Greg Eastwood doesn't want to be in England in 2011, that much he has made clear.

He has also made it clear (as I believe has the coach and CEO) that he has no issues with seeing this season out and giving his utmost in Leeds' quest for as successful as possible a conclusion to the campaign. Indeed he appeared to put his hand up (despite limping his way through the warm-up last Saturday) and potentially put his season on the line in the semi-final after answering the call to arms.

As long as he's here, as long as he's giving 100%, as long as he's declared fit, as long as his form warrants selection, then I expect Leeds to continue to select him.

I'd agree with that.

Those 4 clauses just don't seem realistic for him to fulfill however.

Subtle "A" team reference.

If the cup final were tomorrow and you had to select either Clarkson or Eastwood, ignoring accents, background and reputation who would you select based upon recent form?

Has to be the easiest decision ever.

Clarkson. Every time.

Eastwood may throw a miracle offload to setup the winning score, but the hard graft that the likes ofClarkson, JJB and Ablett put in for the majority of the match is what actually wins the game for me

Yup.

Clarkson is literally putting his blood and sweat into the mix.

I cannot say the same about Eastwood.

Away from performance. I really like Clarksons demeanour. Reminds me of Hall. Very humble and appreciates the opportunity they have and they are rewarded with a place on the team sheet. Just shows that hard work and the internal drive to improve is still there.

While Senior supplies Hall, Clarkson packs down with some greats........

Hallmark moment really.

True, although having a genuine game-breaker like Lauititi in the team is no bad thing, assuming he's fit. Given a full squad, only 2 of JJB, Ablett, Clarkson and Lauititi can start. If we say, for the sake of argument, it was Ablett and JJB, and Buderus, Peacock and Bailey start (forwards are a bit interchangeable when it comes to bench spots vs starting spots, but you get the idea) the 4 bench spots would presumably then include 4 from:
Clarkson
Lauititi
Burgess
Leuluai
Diskin
Eastwood

Somebody is going to be unlucky enough to miss out. Eastwood looks to have a lot of ground to make up on some of the others if it's going to be him, because I'd always have a fully fit Lauititi in the team for a big match. Would a bench of Lauititi, Diskin, Leuluai and Clarkson be too light in the front row?

Glad I'm not a coach.

With the likes of Kirke, Ambler, Pitts etc waiting in the wings, you can kind of see why replacing Eastwood like-for-like might not be Darth's #1 priority.

Clarkson, had another wow of a game against Castleford, imo, will be named the YEP shooting star and young player of the season award. Could have thrown his name in the hat for SL young player, but could have just fallen short, should be there or there abouts next season! no need to replace Eastwood for a second rower because he fits all the bills at the moment the way he his playing. One of our form players.

Agree. Great try too.

He and Ambler have been the finds of this season ...and it again IMO highlights more the need for a top quality specialist centre rather than a forward.

It's a tough one, I'd say the following are pretty safe on having a wembley spot:

1. Webb
2. Smith
3. Delaney
4. Senior
5. Hall
6. McGuire
7. Burrow
8. Bailey
9. Buderus
10. Peacock
11.
12. JJB
13. Sinfield

14. Leuleui
15.
16.
17.

So we have a second row spot and 3 substitute spots to fight for between Diskin, Ablett, Clarkson, Kirke, Eastwood, Lautiiti and Burgess. Burgess appears to be out of the equation now. So 6 players are fighting for, four spots.

There is also a mini battle between Donald, Smith and Delaney for there position, however I feel Bluey favours Smith over Donald at the moment and he didn't let us down last saturday.

Not letting us down is not much of a compliment... [/quote:1x8x7ghm]:7098.jpg