All matters of opinion, I liked John cookson very much, he just wasn't used properley.

My Gran always said "If you cant say anything good , dont say anything at all", this should apply to all players and their families IMHO.

However 'good' they are, or not, they ALL still have my massive respect for having the guts to step over that white line on game day.

Here. Here.

I agree there Alan I wouldn't want the likes of Menzie Yere running at me so respect has to be given for getting on the field in such a brutal game.

Going to be an exciting season next year as teams vie for the top places and the bigger funding. Sheffield will probably keep much of the same team and looks like Leigh will as well with a few more decent signings and then Fax and Fev are having a big clear out and spending big aiming for the top 2. With some of the signings rumored it wont be any surprise to see people asking how on earth those two teams are keeping under the salary cap.

Cooky was the stand out player in our U 18/19 s rated higher than Hilly and jimmy taylor by some regular observers , and in our 1 st match at the LSV caused Salford a whole load of problems [ their players rated him as our most ' problematic ' player in that game ]

Not having seen that much of Duffy , I was amazed that he manages to make the Leigh squad given Pauls opinions on fitness , and he doesn't have the variation of skills that Cooky possessed

Shame about John , personally I dont think he was given a fair chance , I heard so often how he was targeted by attackers and that he missed tackles , and yet I kept a particular eye on him in games and he performed at least as well as the rest of our props as regards being caught out in defence , what I do remember is lots of frustration on his part when coming on for spells and making lots of runs , only to be ignored , quite often not recieving a single ball off our hookers over several sets

Agreed 100%
I played in an open aged kick and clap friendly game yesterday after many, many years of just watching and having opinions. I had truly forgotten how hard it can be to convince yourself to go 100% into the tackle of a snorting beast of a 20something year old who doesn't know the meaning of "don't kill the old guys".
I will still however give what I see as respectfully worded, constructive criticism on players. Always with a mind on the thought that I was never good enough in my day, and I support anyone the coach deems good enough to pull on the Leythers shirt on the pitch.

I played RU, 'in the day' at a fairly high level. But did I have the guts, dedication, etc to play RL at the level these guys do? No way! I doubt if I would even survive the pre-match warm up!!

I said a 'fairly high' level!

Alan
You would have made a darned good RL full back / kicker. (You must have had offers??)
One who remembers!

Just an enquiry from Oldham, who I read two days later, were in bad financial trouble!

Being honest about it, I'll stick to my opinion that I wasn't dedicated, fit or tough enough to play RL.

SBW seen at LSV today with Derek

Shandy bass ...... ? What's his last name?

BASS lol