Seems he was told after Wakey to "up his game". www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/s ... _1_4172735

Seems he was told after Wakey to "up his game". www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/s ... _1_4172735

This sums the guy up for me. I think someone has been having a go at him about his low number of carries and how does the big man respond.

"Well, I did a lot of work when we played touch and pass in Cyprus - but not against the nasty boys in the front row"
"I played at the weekend but I was poorly"
"I couldn't get the Academy boys to pass me the ball"

And the "stating the frikkin obvious" award of the decade goes to Kirke, and could be used to sum up his Leeds career

"I probably could have had more carries"

Yes, Ian, you probably could have.

Whilst I accept what you have said Gareth, the most irratating comment for me there is "I’ve not trained with those (under-20s) lads and I don’t know some of their names".

Can you imagine the likes of Sinfield, Peacock, JJB, Burrow, saying something like that? No you couldn't because, they probably show a desire throughout the club to to know every player and be available to advise.

Not knowing the players at your club.

sad to say, but he was proper poor against Hunslet on Sunday......he should have been stand-out wot wi' his grand final experience and all that but to be honest I forgot he was playing....

got a lot of work to do to get any kind of regular place this year.....

For me, Ian Kirke has to fight for a place in the pack just like everyone else. We have lots of competition there, so he'll have to earn it. If Brian Mac feels at any stage of the season that he has done that then he should play. If not, he will probably find that he knows the U20 lads a lot better by the end of the season. Such is life, and I think the same applies to all our other forwards.

Good point, and does he really need to know people's names in order to get the ball from them? Surely using their number or even shouting "I'll have it" at them would surfice.

Never been one of these who particularly dislikes him but with the players we now have in the squad, I can't see him getting much game time should everyone stay fit. May as well give Ambler the time to show what he can do

Whats the harm in admitting that he felt [is[/ihit and couldn't really be bothered.

Unless Leeds suffer an acute spate of injuries in the forwards, I have a feeling that Kirke's days of regular first team action at Leeds could be numbered. Let's see if he can force his way into the team on merit.

I can't see him getting a place in a reasonably strong match squad at either second row or prop.

Peacock, Bailey, Griffin, Leuluai are all definitely ahead of him. How Moore goes is yet to be seen, but it may depend on the approach to the game. However, he must still be in the plans or the 2 year contract wouldn't make much sense

Delaney, Ablett, JJB, Clarkson & Hauraki are all ahead of him in the back row.

We are strong in the back row. Jay Pitts seems to be much the forgotten man at the moment. I'd be keen to see how he develops over the next 12 months.

Admitting he felt [is[/ihit is fine.

Admitting he couldn't really be bothered wouldn't be.

Not sure he actually did admit that, mind you.

Looks like the Four-Times Grand Final winner is earmarked to be the main target of agenda-driven critique again by the usual suspects before the season has even kicked off.

No surprises there.

In years to come and the next generation of fans read the history books and see his name in those GF winning teams and the other big games,and when this squad has its reunions coming onto the pitch,he will still be part of a legendary era.Wether he was fortunate to be there is another thing

Have we not been here before ?



Somehow I think Kirke will continue to defy logic and still gain a place in the first 17 for a large part of the season.....

I hope he does Mr Nantwichexile.....I really do.....

and he will allus be part of Leed's history....grand finals and all.....

but he was wi'out a doubt woeful on Sunday........

Some folk are never happy! Kirke's stated he's prepared to fight for his place in the U20s, what more do you want?

As much as I share a lot of other posters feelings towards Kirke, I must admit, his hit on Solomona in the playoff last year was a beauty and sent a clear statement to Warringtons pack.

We have been here before, and he keeps getting a decent amount of game time each season. Last season Kirke was probably behind both Cross & Burgess at the start of the season, but the club were happy enough with their options to let them both go. Now with the props we have this year I see him as 5th/6th choice. However, I'm not a GF winning coach, nor am I a CEO who has delivered 5 GF wins in 8 years, so if he plays or gets a new contract then I am happy to bow to superior knowledge & judgement on the matter.

I forgot about that! It truly was an awesome hit....right up to the point where he went to help him back up! Still, set the tone for the game though.

How very dare you Madam! It is common knowledge within the Southstander intelligentsia that the only sensible gauge of a players worth is the number of Grand Final winners rings in his possession.

The Boy Kirke has 4, ergo he is beyond criticism, and in no way can be held to account for the dismal display of the other 12 spotty oiks who turned out at the weekend.

Perhaps they were overawed to have such an illuminary within their ranks?

I think we can all recount moments of excellence from Kirkey over the years. But these are very few and far between; all fans want is 100% effort for the team. I feel sorry for him that he does receive a lot of stick, but he rarely proves the doubters wrong.
I've said before that he should be the natural successor to JP. Sadly the fact that they are a similar size is where the comparison ends as JP has got the heart of a lion.
We would all love him to finally reach his potential; how long do we wait though?

I think a lot of Kirke's failure to reach his fullest potential might be down to ambition. Don't get me wrong, he has achieved plenty, but I think given his size and athleticism he could have been a real star rather than a steady-away interchange player. I'm not sure he really believed that though.

I retain some appreciation of his contribution, perhaps more than most, but his raw numbers didn't stack up last year and he certainly hasn't been as good as he, IMHO, could have been. Which given that he's still helped us win 4 titles is perhaps more sad for him than for us.

It would've been a better excuse than saying he didn't know x's name in the U20s.

if kirke is able to be a 80 minute player then his value to the team suddenly becomes more apparent, we know peacock and bailey can do long stints and kylie is only good in short bursts but kirke is still untested at the top level

its unfair to compare him to peacock as only a handful of props in super league share that passion,hunger and sheer bloody mindedness to do the stuff he does and thats why he's a legend
kirke is sound in defence and while not great at busting tackles he's pretty good at landing in a position to enable a quick play the ball
with 6 props he will get game time as we rotate to rest players and that will help the team in the long run