Possibly yes. I'd give you that one. Albeit it would be a unique situation with effectively an inside view of both clubs

But how much did they also pay for Learmonth and his salary. Currie could easily have tuned out the same.

btw His agent is/was "show me the money"

I seem to recall Baldwinson/a family member calling the offer they got from Leeds "derisory" when they were explaining his decision to go to NZ......fast forward a few months later and he comes back with his tail between his legs and accepts an offer from the same club, which more than likely won't have been any different to what they previously offered.

For all the talk of players could end up going to Saints or Wigan, it does often now seem to be that they head to Wire.......I wonder why???

You said there was no difference between the two. When there is. Money is a part of the whole deal, it isn't the deal itself. The monetary offer can be lower if you offer more in the rest of the deal. And vice-versa.

So was it the money or the whole deal that got the likes of Sinfield etc here? You've already said we're not offering the rates of pay we used to. If we're also not offering the rest of the deal how did we get Cam Smith?

The fact of the matter is there was only really Leeds, Saints and Wigan (with the odd raid from Bradford) vying for younger players in the past, now we have Leeds, Saints, Wigan, Warrington, Huddersfield and NRL clubs sniffing around the most talented British players. We're not going to get them all. Nor did we 15/10/5 years ago. We got a few talented players and put faith in them alongside some talented existing players from other clubs. That seems to be what we have right now too.

What you really need to know is how many didn't sign for Leeds that could have done but didn't like the terms, the set up etc. Daryl Clark would be an obvious one. Leeds haven't produced a real top quality youngster since Watkins - that would suggest they aren't getting the intake correct?

So what have Leeds got to offer that is so much better than the likes of Wigan/Saints/Warrington?

.

What have those teams got to offer more than Leeds, given that the 'path blocked by the golden generation' thing is coming to an end?

I also thought Sutcliffe and Ward and to an extent Singleton were touted as quality youngsters?

That wasn't the point, the point that was raised that Leeds had more to offer than any other club - what is it. One thing it isn't is better coaching. The facilities maybe, playing with better players - as Leeds don't appear to win the academy championship these days that's also a no. Path to the first team - you can't say either. Ward's path to the first team isn't blocked by a golden generation player its a very average ex NRL player.

On Cameron Smith you are potentially talking about a Sinfield/McGuire/Watkins quality of junior with the best will in the world you would not put Sutcliffe/Ward/Singleton in that category

I've 4 lads from my U15s who are with leeds and others that are with Fev and Wakey. One clear message leeds did send at the point of invitation was that players who were offered a scholarship with leeds and turn it down wouldn't be offered again further down the line. I can see why they do this as they want juniors committed to the desire to play for leeds and in a sense the players have to chose leeds as their opportunities in the future would decrease.

Just a thought on this offer of education as part of the 'package'... Although obviously good for life after RL / if they don't make the grade, might there be a part of this that is about making sure the kids don't bail out?

If you sign a youngster on a deal that gives them a 'free' 3 year uni course, however much they might get fed up or their head turned by other clubs, are you actually subversively tying them to the club as presumably if the leave, their education ceases too?

Plus as well, I suspect Leeds Beckett will be subsidising the degrees rather than the Rhinos 'paying' the costs - what with Leeds Beckett being one of the sponsors. It means Leeds potentially get people more committed and staying longer on potentially lower wages, whilst Leeds Beckett also get extra attention as 'another' young Rhino studies part-time with them and eventually graduates.

Nothing wrong at all offering the education - very good actually - however I had been studying part-time at university in Leeds the last few years and part of the downside in doing so was that once I had started, I'd have massively shot myself in the foot from a financial and time perspective to then give it up to move elsewhere before finishing the course itself.

I do mean 'scholarship' as in the playing and coaching sense and not education. I'm not certain of attached educational offers as I'm sure this concerns players at 17+. I've worked with players who were on with the 19s at Leeds who did not pursue additional education but know that leeds are focused on developing the person and academy players are also exposed to the 'real life working world' in order to prepare them and develop an appreciation of their privileged position.