I think I mentioned it first on this thread.

Leeds League campaign finished 2009 where it finished 2008 exactly. Same wins, same losses, same points.

This year it finished four points clear of St Helens, Last year one point behind.

St Helens also had to play an extra game in 2008 as opposed to 2009.

Perhaps they had an unluckier year with injuries forcing the premature introduction of a number of youngsters but they also had a skinnier squad at 1st grade level. Who replaced Sculthorpe, Talau, Fozzard and Bennett from the 2008 squad?

Youre doing what you did with the Leeds squad this year. That worked out well for you didn't it?

Gareth I don't disagree with anything you have said - but do you really want to be in a position where you have to release players you have nutured/developed since they were 16 because of salary cap issues - this situation will get worse if the cap is not increased - clubs will simply stop investing in young talent if this is what happens

If we want to be competitive at international level we need to ensure all the talent stays within the game surely - losing players to the other code is a sad indictment of the SC - I see Ashton scoring again for Northampton at the W/E - a serious talent lost to the game.

If the clubs can sustain an increase in the cap (in this climate I am not sure they can) then, yes, I would be for an increase.

I do want to see Leeds retain the likes of Calderwood, Walker, Scruton and Smith but an increased cap isn't necessarily going to ensure that. We will not be able to match RU salaries. Do you think Leeds should've matched Wasps offer to Lee Smith? If they did, do you not think McGuire, Sinfield, Burrow and others would've been knocking on GH's door?

What is needed is something more pro-active that rewards clubs for producing home-grown talent. The £50k dispensation is a start but doesn't go nearly close enough.

Its' frustrating when we lose a quality young player but you have to remain philosophical. Had Scruton stayed would Burgess have played in the GF? It took a while, a few stop gaps and an overseas player but Walker's replacement came from within, Smith.

Just keep the conveyor belt turning.

The team that won the final, the most successful team in the period of SL where we have had a consistent hard (as opposed to the soft cap previously in place that allowed breaches with financial or points penalties) salary cap have done so on the back of the league's best youth policy. The losing finalist probably has the next best youth policy.
Yet you think the cap encourages teams to abandon youth development?

The salary cap forces teams to invest in academies, because it's far cheaper to bring players through than buy them in from a position where you compete on salary in the open market. The cap also encourages the less wealthy teams to invest, because it prevents the richer teams poaching their players.

Do you think Wigan could have afforded to keep him if they had been able to use another academy player instead of one of the four imports and one external signing in their backs?

St Helens went backwards in 2009 compared to 2008 as did Leeds to a lesser extent. Both suffered the same problem of under investment.

Leeds failed to retain their WCC and make an impact in the Challenge Cup.

St Helens failed to defend their LLS and Challenge Cup title.

Did Leeds gain the LLS or did St Helens lose it? As with every season it's a combination of the two.

Or, if the glass is half full, both clubs did a magnificent job to sustain their lengthy period of success, St Helens achieving their 6th consecutive top 2 finish and 4th consecutive GF and Leeds achieving their 3rd consecutive top2 finish and 3rd consecutive, unprecedented GF.

12 other clubs in the league would desperately love to go as backwards as Leeds and St Helens.

If you're basing that on League table finishes St Helens finished 5th in 2004. As prize money is handed out after the play off series some might argue they didn't finish top two in 2005 either.

Leeds 3rd GF is not unprecedented. Bradford and St Helens have both done the same and better but yes I understand your point there.

Going backwards is not my idea of the direction any club should be taking and Leeds thankfully have ensured (if recruitment is anything to go by) it's a trend they're determined to reverse in 2010.

I judge the direction the club is heading in on the achievements the players make on the field and not the signings the chief exec makes before a ball is kicked or passed.

Still, if you're not happy with what the squad did this year but are happy with next already year because we signed some new players..............

We went backwards in 2009 ????? Feck me your getting has bad as David.