Deserves the number 1 shirt in 2017. As far as I'm concerned Zak walked away when we needed him most and Sutcliffe has stepped up. No NRL club will pick up ZH in my opinion. Get rid Garry. Discuss

I'd be quiet happy to stick with him there. Much better in attack when in the opponents half than Hardaker who constantly gets caught with ball in hand. Obviously his positioning in defence isn't as good as Hardaker but it's nowhere near as bad as his number 1 cheerleader on here will claim.

As for swapping Watkins to FB and Sutcliffe to centre......no thanks.

He's really come on well in the fullback position. Will get the 1 shirt in 2017 and I look forward to seeing what he will be like with a full pre season in that position under his belt.

I love how the jury was still out on him, then a good performance against featherstone and suddenly he's destined to be our No1, and hardaker wasn't that good anyway!

We seemed to have some attacking structures set up to get him the ball in hand, in space, where he can pick to either pass or run with it.

Still vulnerable to 40-20s early in the tackle count because he doesn't have the co-ordination with the wingers in terms of defensive positioning just yet. That'll get there though the more time he spends in the position.

Anyone who had any doubts about Sutty must surely recognise he's too good for Leeds de facto reserve grade.

With regards to Hardaker - agree with the OP - don't come back.

I think what we can see with Sutty is he's a good player, I'm still not sure what his best position is, either now or 5 plus years from now.

He's played mostly six, looks good at 1, and is built like an old fashioned 13 (And might get bigger yet). Just play, him, let him develop, fullback seems to be a good place for him to do that.

He gave Don Fox a run for his money today



To be fair, though, it's difficult to judge him based on that, as Fev were horrendous, but he was excellent. It will be interesting to see what happens at the end of the season, you'd have thought if Hardaker isn't coming back then Leeds need to make a decision sharpish because there's not many other options available, it seems

I along with many others bagged Sutcliffe at the start of the season. Never in a million years is he a stand off, but nobody can deny that the lad has looked more than decent at full back since Zak bailed out (not since we beat Fev!) Credit where it's due. Sutty could have folded, but he's turned it around, and those that slated him should eat some humble pie (me included)

Not at all, I was happy with his showings against Wigan and Hull and HKR for a guy that's only just moved to FB. Hardaker near the oppositions 20m has been a constant complaint for a few years now. His defence was always top notch to give him some slack though for his shortcomings in attack.

Injuries aside, Suttys a confidence player. Give him the 1 shirt, let him know you trust him and he'll grow into it next season. Don't think he'll end up at FB but he can do a good job there and we need a decent half far more.

I still think he could make a good go at 6 if he had an organising 7 at first receiver, though fullback may his position for the next year or so. I think he showing what most of us knew, that he is a talented player who should be somewhere in the 17 regardless of position.

I don't think I have ever seen a more inconsistent goal kicker before though, who can look so comfortable and then so bad within the same game.
Can anyone remember another occasion where a kicker has kicked one from the touchline and missed from in front of the posts in the same game?

Makes you realise how lucky we were with Sir Kev - great HB and a fantastic kicker. Not many teams are ever lucky enough to have someone who can double up so well and so consistently. Can't bank on that again, so we need to recruit well...reward my faith, Sleeve.

Is Kev working for Leeds in some capacity? at a minimum he would be a great kicking coach and would give everyone a boost (including the fans) by just being present on game day

Its easy to say get rid of Zak but if no NRL team wants him he still has 3 years on his Leeds deal to run.

If he comes back and i fully expect he will Zak will be full back next season in my opinion.

Sutty now looks to be fully over his knee reconstuction and is a very talented player. I expect that in next few years we will see a massive spike in his development whatever position he settles into.

A special "box for life" is being reserved for Sir Kev in one of the two new stands scheduled to be built either this decade or next, or the decade after that. That way, he'll never have any excuse not to attend in order to pass on his godly talents and wisdom.

Just awaiting planning permission.

Re-hab all week jabs play in a poor team repeat.
That was Suttys routine up until the end of May but of course its easy for experts to say he's never a 6.
Imo he can be as good at FB or 6 but the decision needs to be made now & let him make either position his own.

Sinfield had a 63% success rate when he first took over GK duties many seem to forget or overlook that.

Good to hear any routine no longer involves his nostrils.

I don't think anyone will buy Zak off us but since he has a long contract we could loan him to an NRL club for a year, where hopefully he will play well enough to get the rest of his contract bought up after that. Or we could try a swap deal for a halfback.

A lot probably depends on who is the coach next year and what their plan for the team is

If we take this season in isolation then Sutcliffe has been a better option at full back then Hardaker (taking aside that appalling conversion attempt yesterday). But Hardaker was playing well below par before his Ozz trip.

The question we have to ask is if Sutcliffe at his best is as good as Hardaker at his best?

hardaker last year was better. however its if he can recapture that form

The kick he missed in front of the sticks, the wind blew the ball of the T just has he was about to kick it and too late to pull out, just one of those things that, Just unlucky

Well no he isn't but he's only several games into the role after being lined up to be a starting HB for a couple of years. He already looks more threatening at FB in the oppositions 20m than Hardaker. Unlikely he'll ever match Hardaker's defensive side of the game but not many could, as long as he can do well at that side of the game which will come with time and practise then could actually be a better option because of his attack which we've lacked at FB since Webb departed.

I think that us a big understatement. More relevant is, is there a worse fullback starting in any if the super 8's sides? No there isn't. Is it good enough to get by, probably, but it is hardly reflective of a challenging team.

I should add however, and I know against a low level of opposition, I thought he was excellent yesterday. More with the timing and consistency of his support play, which is something really missed this year throughout the club.