I hope GH is not basing his opinions on 1 out 10 decent performances by Bailey.

I know I'm dozy at this time of day and missed this thread earlier but Cross has not been treated shabbily. It was clear very early on that he was reluctant to put his reputation to the test and work hard. When he was in the team he always looked pedestrian and lacking in passion. If that came across on the terraces so loud and clear then it must have been even more obvious to the insiders and wage payers.

We were in no position to "release Burgess", he was out of contract and had told us he was off to Aus. That has been widely predicted on here for about 18 months. It's a shame but no surprise.

As for Cross, meh.

Maybe there's more to it than we know... I've been wondering if given the form of some of the players that have been left out recently (Burgess, Clarkson) if there's been some discipline problems, and while Cross hasn't been amazing for us I was really surprised we wasn't in the 19 for last Sundays match given that our 2 main props were playing on Friday in the international.

Something else I noticed at the game on Sunday but didn't think too much of it at the time was that Burgess was named in the 19 man squad and Clarkson wasn't, yet Clarkson was warming up with the squad so I assume he was 18th man? Was that just a change once McDermott knew all the players had come through the Exiles game, or is there a bit more to it?

This suggests to me that they may be looking at recruiting elsewhere. Centre springs to mind.
The players are probably going at the end of the season and it may be worthwhile loaning/ bringing in a centre

Yup. That is what disappoints me. That our coach thinks that Kirke is a better option at prop than Burgess.

BTW, I will disagree with your comment about what is the primary reason we lose to the big sides. I think the primary reason is busy blowing up a rubber glove somewhere.

Couldn't disagree more

The coaching staff have treated these two poorly - Both should have been rotated given the poor form of the squad to date. But GH has always been a man that looks after the players and treats them well. He doesn't hold back players that don't want to be at the club. Greg Eastwood. Without a doubt Cross and Burgess would have asked for the releases as reported and Leeds would never have said no to them. If a player doesn't want to be at the club he needs to be out of the door asap. Cross is useless to Leeds. Burgess still has a place as he is great cover for injuries. That is why Leeds are only loaning him out. If Leeds had someone in place then Burgess would have been released not loaned.

In maintaining the general direction the club is currently heading, retaining the likes of Bailey and Kirke is of critical importance. I look forward to improved contract extensions for both.

The Tykes thing is a slight worry. I think there was a thread a couple of months ago detailing that over the last ten years millions of pounds of loans were given to the Tykes, then written off, directly by Caddick. But, if I remember right, in the last set of accounts the 7-figure loan came from the Rhinos. It'll still show as an asset in the Rhinos accounts....unless it's written off. Surely this can't be what's happening...?

Has anybody else heard this about Cross being suspended on disciplinary?