It's a case of Cas having a much smaller squad than Leeds with injuries on top. There's not many decent players left available who are much better than our own. Poor DR partners.

Decent games? Really? I don't think one of them has had a decent game with the possible exception of 20 minutes from the hooker last week. Every game we've used DR we have lost. Great innit?

Exactly. Team picked around DR availability. No thanks.

Yes the hooker played well but so did Clarke and so did Maher. I thought Clarke against Bradford ran harder than most of our forwards when I thought he wouldn't be bothered. Im not sure what point you are making regards to losing every game where we have used DR? If we used DR then theres a very good chance that we did not have a player available in that position from the reserves which was certainly the case with all 3 mentioned above so I can't see the result would have been any different if we chose not to use DR.

The point I'm making about losing with DR is we might as well lose with a reserve player getting experience instead of playing a Castleford lad to get him fit. Long term instead if short term aims. P.S. I don't agree with your views on Maher and Clarke. Maher in particular at York looked as though he would rather have been anywhere else other than in a blue and white shirt.

By badly I mean - seemingly not having a solid two-way relationship with your partners that benefits both teams; not necessarily having the incoming DR players buying into playing for you (other than one player last season at your place, most of the Leeds DR players seem to have loved playing for Fev) ; not managing to secure the better "spare" players from your DR partners (see Mitch Clark going to Fev when you were playing Maher etc, or Calum Turner this year); not seeming to get the benefit of signing players leaving your DR team (compared with Fev signing multiple ex-Leeds players full time....Walters, Ormondroyd, Wylie, even Delaney though he didn't play for us).

Not saying all this makes DR right, but yes Fev have used DR/loans more than Fax and others but I also think we have used them more effectively.

Without a doubt Fev and Leeds have made the best of it, theres no question in that. Its just differing levels though, I feel we have used it well as mentioned above we have used it when nobody else has been available and it that sense we have used it efficently in my eyes. Now if we wern't running a reserve grade and had a small squad and still only used it the same I would say we have not used it efficiently.

Ignoring the diasgreement on how the DR players have performed it still does not hide the fact that they were brought in because we did not have players available in the reserves who could play those positions. Yes we have players who have played in those positions for the reserves but there is a big difference between playing someone like Jones or Kidd who can do a job for you at this level and playing a kid who isnt even really ready to be playing at that standard of reserve grade yet.

The system is either right or wrong. You can't just say, "well my club uses it this way so I'm happy with that and all other clubs use of the system is therefore wrong"... which is implied here.
When the DR sheeitestorm first broke fev abstained and hoped the other championship clubs would follow. It didn't transpire that way and as soon as one club seeks and available advantage, percieved or otherwise, the most other clubs will do the same, and have to to varying extents.
Observations therefore were:-
If you're going to enter such a relationship do it with a club where a relationship is already established
And do it with one of the best/biggest squads in the northern hemisphere cos if you don't, another club will.

Does if devalue the integrity of the competition? IMO Tes it does.
Does it weaken the identity of your team? Again yes, but not to the extent i thought it would.
Does it impact on the morale of the squad?.... well...evidence suggests nowhere near as much as is suggested across all fora.
Would i get rid? In an instant!

You say DR is either right or wrong, but the answer to those two highlighted questions is "Depends how much your club abuses is". It's not so black and white.

Does having 1 or 2 loan players in devalue the integrity of the comp? not so much.
Does relying on a heavy supply of players coming in from Leeds every week, and having your coach as their assistant coach devalue the integrity of the comp? yep.

Still, I think most Fax fans agree, get rid all together.

Im yet to hear any Fax fans say they are happy with the system but I do see the odd post from Fev fans on this board suggesting otherwise. Am I happy with how we have used it? Yes. Am I happy in how other teams have used it? No. Do I think it should be scrapped? Yes.

Bottom line, Greg, is that you're jealous it's worked well for Fev.

If we'd regularly gotten decent Cas players who played 1st team and we were competing in the top 5 on the back of it, I'm sure you'd have a different view