Perhaps you have mis-attributed the argument that big players couldnt tackle back to me?

Or you might be serious about arguing Cunningham was a noted speedster at hooker.

Nope, such a thing is unpossible.

If we ignore all the times doing that has worked, it has never worked.

Do you honestly believe we'd have been in the position to win the treble with Burrow at hooker every game last year? It's a simple question.

2014 we had Aiton. 2015 we had Aiton. 2012 we had Lunt. 2013 we went with Burrow and won naff all.

Burrow can play as an, interchange, he can even start, but he has to work alongside a 'proper' hooker, to suggest otherwise based purely on us limping home last year after being untouchable for a lot of the year (surprise surprise when Aiton was fit) is a bit daft imo.

Going into this season or any other with Burrow as your choice of hooker is a recipe for disaster.

Most important thing for our prospects next year. All the top teams in sl have a top hooker. Houghton, Roby Clarke, wigan this year is probably the eception in that they are up there but 1st choice hooker has been injured most of the season.

I think Mcdermott will get next year to put things back on track. If we are poor next season, GH will bring in a new coach, guaranteed.

People will debate this season to death, Mcdermott, injuries, success was down to peacock and sinfield but when all is said, if we go with what we currently have but make a decent signing at halfback then will be up there again.

yes. We were in the position to win the treble, and in fact did win the treble with Burrow playing the majority of games at hooker.

Ill question the alternative, why do you think that a journeyman hooker like Paul Aiton, that couldnt really make it in the NRL, didnt stand out at Wakefield, looked decidedly average in 2014, hasnbeen pretty poor this year, suddenly became world class and absolutely integral to a side that had been hugely successful without him previously and continued to be successful when he was injured?


We didnt limp home. We beat the best other three sides in SL in succession. We beat the 2nd best side in SL twice (a team that beat us twice WITH Aiton) within 6 weeks.

In what world, other than this imaginary one which we are creating purely for the purpose of doing down a leeds legend, is this
14 Aug 2015 20:00 Super League Leeds Rhinos 25 - 18 Wigan Warriors
21 Aug 2015 20:00 Super League Hull FC 22 - 36 Leeds Rhinos
29 Aug 2015 15:15 Challenge Cup Hull KR 0 - 50 Leeds Rhinos
25 Sep 2015 20:00 Super League Huddersfield Giants 16 - 20 Leeds Rhinos
02 Oct 2015 20:00 Super League Leeds Rhinos 20 - 13 St Helens
10 Oct 2015 18:00 Super League Leeds Rhinos 22 - 20 Wigan Warriors

anything other than absolutely fantastic form? What year, whether we had Buderus, Diskin, Lunt, Millard,Lunt, or Aiton or a frankenhooker of all of them would we look at that as anything other than an absolutely wonderful run? When have we been so good that a win against Wigan is a given, twice? when has a knockout game against St Helens been a game we would limp to a 7 point victory in? How long has it been since we could guarantee a win against Hudds?

Perhaps, rather than seeing Leeds as under-performing because of Burrow and being rescued by players like Lunt and Aiton, maybe, just maybe, it was the players who have done next to nothing outside of a very short time at a leeds side that was hugely successful without them that were being carried and not the 7 time grand final winning, 2 time harry sunderland award winning, 3 time lls winning, 3 time wcc winning, 2 time challenge cup winning England international.

Must have missed when I did that.
Just for the record, I'm not arguing with you. You haven't posted a single thing worthy of arguing with.

For the last time I'm not saying Burrow hasn't been a great servant to Leeds. I am not saying he hasn't played a great part in our success. I am not saying that he does not still bring something to our team.

I am saying that the team would be weaker and probably less successful if we relied on Burrow to play every minute of every game at hooker over the course of a season.

This is clearly something the powers that be at the club agree with as they have always carried at least one specialist hooker. I am going to leave it at that, because I don't really know how much simpler I can make it.

Oh well, as long as the record is straight, it seems very important.

If by 'specialist hooker' you mean someone other than Burrow, you could make it a little simpler by not contradicting yourself. Your last post readily admitted that 'the powers that be' havent always gone with a 'specialist hooker'

Actually, just checked 2013 we had McShane, so every year we have had a specialist hooker to work alongside Burrow, the non specialist who is capable of covering dummy half.

Again if you believe that going with Burrow at hooker all game every game then that's fine, clearly I nor anyone else is going to change your mind.

Thankfully as I said, the coaching staff don't see it that way. Genuinely gonna leave it at that this time.

Belting news.

How many of those 30 league games did Burrow START at hooker? Because that's the question, STARTING. The answer is 2. A lot of games when he was on the bench he didn't even get subbed on until the 2nd half (didn't get on until as late as the 70th min away to Cas) and we didn't always take Aiton off when we brought Burrow on.

That number is out, by a bit. He started his last 4 SL games at hooker, firstly, and started twelve of his 30 appearances last year.

Secondly, even if that were true, that help you even less. Aiton started 25 of 36 games last year, that would mean that someone other than Burrow or Aiton started 9 of 36 games at hooker for Leeds last year (11 that he missed minus the 2 that you decided burrow started), thats 25% of our treble winning season that had either a player that wasnt a hooker, or a Robbie Ward at hooker. Remember, your whole point here is the importance of a true specialist hooker to that side yet you also thought that we played a quarter of the season with either no hooker or a championship standard one.

Is there a prize for the most childlike bickering thread that I have not been made aware of?

We were talking about the league season only (LLS) not playoffs.

Aiton - 23
Cuthbertson - 3
Burrow - 2
Lilley - 1
R.Ward - 1

Total - 30

Aiton/R.Ward - w17 d1 l6
Burrow/Lilley/Cuthbertson - w2 l4