No you didn’t. You could have looked at metres per game, carries per game, to see things like workload. You didn’t. You did look at marker tackles though which is nigh on the dumbest measure of quality centre play I have heard yet, and forgot to pro-rata thsoe stats to take into account number of games played.

You also neglect to mention that Watkins has not only filled in at fullback, but also played inside such wing luminaries as Vickery and Duckworth, he has only played inside his regular wing partner 7 times this year.

There's a million and one reasons stats can't be trusted to compare centres. The only position I really look at these sort of stats for is a prop to see their effective go forward.

For instance, Cudjoe has made a lot more tackles. Apart from the fact that he's apparently played more games, is that what a centre's really there for? He may have made so many tackles because he defends inside Brough and the opposition target this area a lot to try and wear Danny out, causing extra work for Cudjoe. On the flip side, since Sinfield is a relatively robust defender for a half, but not as mobile as Watkins, do they buck the trend of the halfback defending the centre channel and have Sinfield inside Watkins, closer to the ruck where the extra work is.

You can just dump stats on the desk and say "Look, Cudjoe is higher here and lower here, he must be better.", especially when, as I've said, a lot of them are cumulative figures and you haven't mentioned the games (at centre) played.

I know Watkins has missed a number of games injured - what if the games he missed were the easy fixtures against teams that Cudjoe ripped it up against? (similarly, these could work the other way and he could have missed all the hard games).

Missed tackles is obviously an important stat, but it doesn't take a missed tackle for a centre to completely screw up a defensive line. Against hull KR, Watkins essentially manufacturerd a break for the Robins by moving up too fast on Dobson (IIRC) leaving a massive hole for the player inside to go through.

Lies, damn lies....

Tell me these stats for the two players

Average Tries per game
Average Try assists per game
Average Clean Breaks per game
Average Tackle Busts per game
Average Clean Breaks by their winger each

Average errors per game
Average missed tackles per game

These would be a lot more descriptive of who was the better centre, but would still need a healthy dose of interpretation by someone who'd actually watched them to tell us who the better centre is.

I think the fact that people are describing Watkins and Cudjoe as good enough to face Australia proves the OPs point.

Yet the examples he is using don’t necessarily prove his point. As a Leeds fan, Watkins is a far more skilful centre than Senior was in the early part of his career. As great a servant as Keith was, he was almost purely an athlete in the early part of his career, his ability to put his winger away was only something he developed later on.

I think you'll find that will be the case with a majority of fans, of any club. Shock and horror Huddersfield fan prefers huddersfield player over opposition player and get in an uproar when anybody disagree's.

I'm hardly in an uproar
I provided some evidence to back up my claim, and have yet to see anyone provide any to counter it

So to provide some more detail ill do averages per game

Cudjoe v Watkins
Average gain 8.1 v 7.8
Tries .32 v .67
Clean breaks .48 v .76
Offloads 1.16 v 0.92
Try assists .52 v .33
Errors .68 v 1.10
Tackles 20.28 v 13
Missed tackles 1.24 v 1.46
Tackle busts 2.92 v 2.52

9 stats
7-2 in favour of Cudjoe who even on a "per game" basis shows up better

As to "should a centre be tackling that much" maybe not, but he shouldn't be missing them and as has been said by many others Watkins is often found well out of position and so not even able to miss a tackle, never mind make one...(the game v HKR is a case in point)

7-2 on the stats you picked. You ignored ones like Metres per game, carries per game etc. If you are making more carries per game, and more metres in those carries per game, you could still make a slightly smaller average gain per carry.

For instance, would you want a centre to make 80 metres from 10 carries, or 140 metres from 20? And again, you are ignoring that Watkins has been defending (and attacking) inside either poor, or very raw players for the majority of the season. He has played inside Vickery, and Duckworth, and a centre who struggled on the wing in Keinhorst. He has played at full back, and on the wing aswell.

Your statistical analysis is nonsense.

We're getting a bit closer to the point, now. Those stats are starting to look a bit more like I expect , that Watkins, with his higher scoring ratio and clean breaks, is more the outrageous dangerman, whereas Cudjoe is a more rounded centre - still an danger in attack, but without the floatiness in defence.

I think most would be of the option that we'd prefer defending against Cudjoe than Watkins, but would expect to get more change out of Watkins when our team had the ball.

cudjoe also holds the current longest run of consecutive appearances among super league players...

last missed a game september 16th 2011..

this weekend will make it 62 on the trot

awesome stuff from cudjoe

I would suggest you are the fool, and you cant see past club bias.

Of course stats don't say everything - for example Cudjoe attacks down our right, but the Giants preferred flank is the left side

Oh and @ morleys deck chair - show me some evidence I'm wrong
If the numbers said otherwise I'd agree, but they don't.

Watkins with ball in hand is dangerous, very
But he is more likely to drop it, less likely to pass it more likely to be out of position in defence, or miss a tackle if he is in position and even when he isn't making clean breaks he makes less meters per carry

So you're taking flash over substance

but he also makes more carries per game, and more metres per game. You are likely to make less metres per carry if you make more carries per game. That isnt flash over substance.

And yes Watkins is more likely to be out of position in defence, a large part of that is down to the fact that he is a centre who has spent time filling in at Fullback and Wing, and he has spent most of the time he has played centre playing inside someone who isnt very good, is very young, or isnt a winger.

very true about cudjoe being on the less preferred side of our attack...

brough feeds ferres, wardle and murphy with some great plays on the opposite side

robinson on the other side has gone ok but no where near the assists brough has

In no world is he the best by a large margin. Defensively he has been fantastic in recent matches, I'll grant, and his form in attack has been coming along well recently. But he's had a dire year overall. It will be a good scrap between the 3, but I'd go for Cudjoe inside Charnley on the right and Watkins inside Hall on the left. Reed/Hardaker/Briscoe/Ratchford covering all the backs.

On the subject of classy centres, I'd only say Watkins and Ratchford (more of a pivot imo) come under that banner (from the above).

Hall and Reed linked up well in 2011 on the right, it would be good to see the partnership back to get together on the left where both play for their clubs.