You are right and do ya know what he is lacking?

He is lacking being a winger in the team that are the League Leaders, yup that's what he is lacking.

He wasn't gonna get in the Giants team so good move for him, the better of the 2 you have got from is though is Fergy, by a country mile, really really sorry to see this fella go but we couldn't match what Bradford are gonna pay him ;-0(

Sounds like a big improvement on Foster then.

I've seen enough of him over the years to be content with his signing.

May I just offer a comparison to George's performance on Saturday with that of Foster on his nightmare appearance for Saints at Odsal last year.

Luke George is a good Super League winger, he is a strike weapon, very dangerous if you give him a bit of space and will do a fair bit more postive than he gives up defensively where.

He just is not a centre though he has played a few matches there for Giants, Wakey and on loan at HKR and can fill in there at a push, Keith Lulia demonstrated on Saturday that as a centre Luke will struggle against good centres if played there. He is a good winger but only an emergency centre.

I honestly don't think FC has any intention of playing him in the centres.
Our centres next season will be Blythe, Purtell, Lulia's replacement and (as a last resort) Gaskell.

I think he will be a decent winger. My problem with Kear is that he doesn't have that instant attack thought in his head. He hessitates and then runs sideways. I like to see wingers catch the ball and go for it in an instant before the defence have time to think. Foster is better at that as he does try and beat men on the wing. Kear to me is the one that needs to look over his shoulder now.

I think that's just come from opposition teams watching him on their video work, so they employ a quicker umbrella defence.

It certainly seems to me that this has changed over the last few home games and he's been forced to do more crab running, much to the annoyance of the fans.

The crab running seems to be something we coach tbh. Sheriffe started doing it too whilst with us. Can't remember him or kear being known for it before they joined us.

I don't have a problem with it. He's searching for a gap and it does puzzle defences. More effective at times for him than simply running into a defender.

Agree with that - wasn't Stuart Spruce the master of running along the line seeking the lazy defender [aka crab running now, for some reason]? He didn't get any stick for it back then, though maybe defenders are more aware these days and it has a lower success rate but, as you say it does keep defenders on their toes.

Sometimes wingers deliberately run across field to allow time for teammates to get back. Kear's an elusive runner and difficult to defend against so I don't mind his crossfield running so long as he doesn't run behind teammates and give penalties away.

All wingers do it, and generally make 5 or 6 metres in the process. You can't expect a winger to go straight every time, especially when you are on the back foot and the defence have their line and markers set. Sometimes they have to look and find more space than they have in front of them. I don't generally have a problem with it from wingers. It's bad news when your half backs start grabbing though.

To be honest they could cartwheel like the bullettes - just as long as they make some yards. But as Bulliac points out class players like Spruce, and Mcgowen a bit further back were well balanced runners - so they always looked like they were about to change direction which put doubt in the markers minds and opened up the gaps in the defence. Then you have the master: Hanley - if you were trying to defend him in his glory years you wouldn't have a clue which direction he was going to go in, and the ones who got lucky and guessed right would then get handed off! If he'd been around 20 years latter the RFU would have turfed the Queen out of Buck House to sign him up.

It can work if you've got the pace or power to carry it off. Liam Farrell spent all last thursday doing it to zero effect.

Agree sometimes a tactic doesn't suit a player but you can't always go for your favourite move as Defenders get wise to it. Just as years ago, I always wanted Deacs to go for the gap occasionally - you're right to say he probably wouldn't have gone through it, but it meant the defender had to cover the possibility that he would go for it, rather than just assume he was going to pass, and it kept the defenders honest.