Exactly. If it was me (obvs it isn’t), I’d have Martin, McDonnell, and one big horrible thing that can bend the line and whack in D. Goudemand and Bentley are good players but neither is massively better than Donaldson and all three offer very little going forward.

This is a criticism I do have of RS, he’s too keen on signing nice guy players and takes his eye off the best team composition sometimes.

Their academy is very good so produces some real quality on a consistent basis.
We really took our eye off the ball for a few years academy wise hence the slow down of talent coming through and finding ourselves having to buy in talent rather than producing it.

I think another hard truth is that youth talent isn’t reliable, it comes in waves sometimes. Also the NW just seems to have a deeper pool to draw from than we do in Yorkshire. The hotter beds around Halifax / Dewsbury are contested and then we seem to draw a lot from Kippax region.

Yep

We go wherever the talent is Jim

Lock Lane had the biggest representation in our recent Academy intake, followed by West Bowling, they were the best 2 teams in the country, with West Bowling winning the national cup

Our 2nd year Scholarship are pretty evenly spread between Community clubs We've took from, with stanningley the biggest representation with 5, 3 from birstall Victoria, 3 from kings cross, 3 from Siddal etc, again, 3 of the 4 semifinalists in the National cup are Yorkshire teams....So the talent is certainly there in Yorkshire

Thanks Matts - let's hope it is coming through now. I do think there is a natural fall-off of players who look great as juniors but just don't kick on, and I don't think it's all down to coaching (although obviously coaching is massively important). Personally I think with all the facilities and expertise at Leeds, players themselves have plenty of opportunity to develop their game, and that's the kind of attitude you want for a first grade player.

It is a tough old business making Leeds first grade. People sometimes don't appreciate how good some of these lads are, to make it at Leeds it's probably a 1/1000 player. Even with the goldens I'm not sure we had more than 3/4 players graduate from one academy peer group at a time.

We seem to have a handful of decent prospects now - I know you feel the coaching after scholarship isn't up to it. Is Lewis Peacock still at Leeds mate?

We’ve been talking about great Junior talent for years. Some good players come through, others waiting. No great players for long while though and that’s held us back. Great players are not the product of coaches. Probably quite the opposite!

Looks like Warrington have got the jump on us with the Bradford Academy prop probably the Sam Burgess effect.

The short lived one anyway.

Any serious Souths interest and he'll be flying home within the month.

Yes he looks a really good prospect and thought we were nailed on to sign him.
Let`s hope he`s not another Walmsley.

Perhaps but I think he'll cut his teeth over here,but more in reference to the Player signing for Wire Sam has the credentials to develop him more than Smith per say.

If you were a young Prop, and were told by a club coached by one of the most iconic props of the last 20 years that they wanted you to join them and develop under his coaching, what would you do?

Especially if he says it is their year