What I am saying is how do kids get a chance to break into the first team? Are injuries their only chance? What more can Golding do to get a chance of playing in the first team? wait until Hardaker has another brain explosion or gets injured or signs for Wigan? With this coach no matter how well Golding plays in the limited opportunities he gets he has zero chance of getting selected i.e. the coach picks on reputation/loyalty and not on form. Could the likes of Mulhern contributed less than Kirke or Bailey? unlikely but Mulhern played 3 times, Kirke 18 times and Bailey 21 times that is this coach's mentality.

So you are saying he should be picked ahead of Hardaker?

I would be happy with that, Hull KR are not St Helens so it should be a good game for a youngster to start. Wigan don't have these scruples about young players I can see McDermott's reticence but sadly that reticence isn't around form. I am not as big a Hardaker fan as many on here so I would not go into a decline like many on here if he weren't selected. Golding is a real prospect, how does he develop, Sinfield, Burrow, McGuire, JJB etc didn't need stints in lower league football to emerge they learned their trade in the first team. I suspect Hardaker will be off at the end of this season so if he plays all year you have lost a year's development in Golding.

Not excuses but highlighting why it's erroneous to point at some games at the end of the year and say that's what the future holds for this team for the following year when we aren't going to be playing with 12 men for 60 mins every week or resting a load of starters or playing dead rubbers like the Hull game.



Possibly, possibly not. Do think we'd have got the LLS without the cup distraction. Answer these 2 simple question with only a YES or NO.

If Leeds got knocked out of the CC back in April to Saints then do you think we'd have gone on that 6 game losing streak at the end of the year?

If Saints beat us in the cup and went on to Wembley do you think they'd have won the LLS?

I think I know what 98% of people would answer to those questions.



Oh, I and everyone on here agree the attack needs to improve. My original point was no one was really mentioning the defence, which IF it can perform similarly to last year gives us a strong chance to make the top 4. Would you not agree if we are around the fewest points conceders again then we have a good CHANCE of making the 4?



Page 3 you wrote....



So seems you did say that.



Yes and last season Ward missed all of pre-season and the season opener yet came off the bench after not playing for around 9 months and played quite a lot of minutes vs Warrington in Round 2 and then started the next 3 games at 2nd row vs Catalans, Hudds and Widnes so he got the same rub of the green you're now saying he'll suffer from. And whilst the likes of Singleton, Achurch, McShane, Hood, Clarkson, Moore etc. have all suffered from McDermott's 5 mins or less usage of them off the bench, the same can't really be said of Ward. When he's been named a sub he always usually gotten good minutes from what I recall.



It is going to be tough but even Shaun Wane said last week that because of the new structure he isn't going to be picking young players as much now as he can't afford to so it's going to happen across the board more.



I hope Ward makes the bench over Sutcliffe. When Sutcliffe was coming off the bench was he really playing halfback? No so wasted really. If Sutcliffe makes the bench it should be in place of Aiton with him coming on for Burrow and Sinfield switching to 9.

Jesus, we've not even played the 1st game of the season and people are already on the coach's back for not dropping SL's best fullback to make way for a kid who had good games against 2nd division opposition in pre-season friendlies. This place never ceases to amaze me

Expectations getting adjusted in a downward direction slightly after 1st half? Or are we just ring rusty?

The tackling bags will be out this week!

Looks like it was rust. On expectation, what does Huddersfield getting niled at home to Hull do for people's expectation of us not making the top 4?

Dunno. Not many people in the predictions thread had Huddersfield in the top 4 anyway. Catalans were a much more common choice.

and cas losing to wakey

Cas are a poor side without Clark - their half backs/hooker are poor can't see them making the 8.

BM tends to generally be very conservative when it comes to selections. The team selected for KR is about as conservative as could be - especially JJB at prop instead of Yates/Mulhern. In fact if there was one area our ex-prop seems to be stuck in a rut its the whole front row.

Oddly enough though BM also made the weirdest/bravest selection I can remember when he picked Keinhorst for the CC final a few years back.

In terms of blooding players, putting Burrow on the bench means there will rarely be a spot for any back, unless its a big unit like Sutcliffe who can play in the forwards. So other than that its injuries.

Just on Burrow, when was the last time he really changed a big game coming off the bench? Was it the 2012 GF?

In all fairness he is rarely used as the interchange hooker especially in regular season.the play off series of 2011 and 12 were the only times he was regularly used that way and shock horror..we won both.

He wasn't in 2012. He started at Wigan in Playoffs in 2012 at 7 because McGuire got suspended for a high shot in the Catalans game and he started hooker in the GF with Lunt coming on mid way thru the match (and not even for Burrow, so he stayed on the 80)