Yes they slag our players off until they sign for them

I don't rate Kirke at all and am one that has made it quite clear over the last couple of seasons.I don't see myself as a 'sheep' as you put it.i make my own judgments on what i see on the field of play and during his time at the club i really do fail to see what he brings and that still remains the case imo unfortunately as much as i want him to prove me wrong.

Yes he has been selected as a bench player in most of our big games over the years but i fail to really recall any real impact or anything of any significance he has brought to any of those games aside from being a 10 minute or so stop gap while Kylie or JP rest up.The biggest compliment i can pay him here is that i also don't recall him making a mistake in any of those games which is maybe the reason why those coaches tend to stick by him in big games as opposed to the likes of Singleton or Achurch, who knows?

Maybe you're overreading it and he's just shy? I'd be very surprised if he was an avid reader of Southstander. If he was I doubt he'd be able to resist offering one or two of the posters out.

I've not seen anything so far in singleton to suggest he is anything other than a championship quality player and certainly not enough to displace Kirke. But he is still young. As Achurch is a back rower he needs to up his game to replace Delaney Jjb and ablett. Not Kirke.
Kirke may struggle to get a game next year with cuthbertson arriving anyway.

Throughout the history there has always been a long serving player who people used to 'not rate' 'don't know what the coach see's in him'etc

Our success over the last ten years has been built on a team ethic. If Kirke wasn't adding something to that, he'd be gone.

I've always said that...why would the coaches pick him otherwise...they know better than most of us.

Oh its been mentioned...........

in a salary capped sport each team has to have it's Kirkes. The problems come when they get ideas above their station, Kirke has never gone down that route.

He's got a drawer full of rings and medals and he seems on good terms with the rest of the players.He really had no need to look sheepish when he held the cup

To think about Kirke another way, he'll probably go down in history as the best ever career squad player. He's achieved more winners medals than the likes of Mike Bennett (Saints), Ricky Bibey etc, and he's outlasted the likes of Chris Feather, Simon Worrall, Liam Botham, Wayne MacDonald etc in this golden period of Leeds history.

It's a shame he does not seem to impose himself on the game as much as he used to - remember his heroic efforts chasing down wingers in the past? I suspect the low work rate on attack comes down to tactical reasons - Leeds have limited possession and we want our most dangerous players to have the ball in hand more often. Kirke offers more safety than someone like Achurch in this respect. He's played in countless big games before, knows the players and structures, and won't let us down on the whole. His selection is more of an indictment of the contributions of the likes of Achurch, Ward and Clarkson so far this season IMO, who have all failed to cement regular spots in the first 17.

Kirke is dependable - he knows his limitations and doesn't try to play beyond them which means he rarely fekks-up.

Considering his job is to make the numbers up while JP or Kylie grab a breather, he does it well. He has a reasonable defence and a not so reasonable attack which means his influence on a game is neutral. We have a bench player that doesn't swing the balance either way, so if we're winning BMcD can bring JP off, stick Kirke out there in his place, safe in the knowledge that he'll hold the fort until JP is ready to come back on.

His job is similar to the 'seat fillers' they have at the Oscars that drop into a vacant seat whenever a celeb is collecting an award so that there are no gaps in the audience.

Someone must have had a word with Kirke hes talking a bit more upbeat in todays YEP ,He wants a WCC winners medal.Good for him

He is a bit like the Daryl Powell of his day

DA-Sorry mate Kirke never will be the "Daryl Powell" of his day either skill wise or effectiveness.