Not so fantastic then.

He was a destructive ball runner and would have been a useful addition, esepcially now we have lost Ali's services.

But he didn't want to play here and that showed. Well shot.

A young, single, bloke in a new country should have been filling his boots. Instead of crying and swapping scars in Halifax.

Right, ok?

Ellis has a desire to win trophies, but good for you for trying.

Think you'll find he will!

I think it'd be great to get him in a Leeds. I could see him taking over Barries reigns with youth development before heading up the ladder within the club. That could be a major benefit for getting him to Leeds. He will be aware of the ex players staying on the books, if thats what he wants to do.

Can't help feeling that there is some over-simplistic thinking about this.

If the only question that the club had to answer is the one a lot of people on this thread have answered: "would it be good to have Gareth Ellis back at Leeds?" then I think the answer for most people would be "yes."

However, if the question becomes "would you wish to have Gareth Ellis back at Leeds at any price?" then the answer is rather different.

Buying a Rugby League player, and more importantly managing a squad, is always going to be a case of having the optimum rather than the ideal. So the over simple "Ellis or Delaney" question might not be accurate. Suppose it's really (for the sake of argument, not suggesting this is actually how it is) "Ellis or Delaney and Clarkson" as I'm sure Ellis will ask for more than Delaney is on.

So, I'd be delighted to see Ellis back in a Leeds shirt, if it's where he wants to be and if it is at the right price. If he gets a silly money offer from somewhere else, nad he wants to follow the money (which I wouldn't blame him for) then I'd rather Leeds stick to the salary structure they have. It seems to have served us alright so far.

I'd possibly be a bit wary of a 3 year deal at his age, but I expect there are medical opinions to take into account when weighing up that sort of risk.

Also worth noting - if Stevie Ward is truly the future at #13, is there a good case for a big-money contract with another loose forward for that time.

Final point, in terms of him being way ahead of our current back row options, as high as I rate Ellis, I wouldn't swap JJB for him. Performances in the same team over 2007 at Leeds and in last year's 4 Nations support that view IMO.

why did he go to west tigers then ???

Now hang on, they won a trophy in 2005. Not like Hull...... no, wait.....


Carry on.

Possibly because they won their first trophy for a long long time in 2005 and they're still kidding themselves into believing at the start of every season that this year will be their year. If only Super League had an equivalent. Oh, hang on........

And when they had that period of success in the 80s they were awful

Hang on didn't Ellis go to Australia on the proviso of showing he could make a name for himself in the NRL which he has. He set a goal and he did it and ticked it off. Now he is coming back to SL but we dont know what he wants. Does he want a big pay day? Does he want to win titles? If its the pay day then I would suspect the likely candidates to get his signature would be Hull. If its to win titles then i would suspect he'd come to Leeds.

I reserve judgement on whether Pearsons dollar can bring success to Hull. So far in this short season its been a bit 50/50. A good performance against Wire then a poor one against Salford. The problem is Ellis will want to commit by all accounts in the next few weeks. Hull will need to do some serious talking in that time. I'm sure also that if Leeds want him they'll have a plan. We have the advantages of being able to offer additional opportunities. I can imagine we'd offer him the chance to stay with leeds in a coaching role after he retires plus theres the Leeds Met link that he could utilise to forge a career elsewhere

Anyway what trophy can you win in the NRL except that one of the big fella putting his arm round Rob Burrow? Is the NPC still going?

In this YEP interview Gary H said he was interested in signing Ellis and was going to discuss with Brian Mc. Has anything been said what the outcome of the meeting was, I assume we are still interested? On twitter 1/2 supporters say we don't have the funds but GH has said several times that we are under the cap and can sign a quality player if available and if the person would add the the squad. If this rumour is corrrect has Gary H committed the spare money under the cap to sign another player?

Sir Kevin on five live reckons there's a good chance Ellis could return and would be a great fit. He's kept in regular contact with the club.

Done deal, Leeds bound.

Nothing I've seen from Pitts, Clarkson or Hauraki would make me feel bad about the club replacing them with a 31 year old Gareth Ellis.

done deal or wishful thinking?

I assume you know something more than what Kevin said on the radio this morning?

Considering Frosties has posted on other forums that the deal was wrapped up in january I would be rather concerned. He had one year left on his contract and Wests announced this week they were releasing him a year early. Now if it was a done deal in january would that not count as tapping up? I have a feeling its a case of 2+2=5

He had an option to call time on his deal apparently on his final year

Nope.

Ah yeah I know he had that but if Leeds approached him in january and then afterwards he requests to break the contract that would suggest tapping up. So to suggest a deal was done in January is very speculative and i would suggest its not the truth at all

"Hello Iestyn Harris"

Surely he's not breaking his contract but simply invoking a clause in his contract to obtain his release a year early to return to the UK?
Re Pitts, I thought he had his best game for us last night, showing great pace & strength at times.
I was pleasantly surprised.