Ageing players are not "refreshed" after a season of constant niggling injury. There is every evidence to suggest that McGuire will continue to suffer multiple injuries throughout what is left of his career and that they will only get worse and ore frequent. He's already lost the pace that made him such a prolific try scorer and he's lost Sinfield.
Nothing has changed from last year other than everyone is a year older. For some that could be a positive but for others it's definitely a negative.
On Gotcha's point about Burrow, I posted this a while ago and it triggered significant debate, having him in the team sets a pattern that effectively forces us to play without a proper 7, or a proper back up hooker. At the time I first said that we hadn't signed Segeyaro. Not much has changed. IMO for this team to advance Burrow has to go. I'd even say that McGuire, in a salary capped environment, is a luxury Leeds cannot afford.

Nothing has changed from last year.

Except leeds will have a longer pre-season
and have the experience of last season
and have an out and out class hooker
and have a larger first team squad
and have full use of their specialized training facilities

apart from that, nothing has changed.

Don't rewrite history to prove your point, McGuire was probably the best halfback in the league in 2015, he was certainly the most creative, I believe if you add tries and assists he got more than any other player, and showed he could run games when Sinfield was injured.
If he gets back his 2015 form we will be fine, but I do think we should have signed an organising 7, in case he doesn't recovery from his injuries.

I am less sure about Burrow, but for me he still has the capability to come on and change a game.

I think both will need good seasons to be here in 2018 (unless we retain one on a lesser salary as a back up/ group leader), but I certainly won't write either of them off before the season starts

- No World Club Challenge to think of
- Don't have the tag of treble winners so not the same target to other teams as 12 months ago
- the longer the team goes without Sinfield and Peacock the more they'll become use to not having them around to lead and new leaders in the group will emerge like Ward and Singleton.
- hopefully a key starter doesn't have disruptive off field problems which leads to us having to get rid of him mid-season.

All I'll say is having your tummy tickled and people fawning over you is nice and all, but last year will really have hurt, I mean like really hurt. People who a few months earlier were proclaiming them as greats were now taking great delight in thrusting the knife in and taking the pish.

This group of players (yes I know KS & JP are no longer there) will be aching to get some payback this year and shove it down a few throats.

They have proved before they can bounce back and everybody on here knows, never write off a Rhino.

I have to disagree on Burrow, he did well, he was by far our most creative player, Most clean breaks, 2nd most metres, 2nd most tackles broken, most try assists, all that behind an oft struggling pack and with at times, next to no experience around him in the spine.

McGuire was poor, but he was injured for the most of it, came back in to a struggling side and never got going, he never played more than 3 weeks in a row. But I strongly disagree that he was 'reasonable' in 2015. He was fantastic in 2015 and was our premier half in a treble winning season. McGuire has been written off from injury many many times and has come back better as many times,

Smokey, are you Burrow's agent

To be fair he did ok last year in a generally very poor side though.

Some have long had an agenda re: Burrow. He doesn't fit their preconceived notions. Don't let them fool you that Burrow was terrible last year. He wasn't

I really can't agree that McGuire and Burrow struggled without Sinfield. They struggled because McGuire didn't play and Burrow was the entire spine of our team for a long time.

That's quite a collection of straws you've assembled there. I would grasp "the experience of last season" particularly tightly.

I love Burrow, he's an exciting player that people get excited about when.hes on the run. However can see why he is unpopular with some. He has good stats, but I can see that his style of play is at the detriment to the way the rest of the team play.

Fair enough Smokey you have your opinion and I have mine. We will agree to disagree on Burrow in particular. McGuire if fit and with someone like Sinfield at his side is ok. But without someone shoring up the defence he imo will struggle to take the game by the scruff of the neck. With a bit of luck Segeyaro will help Burrow's game but we need that half back partner alongside McGuire maybe a Widdop type player who is no world beater in Australia but would do the business in SL.

Fwiw it's not a case of disliking him i just think last year he wasn't very good & his best is in the past but i can see a role as an impact sub but he shouldn't be a 1st choice HB imo.

Free coach travel www.therhinos.co.uk/news/rhinos- ... HurkKxvjIU

Free coach travel www.therhinos.co.uk/news/rhinos- ... HurkKxvjIU

Thought Thursday games had been scrapped, when will Rfl realise it's not cost of travel that stops peaople going it's the fact it's a work/school day the next day.