Too many fans base their expectations on the golden generation at Leeds. To have that many quality players coming through at a similar time was a freak, and won't happen again for a long time.

In reality, if we can keep a couple of players coming through the system each year then we're doing well. Jowitt, Batch, Johnstone and Crowther are all regulars. Kershaw and Croft are probably a couple of years behind, you've then Bailey, Aydin, Bowes just starting out with Greensmith, Eseh, O'Donovan and Windrow a year or two further back.

Not all of them will make it, but within a couple of years we've the potential for half our first team to be home grown. I don't think we can complain at that.

Bet they can

Of course for every crowther we will have say a hooley or a gwaze.hope we do have a team of home grown lads playing for us in sl there would be nothing better.i could name one of next lads too but its unfair on him but he a scholarship lad and he looks to hsve everything to go far( just pity covid is hampering development)

Going slightly OT but an interesting choice of players there and one that shows how incredibly difficult it can be t sign the right players, especially at youth level.

Hooley was touted as a star in the making. Yet IMO his career in SL was over after his first big game appearance in the boxing day game a few years back. Don't know why but for some players just freeze when they step up and he instantly looked out of his depth. Yet 18 months previous the smart money was on him.

Gwaze on the other hand never looked a world beater but he was making steady progress and looked a reasonable squad player in the four games he played. We could do with him now that's for sure. I'm told and I can't offer to much detail that Gwaze wasn't let go for Rugby reasons but due to a shall we say a difference of opinion on current issues, you work it out. Might not be right but my source is usually on the money.

These may be relatively unimportant younger players but it's not untypical of all ages and goes to show just how difficult it is to get the right blend of 30 players and then keep them happy, I couldn't do it.

Just looking at our 2018 squad, possibly our second-best squad in SL after 2004.

1 Scott Grix
2 Tom Johnstone
3 Bill Tupou
4 Reece Lyne
5 Ben Jones-Bishop
6 Jacob Miller
7 Liam Finn
8 David Fifita
9 Kyle Wood
10 Anthony England
11 Matty Ashurst
12 Danny Kirmond
13 Tyler Randell
14 Justin Horo
15 Pauli Pauli
16 Tinirau Arona
17 Craig Huby
18 Joe Arundel
19 James Batchelor
20 Keegan Hirst
21 Max Jowitt
22 Jordan Baldwinson
23 Chris Annakin
24 Mason Caton-Brown
25 Ryan Hampshire
26 Luke Hooley
27 Jordan Crowther
28 Lee Kershaw
29 Lewis Wray
30 Christian Ackroyd

To me, it looks like we went with 4 out and out props, two middles and a project.

Fifita - Fifita
Huby - Green
England - Tangata
Hirst - ?

Arona - Arona (Prop/LF)
Pauli Pauli - Tanginoa (is there any doubt over who wins this one?)

Baldwinson - Aydin

So as far as I can see they are pretty similar, just one out and out prop short. No offence but when you consider that prop Hirts I don't think it would be too hard to replace with similar. In fact, is we get Battye it's a far superior swap. Also, Aydin looks a far better prospect then Baldwinson.

Truth is if we can get Fifita back on track, get Green fully fit, and Tangata and especially Arona find their top form we are ok. It clearly demonstrates that it was the lack of injuries in 2018 and the endless list of injuries in 2019/20 that was the killer, not the lack of numbers, assuming people realise we can only afford so many players.

Apology to Titus, I'd got the wrong end of the stick and I have been rightly chastised. I'm not sure why Wakey didn't keep him on but for whatever reason he was let go it wasn't for the reason I eluded to

I always thought Chris Annakin never reached his full potential, he was an animal at academy level. Shame.

Sadly never had the size to carry it into SL.

Great effort and endeavour but just lacked that weight and size.

I think it’s a shame he wasn’t groomed to be a 13 who can cover 9. He looked like he had the game for that role.

Yes he should of been transitioned into a 9 at SL level. Think he’d of been decent.

I liked Chris. He was a good honest grafter. Local lad and while not a superstar he gave what he had to the trinity 110%.

You must mean transition to 9 in his young years because he couldn’t have been further from a 9 the last few years he was at trinity. His ball handling skills were always suspect in collision and never really saw him lay out many passes. The guy would run into a brick wall. If he was a few inch taller he would have been a very very good damaging forwards. Can hold his head high though. Albeit a squad rotation player the lad lived his SL dream.

All clubs have these mystery players, where you wonder why they were never pushed in a new direction. It was obvious Anakin would never be big enough, some like Belly get away with it but Anakin didn’t have that X factor. He should have been re trained as a no 9 at a guess, assuming of course he had the aptitude but for some reason they carried on pushing him as a back rower. He had some blinders but without the physicality to back it up he just couldn’t compete on a regular basis.

Worse still he didn’t fair much better in the Championship. Mishandled career I suppose.