Get away. He has been quite consistent all season in what he has said, and nothing has alluded to not rating Watkins.

Infact, although you keep having this dissagreement with him, in truth you have recently voiced exactly the same view as tvoc. You are actually in agreement with one another. But you wont admit to it.

No he wouldn't - he's drivel.

My agenda is not exposing Watkins in the Leeds centre until he is ready. It's an agenda supported with each appearance he makes in the position and one seemingly shared by the Leeds coaching staff.



And the other two points in the critique?



Webb on Heckenberg?

A chant of one ryan atkins went up at harlequins on saturday have i missed something???

from what I could see Watkins only error was that of turning his back to play which he shouldnt do. i wouldnt say its going to take him 12 months to get rid of that from his game. Had he gone back to the defensive line while watching play i suspect he may have made the tackle

That's quite a defensive deficiency wouldn't you say, especially so close to the line. Fatigue?

How long will it take to get him to concentrate when getting up to play the ball?

Another sloppy effort on Saturday although the referee missed it. Fatigue?

Heckenberg was running at speed, upright when Webb had the opportunity to get under him. Randall picked the ball up from dummy half and kept low, no chance of anyone getting under him to stop him grounding the ball.

Have you taken a look at who was at marker, out of interest - or does that not fit your witch hunt?

When does it stop being a witch hunt and start being a critique?

Watkins played the last 16 minutes and was targetted for a Harlequins try - where he turned his back, then initially moved to his left away from McGuire at marker inviting Randall to go over - he then knocked on at the other end and performed one of the sloppiest play the balls of the game.

Some people appear to think Watkins should be a 1st choice centre at Leeds, I don't at this point, based on his performances when played in that position up to and including his 16 minutes V the Harlequins on Saturday.

When you start apportioning blame for something without attaching any to others who were equally culpable - Worrall for getting himself out of position by not controlling the tackle, McGuire for not moving from marker to even lay a finger on Randall - then it becomes a witch hunt.

McGuire put a perfectly good pass down in midfield during the second half because he was too busy looking where he was going before he caught the ball - I don't see his performance being "critiqued" in a similar fashion?

I personally don't think the salary cap is the reason Lee is moving I could be wrong but I suspect it might be something to do with a certain actress who is no longer working in a Soap in the region, I'm making the assumption she is still his girlfriend and if so will have moved south?

McGuire is slightly more established in the team. His potential for inclusion in the 17 is not really an issue anymore.

McGuire knocked on Leeds' first possession of the match in the sixth minute (I've mentioned that in another thread) and again in the 74th minute as well as conceding a penalty for hands in the play the ball on 58 minutes. Buderus threw two terrible passes from dummy half (I've mentioned that in another thread) and knocked on another possession at the play the ball but again his position in the side isn't an issue.

Some people appear to think Watkins should be a 1st choice centre at Leeds right now, I don't at this point, based on his performances when played in that position up to and including his 16 minutes V the Harlequins on Saturday.

Re: The salary cap and Smith, all fair points. Gotcha you're right, it's about our wage structure rather than the overall cap. Even then Smith is an international so theoretically could command top bracket money here. In general though the cap (all round the league) will make retaining all your best players is pretty much impossible (Scruton etc) and I think we will have to accept some of them announcing that they're moving on earlier on the season.

Are your reasons for doubting his readiness the handling errors and alleged defensive "miss" that you've pointed out despite also pointed out these are mistakes committed by far more experienced, international even players?

The Watkins' errors appear despite his limited game time and or involvement and unfortunately are a recurring issue at this point in his career. He needs to iron them out of his game which I'm sure he will as his stamina and concentration improves.

I agree there should be financial incentive for producing home grown kids. It would have to be a balancing act though. At 50% teams will effectively be able to buy success by poaching all the best youngsters with ££££. Good for England but bad for SL in terms of even competition. Something like x% for maximum x or a mini youth produced cap within the cap.

Principle is sound and innovative. Write to clarkey.