that their strengths/weaknesses as a player would be somehow transferred to the way they coach. That's why I can't understand people suggesting Guisset, who has had two years as an assistant, ahead of Fraysinnous who has had 6(?). It's as good an appointment as any as far as I'm concerned, certainly better than some random NRL assistant who would probably come with a similar pedigree but would have the disadvantage of not knowing the players or speaking the language.

The players are happy with the choice of Laurent and he was always in front of Jerome. It was almost Brian Smith not Brian Noble,both of whom would have offered no continuity after Robbo. Wise choice methinks

On the players, yes they've been saying nice things on Twitter and elsewhere, but you'd hardly expect them to say "Oh bloody hell, this ain't gonna work at all"