i agree. where have i said otherwise??????????

Sorry miss read your post

Whilst not denying the importance of a solid defence, surely we need at least 1 of our centres to have an ounce of attacking flair!

I think Delaney and ablett both have attack ability but I know what you mean. Surley Watkins and smith have attacking flair?(though some seem to have a downer on smith saying he has lost his pace?)

You don't need to have pace to be a good centre - Mal Meninga was hardly Usain Bolt, neither was Matt Gidley or Brad Godden. Speed of thought in that position often outwits speed of movement.

I think most of the soft tries we've conceded have been down the middle of the pitch, due to poor goal line defense and poor line speed. I'm not saying hasn't been poor defensivly but most of our poor defense has been a result of poor structure and poor attitude rather than individual errors.

No idea what you mean

Or fitness, in the case of a certain Tonie Carroll.

Or raw ability if you are called Michael Shenton, just duck under all the hype.

Agree not everyone has to be 18. Stone of muscle and lightning fast.

Yeah like the Ancient Mariner!

Senior extended his contract as part of the 'magnificent seven' and unlike two of those pulled on the boots for Leeds this season.

I can only hope Watkins (when fit) defends better at left centre than he does on the right. Teams will have a field day running at him. He appears unable to trust his inside defender and is forever edging in (or ball watching) instead of drifting out. Watkins could eventually make a good centre but at the moment he makes a much better winger.



I've known it all season but there again I havn't joined in the clamour to see him put out to stud. If Leeds had a better option in the position why havn't we seen it?

i agree about watkins. for me he could end up a real class winger. i'm still not sure he will make a centre. great with ball in hand but poor in defence,especially reading plays.

Re: Watkins. If you have talent and speed as an outside back I think it's much easier to make an impression much more quickly as a winger. I think playing centre will take a bit of time to adapt to the role. Sadly for Watkins, for several reasons, he's never been able to put together a run in the position.

I am confident he will be a top class centre, even though I recognise some of the failings TVOC has pointed out. He has all the raw talent and seems to have a good attitude.

Only time will tell but at the minute watkins makes a good winger given time I think he could make a top class centre

Well so far so good then for life without Senior. 2 games played, 2 different right centres, 2 wallopings. But the majority of Leeds fans are glad he's on the sidelines!

Smith's performance on Friday was far better than anything Seniors done this year.

But let's just live in the past eh?

Its not just about what Senior did 'directly'. Smith is a good centre no doubt, but from an oppositions point of view doesn't need anywhere near as much attention in terms of marking. Senior (despite his mistakes) did require additional marking, leaving a bit more room for others (usually Hall) to work with.

I agree Senior is to a degree 'the past' but sadly he is our best centre, and we will continue to miss him IMO. The 2 games we have played in his absense only confirm this to me.

They confirm nothing. How does playing against Bradford, Crusaders, Harlequins, compare to playing against Warrington and Saints?

Smith looked better on Friday despite the result, than Senior has done all year. Therefore I dissagree with your statement of Senior is our best centre. Not convinced Smith is the long term answer at centre though.

A game is a game, regardless of opposition. EVERY team wants to beat Leeds as (for some reason) we're still seen as a bench mark team. Teams are beating each other all over the shop this season - who would have forseen a Catalan double over the champions, the same Catalan team that we dispatched with no problem?

Smith will do a decent job at centre, due to his versatility. Personally I prefer him at FB, but since we've a multitude of options there its unlikely Smith will get much of a look in. That said, I for one would still like to have Senior available for selection. I just hope there are some 3/4 signings in the bag for next year but I'm not holding my breath

Do you seriously think having Senior for the last 2 matches would of made a difference?
If you do then look back to his prior efforts against Wire and Saints earlie in the season and look at how other teams have targetted him.
A leeds legend but thats just it a legend who's time is up now.

Agree. Interesting that even when he's not playing he's still a scapegoat.

Seconded

Of course it would, we'd have lost by more!

Impossible to say if Senior would have made any significant difference, certainly couldn't have made things any worse. The results since his injury suggest we are missing him. Warrington, fair enough, a good team who walloped us, but Saints were far from full strength whilst we were(apart from Senior) yet we had a distinct lack of attacking venom. As you say, he is a targetted man, which invariably leaves gaps elsewhere for others to pursue. That is why I believe it would be useful to still have him around. Its more an indication of our lack of decent centres than anything else but he is missed.

In the 1st half, I think that Senior's size may have helped him get over the try line whereas Saints were able to bundle Smith over the touch line in goal.