Yes, a slower and worse defending Brent Webb is what I was thinking...

McLelland played very well for the 19s yesterday. A few more like that and we’ll see him in first grade at some point I’m sure. Myler does have a nice pass on him and made a try saving tackle out of nowhere, but was lucky not to get sin binned earlier in the game I thought.

Mclelland is a far more willing and able defender than the other options. He certainly couldn’t be any worse either

I’m not convinced on Donaldson yet. He plays desperate, which is admirable, but makes desperation mistakes too sometimes. What I do like is his ticker and tiger, and particularly team tackling with big Mik tonight they made some dents in Wakey.

Wakefield fan coming in peace.

I don't understand the options at 6.
Clearly hindered you tonight.

I'd have thought even playing Watkins there and putting Sutcliffe to centre was better than the option tonight.
I think Sutcliffe is pretty good but not at SR. You guys see him more than me but he looks like a player without a position to me.
No offense meant to Smith. He's clearly a good player but 6 at Leeds is a big shirt to fill.

Once that is sorted I think you'll be fine this year.

Its a difficult one, do we persist with the current team as they have in fairness shown glimpses of what they can do or do we change it up, I would be temted to give mclleland a go and also rest/drop Watkins for next week and give Newman a chance?

I’m not a coach but our right hand side shape looks all wrong to me. Because the second row and / or 6 is out of position, it’s exposing Watkins who isn’t fit or in form yet, and opposition teams have quickly worked this out and are having a field day down that side.

If we have a six who positions correctly more often, it might help keep our line better. Watkins keeps jamming in because he doesn’t trust his inside defender to be there or make the tackle, leaving gaps on the outside.

I actually think Briscoe has been in really good form so far this year, but he can’t defend against 2 and 3 attackers every time.

Both wingers have gone well so far IMO

Good luck to you guys this year by the way, I’d like to see Trinity shake it up a bit, you deserve some success. A well-built and cohesive side on a budget.

Tui has been going OK at 6 except in D. We really tried to protect him tonight. How that works with one of your star signings long-term I don’t know, and if he can’t defend by this stage in his career you’d have to wonder.

We have problems. Again.

Depends how long Walker is out for. We have played pretty well with Lolohea at 6, although we still need to sort out how we’re defending with him, the second row and Watkins together.
If Walker is still out, we could try Sutcliffe at 1 because he’s not doing much in the pack yet. Think he’s had one good game in 5 so far.
McLelland AND Newman gives us yet another right hand combination, and they’re both young lads. Get a Tupou running at them and they’ll struggle even if they get better positioned...
Watkins looked injured in that second half so he may miss out anyway.
Tupou’s comments after the game were interesting; plan was to get between Watkins and Briscoe. I think that’s at
least in part to expose Watkins laterally because he’s not fully mobile or confident on the knee yet (as well as getting caught in two minds with what his inside defender is up to).

Yes Handley has been alright, some nice finishing and plenty of enthusiasm. Again, not our biggest problem even if he’s not a “top” winger.

We were killed by their numbers 6,7 and 9, pace in their centres and on each wing, credit to them they played very well, and have recruited well.
To play our stand off at FB,it cut down our attacking options, Cam Smithis not a number 6 , should have left our stand off at number 6 and move sutcliffe to full back. So disappointed tonight it's like last season not much spark going forward and unable to defend well, our right hand side is poor in defence, KW needs time out to get fit, it's so obvious he is out of form but our coach keeps picking him. It's a shame but we ain't going to get better quickly, this is a long term job, after 4 games in I hope the confidence hasn't gone.
Good news , the view from the North stand is brilliant, great seats, plenty of room, brilliant, all we need is the team to get some form.
Keep the faith

Im 50/50 on Watkins, how’s he supposed to get match fot without playing but can we afford to carry him unril he gets match fit?

As hard as it is for some fans unfortunately we are rebuilding and it's going to take time and we will all need to be patient. We played well the previous 2 weeks and tonight was a big step backwards. That's a sign we aren't good enough but despite the disappointment tonight I do feel we're going in the right direction but ultimately the halves and forwards aren't good enough at this moment in time but we all knew that at the start of the year.

Lolohea isn't fit enough but it was nice seeing him in his best position tonight and he gave the final pass on all 4 tries. He's not a 6 unfortunately for me.

Think young Ash Handley is doing a nice job for us so far this year.

The pack, as most have said for weeks, is too small and leaderless really and was well beaten by a much bigger pack tonight.

Furner needs time and there will be some rocky nights to come but things will come good again. Leeds is too strong a club for it not to. Get these kids coming thru it's a priority.

Im 50/50 on Watkins, how’s he supposed to get match fot without playing but can we afford to carry him unril he gets match fit?

I dunno. When the going is tough, really the senior players should be there doing the digging. We have a fair few international-experienced players, they just need to play better, basically.

We are going to lose games while some players are finding fitness or form, or where we have young lads who aren’t physically able to match it with seasoned pros.

It’s a tough place to be at Leeds with expectations high and scrutiny intense, but on the other hand this is the third year out of four where we’re regularly getting beaten by clubs with much fewer resources than Leeds are blessed with.