Achurch admitted a few weeks ago that he was lacking in fitness and I think he still is, granted he hasn't been great yet but I'll reserve my judgement until he has played a few more games. I think part of the problem is that he is trying too hard to impress.

Back on topic, I see BM has come to the defence of both Vickery and Achurch in the YEP. He for one obviously thinks some of the criticism is unfair.

Hard to criticise the players if they are found to be not up to Leeds standard. If that's the case the problem is one of recruitment. Presumably they are McDermott approved signings so it's only to be expected he'll be making defensive comments at this stage.

Anyone remember what the Leeds fans thought of Keith Senior after his first handful of games for Leeds?

Luckily, the coaches and administrators rarely listen to fans who are often too quick to rush to judgment.

Was that all Leeds fans ?

I were a fan of Keith Senior's style of play long before he arrived at Leeds and had not one doubt that he would soon win over any doubters.

I knew precisely nothing of Vickery prior to the opening round of SL 2013. What I've seen so far reminds me only of Rex Terp, Mark Wilkes and more recently Tom Bush and Michael Coady.

He appears to be a big strong unit (very much in the Senior mould) but thus far has shown nothing to suggest he'll make an impact. No pace, easily handed off by Percival which raises immediate question marks over his defensive technique - Opta recorded four misses last Friday - not that I'm a big fan of their work either.

Someone around now should really come up with a credible motivation for McD playing supposedly poor, supposedly Australian players ahead of supposedly good homegrown alternatives. Otherwise it's the judgement of a very successful coach v. some blokes on the internet. Hmmm....