I’m not totally disagreeing with you Matts. You’re looking at team performances as a homogenous thing; what I’m saying is that it’s not the be all and end all at junior grades to win all the time, because realistically you might have only 1 or 2 players from an entire intake make the grade.

I.e. the most important thing is that we have a couple of genuine potential first graders in a given year, ideally. If their colleagues aren’t as good then the team will lose.

Your view around the lack of quality in coaching and development - it does look valid on face value and maybe it is a problem as you say.

A million factors can derail youngsters from success: some lads mature far earlier and look world beaters at 15, and then very ordinary when their peers catch up physically. Girls, booze, attitude all have big parts to play. Generally junior scouts tend to over-focus on attack rather than D in my view. Lots of players look okay going forward but don’t have the grit for defence.

I share lots of frustrations with the errors and lack of cohesion the teams seem to show mate. The big caveat again is what impact playing younger-age players has on that. One year at that age makes a big difference to size and strength, and it shows in results. But also that could be an excuse - I don’t know enough about the set up or behind the scenes.

And your looking at team performance as having no bearing on how players are developing, when the reality is that its the best indicater, both individual and collective..

Iv been pretty clear regarding the mitigation of many 1st years playing in the academy and how next year really needs to be the year that the talent shows on the field, im pretty sure you have responded to those posts Jim. But those first years are already showing bad habits in games that wernt previously there

A million factors can also be present at other clubs...So why, over a sustained period, do Wigan and Saints not suffer from the same pitfalls...Coaching, Development and environment would be my opinion. Are Leeds scouts the only ones who focus on attack rather than D? If so, why dosnt that show up in Scholarship games?

Best crop in 20 year is a bold statement from the club, one i happen to agree with, we're not just talking 1 or 2 in a group of less talented... but the results on the field dont show it. Results, and performance, on the field are determined by a group of talented players being developed and coached well...1 win in 7 this year jim, from grand final winners 2 year ago when Butteril got involved for a year (no coincidence) and to your point about age, a grand final won with many first years playing regularly, to finishing mid table the year after under Smith, with many of the same players, a year older and more physically developed, but looked 3 year less mentally developed with half the toughness or resilience...Sometimes facts, maybe dont confirm, but can back up an opinion

We bring enough talented players through the door that a couple will always make the first team squad every year or 2, that dosnt necessarily mean they have been developed well

Fair enough and now many of that academy winning side from 2 years ago are now in first grade at Leeds?

I think six of that squad are still at Leeds with the usual couple per age group in with a shout if making it.

Point is the majority of that winning team have already left Leeds.

Again, I don’t disagree the coaching doesn’t seem to be yielding the right performances this season.

Not as many as there should be because their development was then stalled under Smith

Point being, a poor coach can take the wind out of a players development and progress

Riley Lumb made his senior debut on the wing for Halifax yesterday, winning MOM in a 0-46 loss

It would be good if he could get a run of games there, if not here with all our injuries

He is a player I think could make the grade, but he's way too light at the moment.

Good win for the Academy today, against a pretty good Hull team.

Plenty of first years playing again and among the try's, hopefully a confidence builder and they kick on from here

Anyone going to Stanningley today?

Good to see George Brown back at the club and playing tonight, another really talented half who was with us through Scholarship but went the RU route when his team mates, the current 1st years, joined the Academy

Good result again there Matts - Brown came across well on his interview as well.

I have to say been increasingly impressed with Zak Lloyd, I really like the look of him in the back row.

Zak Lloyd is very good, always been regarded as a special talent, that can obviously change Plenty from u13's etc, but so far, he's progressing as expected, the position the club chose for him was always going to be interesting, he was the best player in Yorkshire playing centre, fullback and 6 coming through at Siddal.

As good as some of the talents are in the first year Academy group, and they are very good and very deep, Lloyd and Jacob Hardy, from our second year scholarship group, could very well be 2 of the best 3 talents in the whole system, along with Cassell, Harvey Butterworth is the third in the same intake as Hardy and Lloyd who's a top talent

Brown played his community rugby with Harley Thomas at Dewsbury Celtic, always had as good a show and go as you'l see, great talent to get back into the club and RL, and like you say, came across very well in his interview, mature beyond his years

Lloyd seems to have everything, is he still 16 do you know?

Cassell is another obvious potential first grader as you say; we have a clutch of talented but slightly small outside backs too.

We aren’t going to struggle at back row or centre for a good while. I quite like Brown and Wade White too. Stelfox has some potential as well from the one time I’ve seen him play.

I’d like to see better defensive technique from some; I think at junior grades everyone gets excited about good runners but it’s only half the game. It’s one reason you can sense Cassell will make it because he has aggression and technique in D already. Interesting times.