Not imo and no excuses either.
Senior is no longer the threat he was ball in hand and his defence is no where near as good as it was 2yrs ago as shown by how he's performed that's what i see watching him week in week out.
Robbie has proven he still is a threat with the ball more often than Keith nor has his defence deteriated as Keiths has imo.
Now of course feel free to disagree but it does'nt add up to "excuses" for either player whereas your use of Broughtons international call up by Mcbanana as back up to your argument we've missed out whilst deriding Ferres' call up as disbelief and doubting the coaches sanity on the other hand...........

to be honest I agree with you on senior, and in some ways agree with your assessment of burrow. I do see glimpses from him but for me i have been unimpressed with him for past few years. I agree he is the best we have in that position and hope he goes on to have a great year and prove my opinions on him wrong. In a ideal world I personally would have liked to see Chase as our stand off and Mags at 7.

Having said that I would never boo him and have never booed any player for leeds. I think the big difference between the senior and Burrow assessment is that Keith to me looks uninterested. I have my feelings regarding burrows faults but that is something you cannot level against him.

Nobody (I hope) can dispute Burrow's attitude, guts, tackling ability and amazing speed for a guy with such little legs in broken play. I admire all those qualities. The question is ...is he a good enough scrum half with a wide range of kicking bag-of-tricks to keep the opposition guessing when/if he attacks the line....or will he try to simply duck under tackles, run sideways or throw out a predictable pass ?

I personally dont think his kicking game or organisation are good enough and would have prefered Chase and Mags as half back.

Hard to even pick a team this week! I reckon it'll probably something along the lines of;

Webb
Watkins
Ablett
Senior
Hall
Sinfield
Burrow
Cross
Buderus
Kirke
Hauraki
Lauitiiti
Jones-Buchannan

McShane
Singleton
Bailey (if fit)
Burgess

Difficult to pick a team this week, unsure who will be fit or avalable, If the above is the team I would prefer to start with Burgess,

So that would be a team with 9 full internationals, plus a number of others who have represented their country at various junior levels.

Not bad for a team supposedly crippled by injuries.

Ironic isnt it.

I reckon all four mentioned in the "watching" list will be in the 19 man squad, but dont think all four will play:

Webb, Watkins, Ablett, Senior, Hall, Sinfield, Burrow, Cross, Buderus, Burgess, Hauraki, Jones-Buchanan, Clarkson
Bailey/Leuluai, Singleton, Hauraki, Delaney.

Leuluai/Bailey, Smith.

Thats how we will probably end up lining up with how things are going at the moment.

Referee - J Child.

Lots of fun then ala last year at the same venue!

Road works in Wakefield will cause major problems unless you avoid the City Centre.


Alternative route from North Wakefield & Leeds:
M1 to Jcn39
1st exit onto Denby Dale Rd towards Wakefield
Straight across (2nd exit) at 1st roundabout
4th exit onto Asdale Rd at the second roundabout
Straight across (2nd exit) at the small roundabout opposite Asda
Left at the T-junction onto Barnsley Rd
Through 2 sets of traffic lights then right onto Agbrigg Rd
Under the railway bridge then, depending on where you want to park, either:
- left onto Sugar Lane
or
- straight on then left at T-junction onto Doncaster Rd which passes the ground on your left.

Nantwich - in reply I just don't see why Burrow and senior get singled out when it's clear as a team we are not performing.

How many times has Mcshane played 7 and senior started in the pack? Answer not many. That's because coaches know better than posters on here.

I dont want to see senior in the pack. I would be happy for him to be left out of the team on current form he doesnt deserve his place other than reputation. Sadly due to injuries he will carry on in the centres, however If Senior is to carry on, surley he should be asked to move centre, whats the point of watkins who is the future left centre playing on the right?

Normally I'd agree with you but with this one I'm not so sure.

It's only my opinion but I think senior is doing ok. No better or no worse than watkins, Webb, smith etc. The backs are playing behind a beaten pack not many back lines get on top when this happens. I believe when get a consistent run with our near enough first choice pack we will start to see the backs create more.

I hope your right, and yes we will probably see a upturn when the forwards return,

But i still dont see the point in not putting Watkins at left centre if that is where he will be playing for a long time

You might be right.

Personally I still think Watkins has a long way to go before he is anywhere near the threat Senior is. old or not Senior attracts defenders to him which must create space for others.

Watkins although he has potential really has to get the basics right before he can lay claim to Seniors spot. his passing as a centre has to be spot on. The ability to put your winger away is Seniors greatest strength and Watkins has got a way to go before he can match Senior there. the little flick passes look good but are not effective often enough.

Be my guest. How many interviews have you heard with the players (the ones that play with him not posters on messageboards) and they say that Rob guides them around the park, always talking always prompting.

Reminds me of an old sales manager I used to have.... Worked for years but when they looked more closely into the actual effective work he did they sacked him.

Senior reminds me of a top salesman who started playing more golf on time out ... His reputation maintained his employment but he abused it and then simply ran out of steam.

Stop it, stop it right now.

From my own pov i don't think Keith has been up to his usual high standards for over 18 mths that includes playing behind a dominant pack.
His destructive running and creative skills are on the slide due to his ageing years and performances like Wire away last year are too few and far between whilst the ordinary and in some cases poor by his own standards continue to rise.
It happens to ALL the players at some point and like i posted elsewhere i think the TS approach to Barrie Mac needs to be replicated.

Never have I wanted the Loiners to win so emphatically this sunday. Would've probably popped along for an ale or 2 but we got some expansion business to deal with.

Sad but true...However owing to the injuries to BJB and Hardaker it seems we might have to endure his slide for a little bit longer still.

Watkins needs a run there in his place, but Watkins' highlighted deficiencies mean it might be better to let him continue learning on the right wing ...thus further compounding the issue of continuing to require Senior's services at centre.

James Child = Leeds loss