With all this talk of the speed of half backs, does anybody actually have any timings of the current crop over a distance compared to the likes of Burrow and Mcguire ten years ago? A significant difference may be that the relative speed of other players has increased more than the backs. Most people acknowledge the pace of the game has increased across the park so to keep the same speed difference between backs and forwards would not be possible.

When Mcguire and Burrow first made their appearances, they were still playing against other players who will have started their careers who started as semi-pros with other occupations and even much more recently (and still probably going on) we have seen full time players become full time profesionals. I would be supprised if there were more than a handful of players now who havent come up through the ranks who have had to take on other jobs to make ends meet.

Over the years backs have got relatively slower or others have got relatively faster and the game has once again reached a point where all half-backs can no longer rely on speed as much as they have previously been able to do and over the next five years we will see another shift in the way the game is played.

Quote: Bang "Is Sutcliffe at the touch screen available to watch online anywhere? I've looked on the Sky Sports app where they usually put them on but it's not on for some reason?'" www.skysports.com/watch/video/sp ... s-paid-off I agree that he's not exactly the best one Sky have had on but they often go for an older more experienced guy (Wilkin the other week for example). He is still young and might well not be as comfortable in front of the camera. I'd imagine if McGuire did the same at that age he'd come across differently to how he would present day.

Quote: Bang "Is Sutcliffe at the touch screen available to watch online anywhere? I've looked on the Sky Sports app where they usually put them on but it's not on for some reason?'" www.skysports.com/watch/video/sp ... s-paid-off I agree that he's not exactly the best one Sky have had on but they often go for an older more experienced guy (Wilkin the other week for example). He is still young and might well not be as comfortable in front of the camera. I'd imagine if McGuire did the same at that age he'd come across differently to how he would present day.

Of course. I remember seeing the short brief interviews from superstars of the football world like Beckham, Rooney, Gerrard etc... when they were just starting out and they were cringeworthy at best, mumbling a few words and looking down but you look at them 5, 10 years down the line and they come across so differently. I don't see the point in SKY putting the inexperienced lads in front of the lens straight after the game, should be an elder statesmen every time.

Kicking near the line is the rugby equivalent of giving a monkey a computer. Eventually it will pay off if you try it enough.

Thanks Printer.

Agreed, seven in four games is nothing to boast about but in Sutcliffe's defence McGuire will have had the primary duty V Warrington prior to his injury when he was also limping around and it's true that Leeds' last tackle plays have had an off the cuff air around them for some time.

It's important to transfer what is presumably practised at training out on to the pitch come matchday