What do you mean by he tore it up 'apart from 2015'? Zak would be an even better player if he put some lean mass on. He was found out to a certain extent in the NRL where he was dominated in the tackle to a much greater degree than in Super League.

It's really not nonsense at all. This is what young professional athletes do in order to compete. Ashton himself recently said he needs to add lean mass.

Golding always looked young rather than small to me. I don't think he will have a problem growing in to his body.

Good luck to the lad, very young for a starting fullback and whilst he has always been highly thought of at leeds, this shows just how highly.

I agree. I wish it wasn't the case because I think the size of the players is a big factor behind the amount of injuries, but I agree it's necessary.
Having said that, Leeds are very careful as to when they get the young players to start "bulking up". They generally wait until they're over the age of 19.

Yep, it's definitely something that they've got to manage well, and I think Leeds do generally, Stevie Ward and Liam Sutcliffe being good recent examples despite both having serious injuries.

I don't want to derail a thread I started but where does this leave us for goal kicking. If Golding is to get a start at 1 surely Lilley, Sutcliffe or Aston have to play the 80?

Kallum Watkins kicker extraordinaire



Can't see Sutcliffe out of the 13 so it'll either be

1 - Golding - 6 - McGuire - 7 - Sutcliffe with Burrow on the bench

Or

1 - Sutcliffe - 6 - McGuire - 7 - Burrow
Whether he'd then put Golding on the bench who knows but I don't think just because he's got the 1 shirt it's a guarantee he'll be first choice when the season starts as I think part of the reason he got it is because Sutcliffe will be given either the 6 or 7 shirt in the near future.

I'd have thought with Golding in at 1, Sutcliffe is probably pencilled in in the halves next to a hopefully fit McGuire.

Does Aston kick goals? Obviously Lilley does but might not be first choice 17. Beyond that I suppose Watkins is the emergency option.

pretty sure the article I read about us signing Aston said he was a "prolific goal kicker" ? Maybe a dreamed it.

This is from the Rhinos website

The Sheffield-born scrum half has played 69 games for the Eagles in the Championship since making his debut back in 2013 as an 18-year-old. He has amassed an impressive 31 tries and was part of the Sheffield side which reached the Qualifiers in 2015. He is also a talented goal kicker having kicked 93 goals for the Eagles last season.

It's fair to say he can kick a goal.

Fair do's I'd only seen him play a couple of times in the middle 8s and always thought Brambani kicked goals when he was at Sheffield.

Still unlikely to start the season as first choice so I'd have thought Sutty is the front runner for goal kicking duties.

Yep agreed, which would point to Sutty n Mags in the halves, which is still a better option the Mags n Burrow imo.

If Aston can do the basics well, organise, give us Some direction and kick goals this could be a pretty shrewd move.

Assuming we don't sign anyone else my main concern is the mental fragility that was exposed last year - the excuses and non-stop cobblers suggested very much a coach and squad that did virtually anything except take individual responsibility for how things went (in that respect Hardaker wasn't much worse than anyone else). Its easy to take collective blame and hence carp on about working hard in training to put things right, or for BM to put his hand up at the end of the year and admit to messing some things up when its too late to make any difference.

Given 2016 as a backdrop, its not hard to envisage almost a carbon-copy of this season if we lose a few games early. Its utterly ridiculous that a team of pro sportsmen, including some of the most decorated in the history of the game, are so mentally feeble.

Without any experienced signing it all looks a bit 'hit and hope' for 1, 6 and 7 - three of the four most important positions in the sport. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a lot of fluidity in those positions, particularly early on, as hand on heart nobody can really say what the best combination is.

I hope we've signed him because we think he can make it. His dad was a very underrated smart halfback - he and Powell were much better than a lot of combinations Leeds have used through the years.

I don't think we were mentally fragile last year. We were physically fragile.

Fair enough mate, but a Saints fan has posted the Saints team on another thread and even in my reserved optimism for our chances next year, i find it hard to find too many players i would swap with ours if you did a like for like comparison on the starting 17's.

I don't. They are very overrated, only got four last year due to our no show season and Catalans mid season collapse, Saints late season show of firm flattered to deceive. Think we can make the top four.

We need to support the kid - give him a chance and some time. Sutcliffe is not a fullback and needs to find his true position (he was only ever a stop gap at FB). Maybe if people don't think Sutty has the game to be our answer at stand off they should consider the 2nd row.

Could the same not be said of Leeds - much optimism is based on victories over Wigan and Hull?

Saints have a better starting 17 and more depth in their youngsters - time will tell

It's to be expected IMO. Our current situation pretty much mirrors that of many an aspiring team. Yes, we have decorated players. We also have many others who aren't, some of debatable quality. So where lies the difference between us and others who have, over the years, signed NRL GF winners, SOO veterans, ex-GF winners to bolster a mixed bag of local talent? We might be Leeds, multiple GF winners etc, but we're very much trying to scrabble our way up a greasy pole at the moment.

I’m no expert but with the right conditioning he could be up to the job physically. Some of the best players in the world are on the small side. Until his latest mishap with the Bolivian marching powder Ben Barba showed you can be a small bloke and stand out amongst the giants.

Having seen the lad develop over the past couple of seasons, he does seem to be blossoming into a good player. He has skills, and plenty of spirit. Of course, all this has been in the Championship, and SL is a different proposition, but I would say he is worth a go and could well turn out to be a better prospect for next season than one or two of your ageing half backs - brilliant players that they have been.

Is this not a bit of ego stroking for the kid? Surely sutty will be our starting fb otherwise what was the point of last season?

Suspect this is a ploy to keep Golding interested while he plays for fev.

Otherwise you then have mags, burrow, sutty, lilley and aston as halves. What is the point of signing Aston?

But then I am trying to second guess McD.

Tricksy he is.

Burrow will revert to an interchange player. Sutty and Mags in the halves. Golding at fullback. That leaves Lilley and Aston as cover. If we could get them both playing at Fev perhaps they could build a partnership which could carry into the 1st team long term.

But then again that's me trying to second guess Mac.