Ryan Hall in the centres.

Ryan Hall in the centres.

Zacs coach at Fev Darryl Powell did an interview with YEP towards the end of last season and he said then he sees him as a SO in the future and he also has a decent kicking game and is a usefull goal kicker aswell apparently.
If you watch the GF when we make a break on the 5th tackle towards the end of the match he takes a pass from Webb and puts a cracking kick into the in goal area that forces a drop out and he did it on the run at full speed.
Now of course it could of been lucky but he seemed to be intent on doing that and pulled it off.
Fwiw i'm happy to see him in the 13 and think wherever he's picked he'll do a good job and become a great player over-all for us.
In terms of Stevie Ward i think he'll eventually take Sinfileds place as a creative 13 and Luke Briscoe is a FB/SO but he was gonna get a run out at SO on Boxing Day before he got injured so who knows but my money is on him covering the SO especially if the likes of Jimmy Watson and Josh Sunley become the players their potential suggests they could be.

Is a centre that can put the odd cheeky kick in such an issue? I think he's got the mindset and skill to make any position his own. If he wants to play for England it's probably an easier route at centre with our apparant lack of English quality than it is at SO.

The youthful back line excites me, Hardacker and Watkins in the centres, with the now seasoned Hall and pacey BJB on the wings makes for one of the youngest and fastest in the League. But their inexperience will cost us on a couple of occasions and they’ll need the forwards to step it up a little to cover their greenness.

Hauraki didn’t impressed me at the start of last year and I times I though he was a defensive liability but towards the end of the year he started to really improve +on boxing day he was a contender for my MoM. If he can continue with his upward turn then he’ll be the player we all hoped he would be. Also Delaney has proved himself to be a much better back rower than centre and a continued stint there will only improve him.

I was massively underwhelmed with the singing of Moore but may end up eating my words if he can perform consistently in the same manner as he did after Christmas. The same could be said, to a lesser extent, of Griffin.

But… the player I’m most looking forward to seeing play at the top level is Stevie Ward – if this lad can live up to the hype and get a couple of first team appearances under his belt then he has a very bright future indeed, a young Sinny in the making.

Hardaker for me! Gonna be a gun for the next 10 years!

Kirke coming in third so far

Paul McShane for me, to see if he can make an impact
and show us the player he really can be.
i have watched him for many years play at junior level for parkside
and the rhinos junior and senior teams i think he will take the opportunity
he's been given with both hands and really kick on and establish himself
as our first choice 9 for many years to come, some fans i talk to seem to be writing him
off already saying hood will be first choice in no time, but i feel paul will show us all the talent he has.

I think all the back line is very exciting and we have lots of good quality youngsters coming through.

I know it was only a friendly but Moore looked a better Player than I had given him credit for. And weller Hauraki looked very good boxing day and will be interesting to see how he goes. He did look much improved the second half of last year and certainly from the friendly showing looked to have kicked on again

I think you've taken that comment out of context i was merely highlighting in response to the question about his kicking game.
I think that example shows that he does have the mind-set to use a kicking game and pull it off with success.

Yeah, after reading what I wrote again, it didn't come out at all like I meant.

What was actually in my head that seen as he is probably one of the best English centres in the league should we keep him there even though he could possibly do the job at SO/FB to the same standard? Or is this a waste of a player that could be in a play making role? Would it be beneficial to have a play making centre?

I voted Watkins but could just as easily voted Hardaker. It'll be very interesting for Leeds and English RL if these two can live up to their potential in the centres.

I hope Leeds stick with them.

Hard to disagree with the prevailing view that Watkins and Hardaker are the most exciting prospect as a centre pairing. English centres (or lack thereof) being one of my favourite hobbyhorses, I hope they can both live up to their obvious potential. If they do, 2013 could yet be even more exciting than 2012.

I'd describe myself as more cautiously excited at what McShane might do. Another player with clear potential. THe pressure on a young player at 9 is even greater than at 3 or 4 though, as he will be expected to be a pivot for the whole team. I think expectations need to be managed and he has to be allowed to learn on the job this year.

I hope Stevie Ward gets some game time, and maybe some loan time too. I would probably see him as the one to watch for 2013.

Some of the established players also finished the season in fine form, so I'm looking forward to seeing whether that can be carried on. Was any winger in the 4N clearly better than Ryan Hall? I don't think so myself. JJB and Sinfield were also impressive in large part during the international season. Also keen to see the continued development of BJB. His reading of the game should improve with time and experience.