For those concerned about our "own" players not getting a chance. The major points to note are:

1. This year is about being competitive and not being relegated. If that requires a short term solution to deliver this goal - then so be it
2. If you look at the squad against Featherstone - there are plenty of home grown players in the squad. More encouraging is the fact that two new and very exciting products of our academy are named - Max Jowitt and Jordan Crowther. The aim has to be to stop losing generations of locally produced talent to other clubs - by offering them an opportunity to play for a stable and quality club in WTWRLFC
One way to achieve that goal is hit the short term target of staying in SL this season.

Having been raised on a diet of Billy Conway, Nigel Bell and Johnny T - I understand what it means to see local lads pull on the shirt and give more than 100% week in week out. However, right here right now - this is about more than local pride. It's about OUR club!

Don't tell me, YTS?

If youre going to have a go at least get your facts straight.

Briscoe was given a 3 year contract when he was 17,not 4 years at 16.

To say hes going downhill because he isnt pushing for a first team place is laughable -- he spent most of last season out injured!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who would you have expected him to be displacing after just 8 games last year??

Hardaker,BJB,Tom Briscoe,Ryan Hall,Moon,Watkins,Burrow,McGuire,Sutcliffe??????

Leeds have plenty of options in Luke Briscoes positions,returning from injury and in the final year of his contract the lad needs a chance of first team rugby to proof his worth.Costs us very little and offers valuable cover across the backs.

Anyhow i thought you would have been happy,hes a local lad.

When we talk about "our own", as far as I am concerned, once we have signed them, they are part of the team. They become our own when they show they are dedicated to the Wakefield Trinity Cause.
Eg. JD wasn't our own home grouwn player and we weren't even his first British club, but I regard him as as much a part of the club history as say a Johnny T.

Both are an interesting example of what happens to young players when they are attracted by the prospect of signing for a big club like Leeds; in reality, they are unlikely to get regular game time whilst ever the old guard have a drop of juice left in them, and they end up on dual reg or on loan at a club like ours.

For a young lad who wants regular game time and to make a name for himself, they might be better sacrificing a few quid early in their career by staying at a club who actually needs them on the park every week?

Either way, our new special relationship with Leeds is proving very helpful.

I don't think that taking Briscoe on loan is a problem to anyone, it is more to do with the perception that we have taken him on at the expense of a club trained junior, who has "been allowed" to go.
Of course, thee are plenty of different reasons that young players move on but, the bottom line is that we are either, not producing players of SL quality, can't compete on wage demands or that the youngsters would rather play elsewhere and al of these give cause for concern.
Equally, we don't want to pay over the odds to keep certain players in the squad ,just because they have come through the ranks.

This is the key point for me. "over the odds" is a bit of a misnomer though, as a club what we have failed to do in the recent past is stick to our valuation of a players worth (to this club).
We have constantly been in situations where we don't have the ability to spend the full cap and so we have to "play moneyball" as Richard Agar put it. We need to get the best value we can from the players we sign.

Kath Hetherington is someone who knows her stuff, knows the worth of players and will not allow us to spend more than we value a player at. If that means we lose some players because we don't think they are worth what they are asking for and we can get better value elsewhere then that is how it has to be.
Now compare this attitude with other CEO's who have "allegedly" gone into contract discussions and just caved in to player demands (or even offered more than the player was actually asking for) and tell me which attitude you would rather see.

While i agree with the overall point you make, many players would say the same about us and our fairly poor record of giving players a chance, certainly Kay and Cowling would be among them, both of who i would have picked before fox and lynn on numerous occasions this season...justifiably i think.
We must also identify that the gain we are getting at the moment from our leeds love in is a short term one, the big gain is being made by Leeds as these young lads will get more chance of SL experience with us this year than was likely at headingley, and leeds will benefit from that in future years. That said i am happy with the situation as we have pretty few options.

we knew this would be the case going back to P&R ...teams will ultimately have to look to short term options.

I would say that if Kay and Cowling were kept for Keinhorst and Briscoe, and proved to be not of SL standard, people would be just as if ot more irked

Not really, in effect potential is replacing potential, all be it possibly cheaper. Besides we'd never know in order to be irked.

someone said it earlier though, Leeds finge players will be better than yours (theoretically) and JK has SL experience already.

You're right about Briscoe, for sure, but if he's on 30k at Leeds, his wage will be subsidised surely?

We've signed Marc Sneyd on a similar contract I reckon, we've got Ellis, Dorn, Seymour and my hero Finn.... It's a signing we wouldn't use 25-30k on otherwise.

If Kay's agent was requesting a 30k contract for Kay then this is surely a more sensible option. You don't wanna be overspending again for the sake of a fringe player

I meant LB and JK are likely to be cheaper than LK and DC. Potential is just that, regardless of which club the player comes from. Playing for Leeds juniors may give them a better grounding but its no guarantee they'll be better than what Trinity have lost.

Anyway its a moot point because we have what we have. Who knows they could both impress and end up signing permanent deals for Trinity after the loan ala Amor.

I think there is a feeling you go to the best club that you can or the highest profile club that you can.

You give it a crack and if you succeed you are first team at a top established club. If you fail, you have been in a potentially superior environment and teams in the same division but lower down the table will be interested in giving you a shot and potentially fast tracking you into the first team.

If you stick at a club lower down the food chain and do not crack it rarely do you get another chance at a Super League club so have to drop into the National Leagues.

As I seem to be annoying people I will make this my last post , the comment regarding minimum wage referred to First Team squad players both this and last season who  were/are allegedly on less than 12 grand a year( if I am wrong I apologise). On my one trick pony subject . I developed a interest in the colts and A teams many  years ago , every so often we have produced a crop of   players who should have stood the club in good stead for a number of years , ( Sharlston Lads , The Marches era ) . I honestly thought that with the creation of the 1873 scheme and its 100£ share issue predecessor we would no longer waste talent again. but it seems to be not the case . the all conquering team of three / four seasons ago in my opinion will by the end of this season be discarded, it’s obvious RFA doesn’t rate them ( I have no idea why. other than maybe who their coaches were) preferring again in my opinion to follow the Huddersfield model of letting others have the bother of finding and them and developing them , . If that is actually the case then why not come clean and say so , after all he is the gaffer and what he says goes, I would imagine most hardcore supporters would still contribute to a lottery, which the club could use for anything they wish.

There's no need to stop posting because some people disagree with you. The whole point of a forum is to hear all views (subject to legality).

Successive coaches have far too often overlooked the young lads at this club, licencing was the ideal time to blood them without the worry of relegation. Sadly the shortsightedness of the RFL and subsequently member clubs removes that safety net in which talented kids get their chance.

As an aside I have to say the posting style of three posters kind of involved in junior development is strikingly similar.