3 Loose Forwards

Quote: Fallon "We would we ship him off? I think he's contracted for another two years (or is it just 1)? Either way he still has a lot to offer. Ok, defensively they accommodate him but every player has pros and cons - McGuire is petulant remember
Apologies, I was going to write a much longer post but work called and what I eventually wrote comes across as an attack on Burrow. As far as I know he is contracted until the end of 2017 and I would like to see him playing for Leeds for those two years and then move on to coach the next generation of Leeds players.

The issue is that Burrow doesn't seem to have a defined role in the team. He's not a first choice half back anymore but is excellent cover, far better cover than most teams have. He also isn't a conventional hooker, he can't put it in the defensive workload required of the position his passing from dummy half isn't quite as crisp as a specialist hooker. His size and speed does allow him to regularly beat the markers and create half breaks though. Reading interviews with him he also doesn't see himself as a hooker and is merely doing a job for us. This would suggest that he is now a back up player however he is consistently in the matchday seventeen.

This strategy is working for us at the moment as Burrow's pace is a powerful attacking option from the ruck against tired defences which outweighs the need for others to put in the tackles for him for roughly half the game. However if Falloon goes down with a long injury then Burrow will have to do the full 80 for a number of weeks putting massive strain on our forwards to do the defensive duties of another man. Also if the interchanges are reduced from ten to eight then this problem will be exacerbated and could spell the end of the interchange hooker role all together. Finally at Burrow's age (33) there's an ever increasing chance that his pace could dry up which would nullify his main strength as his size is not useful without speed as the gaps he can hit will be closed before he gets there.

I would like it if Burrow took a step back in 2017 and took on more of a mentor role, providing us with good cover for the half backs and hooker whilst allowing us to develop the likes of Lilley and Brady (and O'Brien from the Bulls if the rumours are true). I accept this is unlikely to happen though as Falloon is only on a one year deal so planning in advance with the hooking role is difficult.

To reiterate I do like Burrow, he has been one of my favourite players over the last few years and still has a lot to offer especially from a coaching perspective. He is a natural leader and when on form and used correctly can be a game winner. However with the way the game is changing and the talent coming through Burrow is in a bit of a strange place and we can't expect him to be an automatic pick in the seventeen.

Then again what do I know? I thought McGuire was finished in 2014