No blame on young Lilley but go forward starts at hooker and we have none. Needs sorting.

Agreed. Did well for a youngster playing out of position but is a square peg in a round hole

We need a hooker who can defend solidly in the middle. He doesn't have to be great with the ball. Aiton isn't the most creative hooker, but he's strong physically with and without the ball.

ROBBIE WARD.

We have a hooker, Mac is just refusing to pick him. Two under-par performances do not a bad player make - and let's remember that he went well for us when he played last year.

The 'no hooker' gimmick was great while it worked, but clubs have got it worked out. What it meant tonight was Lilley out of position and, when Sinny had to go off, trying to play with only two pivots.

He was decent with the ball. I think people underrate him. I'm defence he is mobile and brave and punches way above his weight. He will be missed and need a to be adequately replaced

Thought Lilley did ok as others have said for one out of position.That said it's very strange that We played a rookie out of position when we have another rookie in Ward who CAN play hooker.

Robbie Ward has been outplayed by the opposition hooker in most 19 games this year & senior Hunslet players had doubts over his commitment with them so why do fans think they know more than coach's who see him on a daily basis. He isn't good enough. We need a quality hooker if we want to compete like we did earlier in the year

Ward can't defend in the middle, at the moment we would probably be better putting someone like Stevie Ward there who's robust defensively, because we're missing that far more than we're missing creativity from dummy half.

Yes people have/are going to focus on the attacking aspect of hooker, but until Sinfield went off we were doing ok-ish considering the tired bodies in the forwards.

What we really miss (and the forwards) is Aiton in the middle in defence, they cut us open down the middle. That's why I wasn't keen on playing Lilley at 9. He played ok I thought but it's just the Burrow situation again, you're messing up your balance in defence by not having him defend in the middle.

It aint gonna get any better.....Burrow (if fit) will be there next match. We're all out of options it seems. At least Juan will be happy (he was the only one that seemed to think Aiton was easily replaced by Burrow and it was nowt to worry about)

Well if he can watch tonight's game and still say defence isn't crucial for a hooker then I despair.

I agree we generally miss a solid presence in the tackling department at 9 but come on guys,some of those missed tackles tonight were cringeworthy bad, are we trying to say that was down to no Aiton? When Matt Cook brushes off three and waltzes 60 meteres you know you have problems

A combination of missing 30/40 tackles a game from him for several weeks though adds up for the guys who have to make them in his absence. They were tired attempts in defence.

It's a fair point, but Aiton appeared to be the leader of the defensive line, and the main reason for the poor defense in the middle is we're moving up slowly, and not as a unit.

Agreed.But there needs to be some soul searching from some big names.It was schoolboy stuff out there tonight and can't be excused because we are missing our regular hooker.

Yep, Delaney and Garbut were particularly guilty tonight.

Leeds just confirmed that Robbie ward has not been given a new contract.

Thought Lilley was one of very few positives tonight Yes we lose a defender in the middle but he did well at dummy half for such an inexperienced player. Passing was quite crisp and he generally chose to run at the right times.

No not happy at all. Do you think for some reason had Aiton played in the last three games he somehow would have avoided the post Wembley hangover that has beset the whole Team? The same thing happened last year and it included Aiton then.

Also why would Aiton's presence have prevented the missed tackles of Ablett, Garbutt and Hardaker etc tonight.

You can scoff but we are certainly missing Burrow on attack and also the mobility of JJB and Keinhorst in defense.

You cannot blame tonight's defeat on a lack of tackling by Lilley. It was the missed tackles by several players and the lack of go forward. Cas played very well and were faster in every position than Leeds who were lethargic with the exception of Ward, Cuthbertson and Moon. The rest made too many mistakes.

Of course all our injuries have been crucial as has our extra cup game and we have totally lost momentum on attack and defense and it will take a miracle to turn this around.

So based on this season's form, Aiton wouldn't have made a difference, but JJB, and Keinhorst would?

Never said that. It is the total number of injuries that has done for us not just the loss of Aiton.

Lilley joined Sinfield and McGuire defending on the fringes. Forwards plus Watkins to pick up the slack midfield with a big bench to share the load except the Leeds coach seemingly skipped class the day they taught game management.

If the Leeds forwards (Peacock, Delaney, Ablett and Ward) are looking flogged right now it's because they are.

You can Leeds are really struggling because tvoc comes out of hiding.

But his point is totally true.