[iThere is an obsession with Full baks being an "extra half bak" that link well in attak. Zak is the antithesis.....[/i

BUT.... I have said it for some time now, he is the best FB I have seen at the club for the decades I have watched the game (and that includes Webb, Tait and Etingshausen). I don't say that lightly because it depends on how you define 'best' of course. ...For me the utmost credentials for a FB are superlative capabilities as last line of defence, safety under the high ball and confident great kick returns. If that player also has the additional abilities of pace and power then I would not ask any more of the individual. Zak has all of those credentials.

Can anybody tell me who else would make the try saving tackles that the lad makes...and IMO that is every bit as exciting and a pleasure to watch as anything the likes of Sam Tomkins or anybody else can produce in attack.

(I will forgive him the one puzzling letting-the-ball-bounce incident)

Yeah but the per carry stats for try assists and tries tells us that Scott Grix is a better FB



As for the one catch he messed up I think it was a communication problem between him and Handley which isn't the first time that's happened between those two.

tackle of the season.

He was outstanding in attack also today, he timed his runs into the line very well.

Couldn't argue with Sinfield for MotM but thought Zak was very close and McGuire did some sparkling stuff today.

Great to have Hall back, he makes a huge difference to our Strike power.

Huddersfield were poor today but thought we really clicked and looked as sharp as at any time this season. Sinfield is not easy to replace is he?

Zak's tackle on Grix was absolutely sensational and i still don't know how he stopped a certain try being scored?

Didn't Leeds then go up the field and score?

Zak has to be the future at FB for England as he is head and shoulders above everyone IMO

Future? He should have been for the past two years. Hardaker is the best English fullback by a distance and Tomkins is the best English attacking player. 1. Hardaker 6. Widdop 7. Tomkins would be a fantastic combination, but Steve Mc can't seem to see that.

Very true.Many of us have been suggesting this for since the WC. Its clear Hardaker is a far better all round option at international level, he seems to pull off at least one great defensive play each game and he is a real threat bringing the ball back and in broken play.Not as good as Tomkins linking the play and chiming into the line but everywhere else he is superior imo. If Mcnamara doesn't go with this combination in the Autumn he can't be watching much SL in OZ right now.

Think of the upside for fans of other teams as well if Zak does play FB for England
They have an instant scapegoat

Problem you have with playing Hardaker at full-back for England rather than Tomkins is that it puts more pressure on the half-backs and loose-forward to be creative in attack because you don't have that third option of Tomkins coming into the line.

England simply don't have half-backs who can do that, unfortunately. Smith and Widdop are both game managers, while Tomkins hasn't played in the halves for four or five years. You can't just shove him back in there against New Zealand, he'll get hammered.

No he's not, there's 6 others better than him according to some on here.

Watched it back and it's still as good. They made a good point when reviewing afterwards. Normally in those two on ones the attackers, particularly the ball carrier who makes the break, dictate how the play goes and the FB is almost just hopeful that they make a mess of it and give him a chance. In this instance and others with Hardaker (Wigan at home late on) he seems to be dictating exactly what goes on even though there's two of them and only one of him. When I saw them make the break I still felt we had a chance to stop it being a try simply because of who we have at FB.

I watched it back, and another thing that stood out, and even my 13 year old commented on it, was the action of McGuire after Hardakers tackle.

He made a 5h1thouse action, that had Tomkins, McClorum, Westwood, etc had done, fellow Leeds fans would be spitting blood at. It was really poor form from a guy who was captaining us the previous few weeks. Something in his game over last few years that many opposition fans have called, and we all refuse to accept.

Yeah I noticed that too and wasn't impressed by it at all.

Also noticed, the break came down the right hand side when we had both Sinfield and Burrow over there, adding more weight to the argument of should Burrow be in the 17 if we have to double stack halves on one side of the pitch defensively.

Haven't taped the game and surprisingly the tackle isn't on the highlights on the Rhinos site. What went on?

He gives Grix, whose nose was heavily bandaged, a facial in the tackle. It was unnecessary and a bit ehouse.

He actually pulled at the nose plugs and bandage stopping the bleeding.

It happens, not the only one, but a ehouse tactic that we would all call if someone else. There was no need for it.

Bit cheap and unnecessary. Something he's always had in his game, unfortunately.

No it wasn't. The timing of the pass and Grixs lack of pace made it look far batter than it was.

The angle of Ferres' run put the odds in Hardaker's favour also, had he ran straight it would've been a try. Can't fault the tackle once he'd caught him though - superb.

Get away, show me a better tackle this season and I'll show you a list of specsavers greatest offers!

zak is without a doubt the best full back in sl
can anyone be selected infront of him for england in this seasons tests v the kiwis?

has anyone got the link to the pre season debate regarding zak and which full backs were better in sl as it certainly had a few of interesting selections ahead of zak that can't even get a game at their clubs at present

Quote ="Jonesy's a Legend"zak is without a doubt the best full back in sl can anyone be selected infront of him for england in this seasons tests v the kiwis? has anyone got the link to the pre season debate regarding zak and which full backs were better in sl as it certainly had a few of interesting selections ahead of zak that can't even get a game at their clubs at present'" It was on this 'Skills' thread, quite a few pages but I think it had Greg Eden, Jamie Shaul, Matty Bowen, Paul Wellens, Rhys Hanbury and Luke Dorn as better FB's than Hardaker. viewtopic.php?f=17&t=576847&start=110

Quote ="Jonesy's a Legend"zak is without a doubt the best full back in sl can anyone be selected infront of him for england in this seasons tests v the kiwis? has anyone got the link to the pre season debate regarding zak and which full backs were better in sl as it certainly had a few of interesting selections ahead of zak that can't even get a game at their clubs at present'" It was on this 'Skills' thread, quite a few pages but I think it had Greg Eden, Jamie Shaul, Matty Bowen, Paul Wellens, Rhys Hanbury and Luke Dorn as better FB's than Hardaker. viewtopic.php?f=17&t=576847&start=110

Quote ="ThePrinter"It was on this 'Skills' thread, quite a few pages but I think it had Greg Eden, Jamie Shaul, Matty Bowen, Paul Wellens, Rhys Hanbury and Luke Dorn as better FB's than Hardaker. i.rlfans.com/forums/viewtopic.ph ... &start=110'" i would never slate wellens as he is an absolute legend who ever chose these other full backs as being better than zak?

Quote ="ThePrinter"It was on this 'Skills' thread, quite a few pages but I think it had Greg Eden, Jamie Shaul, Matty Bowen, Paul Wellens, Rhys Hanbury and Luke Dorn as better FB's than Hardaker. i.rlfans.com/forums/viewtopic.ph ... &start=110'" i would never slate wellens as he is an absolute legend who ever chose these other full backs as being better than zak?

Having seen 3 games this week, Hardaker is 4 or 5 higher levels than any of the 5 other full backs on show. Not just things like his last man defence (compare and contrast Hardaker's stopping of a certain try with Grix to how McNally waived Scruton through today, or Hall's inability to tackle anything ever), or his safety under the kicks (compare to Hampshire on Friday), even some of the less obvious things like his position to deep kicks, oppositions rarely find grass getting us further forward on the return but also getting a quicker PTB,

His passing game is improving but isn't there yet, but he is, imo, comfortably the best FB in SL and there is no reason he cant be up there with anyone in the world.