What this illustrates is the quantity and quality of youngsters coming through at Wigan - that players of the quality of Russell and Hughes are deemed not good enough but can get a regular game in possibly the best team in SL.

Their academy is the best in SL and something that Leeds need to mirror if the depth of the squad is to be improved.

At Leeds he had limited options due to financial pressures, he also had a crop of incredibly talent youngsters and a club with limited expectations. The use of youth was much easier for him than say for McDermott where success is both needed and expected

Yea but Wigan just produce more players than we do, you must admit that he is more than ready to back a young player, either when someone leaves the club or when they have injuries. Unlike Mac who would rather play with no hooker than one from our academy.

Also if you look at someone like Gildart, he came into the team and was playing better than Gelling (a much more experienced player) so he KEPT his place, that rarely ever happens with Mcdermott
Even last week Mac decided to play Burrow and Mcguire instead of Lilly, now Lilly may not be playing amazingly, but he is the only proper organiser out of the the three, and we look a lot better in shape and structure when he is in the side

I think It says more about Mac that he didn't make a 19 year old kid play with injections.

Actually I forgot he was injured, but lets see if he plays this week, especially with how poor our short kicking game was against Fev

Doubt he'll play again this season unless needed and I can see him having some work done on his shoulder when the seasons finished.

So Jack Hughes, started as a 2nd row, then given the number 4 shirt at Wigan and converted to centre, goes on loan to Hudds and is played at 2nd row, voted their forward of the year and then is allowed to sign for a main rival and is going well again.....meanwhile Wigan sign Isa from Widnes and end up having to play Sutton, normally a prop, at 2nd row also.

If McDermott did that he'd be getting slagged off for a long time, but it's Wigan so it shows how great they do things.

Minns doesn't stay at Leeds in a position we have Watkins, Moon and Keinhorst and because he has an OK season at HKR who finished 11th and it's a massive oversight by McDermott to lose him.

Hughes is loaned out to Hudds and voted their forward of the year in a season they finish 3rd and now going strong for another title contender and they bring in Willie Isa and it's a great sign of how Wane and Wigan operate.

Yet he rushed Sutty back without a full pre-season & his weekly routine was re-hab -jabs -play repeat up until may.
He has woeful form with selecting injured players something he openly admits.

I wouldn't argue that wigan don't produce good players but I would question their ability to retain them. I suspect that were Leeds to produce a Jack Hughes, and his position wasn't filled by someone better, he'd be a first team regular and not plying his trade with warrington. Our approach does mean that players of lesser abilities do get released without getting the fair crack of the whip that some would prefer however.

Precisely. Trip to Fev, what's not to like? It's about as close to a non-super league fixture that involves Leeds as we're likely to see and was, I felt, a refreshing alternative to another trip to Plastic Park.

If we produced a Jack Hughes we would have to hope that some of the senior second rowers got injured, because otherwise he would never get a game anyway
If he did, there would be no conscious effort to improve his skills except getting him to bulk up

Stevie Ward would be commanding a place in the second row now, were he not injured. So I'm not sure your first point stands scrutiny. Granted, he is a far better player than Hughes though.

What skills would you like to see improved in our second rowers?

I have already mentioned that Ward has been an exception with Mac

Well just skills in general, I think Stevie Ward for example already was as skilful in the 19s as he is now, he has just bulked up so it is easier for him to break tackles, same with Watkins.

Ward specifically (if he stays at second row) could improve his line running to put himself through more gaps with late changes of direction at the line, if he does that then he will be Englands best back rower as it is the area he lags behind Whitehead and Farrell

More obvious areas in younger players are Golding and Handleys ability under the high ball, which was clearly a problem 2 years ago, but for some reason hasn't been properly addressed
Sutcliffe similarly could run and pass and grubber pretty well when he came through, but his last tackle options haven't improved since 2013 and if anything his ability to sum up an edge defence has got worse since last year

Which player has come through and actually improved in anyway except by just getting bigger?

Singleton is much improved from the biff and barge raw prop he was on debut.

Watkins as well, in my opinion if not yours, he now runs some nice lines, and has different ways of putting his winger away than the one handed flick he relied on early on.

On the completely different end of the scale I think Burrow has become a bit more nuanced in the 9 role, obviously can't fulfil the defensive side, but has some nice craft around dummy half, particularly close to the line.

I take your points many of which I agree with - one of the issues at Wigan is the sheer number of youngsters they produce and achieving the correct balance in the team. To do that they maybe have to make sacrifices in some areas and perhaps to accommodate Williams, Gildart, Sutton etc in the same side Hughes needed to be swapped out for Isa?

The other thing about Wigan they probably have another couple of Hughes' in the wings a luxury that Leeds simply don't have.