Why should we give Senior any role? Why not Pitts, Manning (if returns), Clarkson and Stewart for the second row?

This is the problem with Sentimality, we give a position to someone for the sake of it. Make Senior earn his spot, rather than what we have had this year.

Bluey has already said they are always looking about for players but they keep that very private. I strongly suspect GH and Bluey have been scouring about for a couple of months now. Just because there is nothing in the Media doesn't mean there aint anything in the pipeline....

Does Bluey now regret letting Tansey go? Tansey can do a good job at stand off. He has his flaws but so does every utility back.

All in all some serious thoughts need to be processed during the next week or so and im very confident GH and Bluey have everything covered.

I don't think now that he's signed on for next year that Bluey will just discard him mate and i think we might aswell make use of him and the idea of him playing SR with Watkins at LC would help Watkins settle into the role easier.
It's only an idea and i would'nt just hand it to him and say that's your spot now just that would be where i would look to use him.

Out of interest did anyone see the highlights of the Conference GF yesterday? Didn't Senior coach that Underbank side? does he still?

Just wondering because there was a left centre in that side, who was a distinct similar look to Senior. And it appeared he had been coached straight out of the Senior manual, resulting in a late late try for Warrington to win the game. You know just leaving things defensivly for his team mates to deal with.

Wonder if he will also become Super Leagues Greatest Ever Centre?

I doubt he would be playing Conference if he was. I said he had a distinct similarity, which would suggest his time has gone.

Were there many needless penalties given away in that game?

I'm just wondering what inpsired Buderus.

Gotcha, I'm with you 100% on making any player earn their spot.

The problem may be that the standard at which reserve grade is played may simply not be high enough. Perhaps a series of good performances at that level is not enough to persuade McClennan that a player should be promoted.

I live too far way to take in reserve team football so would be interested to hear from those who do re their opinions on this theory.

He wasn't involved when they came down to play us. I didnt see the final but know exactly who you mean. Good strong player who was certainly their go-to man

I think the centre problems are that we lack something in both. delaney is not a big threat going forward, and Senior is struggling in defence. Delaney coupled with Senior of a few years ago wouldn't be an issue, but I think as both our centres are struggling its more apparent.

I think we need to see what Delaney does for us next year.

People cite Wire's centres as the best, but King took 2 years to show anything like decent form, and still isn't guarunteed a centre berth, and being unable to pass to his winger has not done Ryan Atkins much harm.

That's a fair point.

Hard one to judge.

This year he has supplied his winger with alot of final ball. Plenty of assists have come from him this year.

Didn't he go last year without one assist?

So it's probably half improvement and half playing for a better side which will give him quality ball and the volume of it as well.

But he has deffo took a huge step forward in feeding his winger, like all good centres should do.

Gotcha - a look at what the left wingers for Leeds this season have contributed in terms of tries compared to the right should give you an idea of what Senior adds that Delaney doesn't, even if it's only being enough of a threat to act as a decoy.

Hate to say I told you so about Delaney, but I did. He's a big unit in the Chris McKenna mould with limited attacking threat. If anyone should be playing in the pack it's him rather than Senior.

The OP goes a little over the top in his assessment, but fundamentally he's right. This Leeds squad is getting to the end of its shelf life in a number of positions and plans need to be made to rectify that situation. The mass re-signing in the middle of the season smacked of a "vote of confidence" similar to that given by football chairmen to their managers rather than any considered piece of recruitment policy. I

The best out of contract players in SL have already been snapped up for 2011, so any recruitment is going to have to come from overseas where a similar position already exists. Given Leeds are likely to start 2011 with their two best players off the field for a length of time I would suggest it's time to get used to disappointment like that of Saturday - if only for the next 12 months at least.

But what is conveniently ignored there is the amount of tries that Senior has cost us throughout the year, and there has been many.

And just to clarify I am not suggesting above that Delaney is the answer, I made that clear. But just that Senior is a weaker link to the side.



That's spot on. But I don't get why people are saying this now after a defeat and what has been a disastrous season. This was clear at the start of the year, and was clear even had they won both trophies this year.

Seems a lot of us are of the same opinion that Delaney would go better in the second row .... As would Senior, covering that position for differing reasons... Not least his positional defence liabilities at centre.
Good as he is on attack we do need to blood his pretender asap.

I too would like to see Watkins given the starting left centre position next season.... But who would we put in the starting right centre position ? Is Jones-Bishop too radical an idea ?
Smith IMO should be given the opportunity to start at FB with Webb moving to SO to cover the lengthy expected absence of McGuire. ( We can always fall back on the Sinfield to SO option if it doesn't work out over a longish period ).That of course would only leave us with Hall to cover one of the wing spots.
Serious question: is Chisholm not up to covering the other wing spot ? Don't know enough about him. He appears more than quick enough. Defence ?
Burrow by default at least seems secure of his position.

Don't forget most of us are expecting 2011 to be a year of transition...and thus experimenting.....to hopefully set us up better for 2012. I will happily accept another barren trophy-less year if we can set ourselves up for the following year.

I don't think we should look at other clubs' centres deficiencies to continue accepting mediocrity. We should surely set our own standards. Besides Atkins and King have always had the asset of pace if nothing else. At least one of our incumbent centres doesn't even have that.

We need freshening up, there's no denying that. The loss of Eastwood is a big blow (has his transfer to Bulldogs been confirmed yet?) he'd started to show at the back end of this season the reason we'd brought him in.. he gives us very good go forward, had we a fully fit Bailey and Peacock along side him we'd have been at Old Trafford imo. We must replace him with a top drawer prop/2nd rower imo, preferably 2 forwards will be brought in.

I think we're ok in the backs for next year at least, Watkins needs some good game time next season if he is to start fulfilling his potential, then we've also BJB coming back.. I know we've lost Donald but we've got Smith who will benefit from a good pre season.. there maybe some changes for 2012 season though in the back line (Senior retiring etc, possibly Webb returning home).