This.

Are people forgetting he is 19? he will have bad games, make errors and bad reads, he is learning his trade. On the one hand people on here call for the youngsters to be played then when one is he gets bagged after a relatively poor performance.

Interesting as a Fev fan to see a few comments along the lines of players being "sent" to Fev. I always had the impression that we were offered players on a weekly basis, and indeed that seems to be backed up by the fact that Fev fans were told at a forum last year that we had turned down Leeds players on occasions (in fact a couple of your lads ended up going out on loan to other clubs).

To be honest I think that's why the arrangement has worked out so well - both clubs always state that they have a very good understanding with each other, and Fev coaches have always been very complimentary about the commitment and attitude of Leeds players playing on DR. I can literally only think of 1, maybe 2 occasions when I've felt a Leeds DR player's heart wasn't truly in it. I don't think that would be the case if players were being "sent" to Fev as if it were some sort of punishment.

We get loads of grief on forums from other Championship fans about being Fev Rhinos etc but to be honest I think a lot of that is jealousy and frustration that their own DR relationships haven't worked out so well. Some Championship teams have been badly messed about by their DR partners but that really doesn't seem to be the case between Fev and Leeds.

Is Gary Connolly is around?

Just out of interest, where did you read about the Rhinos being open to offers?

Yes, I think Merrin will be most effective at loose forward similar to when we had Marc Glanville tidying things up in that position. As you say we need some effective props to be able to accomodate that.

Merrin & Cam Smith sharing duties at 13 sounds ideal to me.

One that no-one seems to have mentioned is the failure to send Marshall to the sin bin after he held down to concede a penalty when the Wigan defence were in disarray. Professional foul & the sin-bin should have automatically followed.

Yep I saw that at the time. IIRC it was just after a lolohea interception when the ball moved in field.

It's in League Express but all players are contracted and quite simply if an offer comes in and players says he doesn't want to go there is nothing team can do.

Cuthbo has been good for Leeds on and off the field but let's be honest, he's finished. Parcell looks unmotivated and uninterested, Mullally and Golding aren't going to play by looks. I can't see teams queuing up with offers.

The salary cap is one thing, money is another. If Leeds really wanted rid of some players they could leave without a fee, and we would buy a junior from the same team at a vastly inflated price to “pay” for the first year salary of the former Leeds player.

But if the contracted player says no what can you do? I'm sure all the players mentioned can leave for nothing.

Painful as it might be on the field, it is right that the club honours its commitments, it's not the players' fault the club signed them up is it?
I would be surprised if any of these mentioned are still with us in 2020, possible exception of Golding.
Ferres is an interesting one for me; I'm guessing he's on good money and when he's fit he's probably worth it. But what do the club do if he's having a good season this year, given the previous two?

Well Ryan Bailey managed it for years blowing hot n cold. Hot when his contract was up, cold when he didn't have to put it in. I for one really hope Ferres turns it around, early signs are positive but hes just cursed with injuries.

I get your point and the approach isn’t very ”humanitarian”, but the answer is you tell them they will sit in the stands and not play, meaning their value to their next employer might not be what it is now.

It's not about "humanitarianism", it's about decency and professionalism I would suggest. The culture of the club/organisation is more important than expedience because we made some errors of judgement. As a club we need to take our medicine and get on with it.
Leeds built an unprecedented era of success on developing a culture which produced a winning side. You don't get that by stiff-arming employees when it suits you IMO.
The old mistakes will be washed out of the system in another season or two, to be replaced by brand new mistakes no doubt!