Bateman is unreal. Nowt on him. Yet he's a monster to put down. Scores loads. Offloads loads. Breaks loads. Tackles loads. Misses little. Freak of a player

You'll be telling me he does all the little things well next. Like I say, good player but he isn't in the top 5 standout players this season so far for me. Anyway, MOS will be decided in the final few weeks of the season, not now

Long way to go but if he keeps up his current form will be in the mix.

Only 55 tackles last night, needs to up his efforts

While for me DH has really come of age this season, his workload and tackling are now being backed up by his reading of the game and his passing is far more accurate. He is a true contender, however for me Gareth Ellis is just on another level, especially when you consider he has no right to even be playing the game after the Achilles injury he sustained. I don't think I've ever seen anyone hit so hard, and it's not once or twice a game, it's shot after shot. It's like he's on a mission. His leadership, for me is pivotal to our success, as he rallies the troops with passion and leads by example in both his physical condition and the way he plays the game.

Not like you to post for effect...

Indeed, if you keep posting that you might get right eventually

Typical tinted glasses on here, you are comparing a player you see week in week out against a player you see mainly on sky!

Bit of a strange argument. I bet Hull fans have Bateman play more than Wigan fans have seen Shaul, given that Wigan are on Sky every other week.

I try not to watch games when wigan are on as they're dull as ditchwater to watch. bateman's a quality player but in that wigan team I don't see how anyone can be named man of steel. "Man of boring rugby every week" maybe? Or "Man of can't win if the ref doesn't let you cheat"?

Ellis for me. On a totally different level and as has been well documented in the past, his mere presence raises the performance of those around him. Plus he goes round dishing out bangs like they're going out of business! Inspirational guy and a pleasure to see lead us into battle!

If he stays fit and continues the way he's been playing then he's definitely a contender. Like you say it's a pleasure to watch him play.

IMO still one of the best second row forwards in sl

I wouldn't swap Ellis for any other second rower in the league. Can't help but admire the guy. For me he's the linchpin to our current form, a bit like the any form we've had in the past couple of years except now there's quality around him too! He demands that his team match his level and he leads by example too. Can you imagine him playing for us in his pomp?!? Jesus!!

Actually he's inspiring me so much at the moment I nearly got his name on the back of my shirt earlier (until I found out it was £15 a go and there was a Snapback cap I quite liked)

He's literally the difference between us being 5th and languishing where Leeds are. He is a 22 year old that has single handedly won us about 5 or 6 games this year.