It's going to be interesting over the next few years to see if the CEO manages decline effectively whilst still ensuring the club remain competitive in terms of challenging for silverware.

Up until the retirements of 2015, he's been able to manage decline effectively by only having to tinker around the edges of the squad as the youth products of the Doug Laughton and Dean Bell era provided over a decade of trophy-winning value.

If 2016 is any indication, it ain't a good start.

On the positive side, every other SL club is also having to manage decline.

The full cap will be in Cas' cap space but what if he turns up tomorrow drunk and punches Powell (not sure why i think that could happen) Cas would then sack him and he would return to Leeds. Hence the reason Leeds need to keep space available as he still has a contract with Leeds.

Thats my understanding anyway.

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I think there was a transition plan in place. In the space of 12 months the props of peacock, Bailey, leuluai and kireke was replaced with cuthbertson, Galloway, garbut and singleton.

I also think that the half back roles were earmarked for Sutcliffe and maybe Lilley. However Sutcliffe getting a major injury the thought out slightly. As does some of the signings not being up to the level we'd hoped. I think they're was a plan in place, it may not have worked, or been foolproof, but I think there was a plan

No-one wants it both ways this whole "Golden era" was built on sound quality recruitment alongside quality youngsters developed & brought through.
Nobody is saying sign Thurston or Cronk a "Dunneman" type signing would suffice or a Connolly/Furner those types don't command huge money but can make a huge difference to a transitional period.
Sinfield himself admits the influence those older heads had on his & the teams progress.
If you read the points been made everything that's been said we require has been done on countless ocassions so it isn't groundbreaking or new.

Zac is a Cas player for 2017 if he's "sacked" he's nowhere to go till 2018 mate which is when he officially returns to Leeds.

indeed. how can leeds keep cap space just in case he comes back? he's signed an airtight contract.leeds can't recall him so it's up to cas to sort him if, or probably when, he messes up

My interpretation of the SL Salary Cap means that Zak has gone on a season long loan to Castleford
Which in effect to salary cap purposes means that it is deemed as being a permanent deal for that season, therefor his full salary cap space will count on the Tigers salary cap and no room has to be left on the Rhinos salary cap

In theory Zak is Tigers problem for 2017 monetary wise and should he make any indiscretions he cannot return to the Rhinos during 2017,nor can he receive any payments for 2017 from the Rhinos

I agree I think they've pretty much followed their plan when possible, whether people think it's right is another matter. Sutcliffe whether or not people think he's the right choice for starting HB, he always seemed destined to take over and the plan always seemed to be him and McGuire for a bit. They've always been quite high on Golding, again people might not think he's the future at FB but the club does. Hardaker said when he joined Cas that he was always planning to leave Leeds at the end of his current deal so maybe all its done speed up the process of Golding getting the 1 shirt.....likewise with Sutcliffe if they expected Sinfield to do one extra year. The props as a group (Cuthbertson, Garbutt, Singleton, Galloway) I think are fine by today's standards and all offer something. We all know you can't replace Peacock like for like but we probably have a prop unit where the workload is more evenly shared out than it was.

Obviously like mentioned above one or two departures might've come at earlier times but i think they've stuck with how they wanted to go and then added Ferres when that came out of the blue. The hooker role is one they've failed to nail down and even McDermott said the other week it's one they haven't managed to get sorted ever since Buderus left so it doesn't look like they're oblivious to the problem but just haven't been able to find the right long term guy.

Thats not my understanding of it but maybe I am wrong.

I think you must be marty. if leeds had to keep his wages on the cap just in case, whats the point in letting him go?

I've had a look on the SL website and found this:

If your theory is right that is v poor by GH.

Hardaker has a contract until 2019, if Leeds are keeping his salary to one side to cover that type of scenario they are say £100k behind the competition for every year it happens, At at a time when they need to get in as much quality as possible. If that is correct it adds up to pretty woeful man management. Either get Hardaker playing for Leeds or get rid.

I hope and expect the deal is Cas carry the risk in 2017, so if your scenario happened, Powell would have to kiss and make up or wear the cost for a season and send Zak back for Boxing Day

You with yer sense and yer reason. Go on. P|ss off.

Don't be stupid. There was never any kind of transition plan in place at all.
I have it on good authority that the 2 idiots GH and Mac were waiting on Sir Kev & JP to come up with a plan, but unfortunately both players bug***ed off before telling anyone what to do.

We're now looking at 20+ years of mediocrity. What a nightmare.

What is the plan?

Ferris wasn't planned and neither was Segeyaro both were just a fortune of circumstance. So what was the plan for 2016 because whatever it was it didn't work so who is responsible for that? I doubt it was Peacock and Sinfield!!

Perhaps GH would have done well not to fall out with his captain and then only Peacock would have retired in 2015 but the CEO has a plan.

Sorry Sal can you bring me up to speed on the GH Sinfield fall out? I must have missed that.

They fell out so badly that Sinfield was allowed to finish his Rhinos career a year early at its absolute zenith & move to the sister club Yorkshire Carnegie to have a 12 month crack at RU.
But I'm sure SP & WE can twist that with yet more negative spin.

Don't expect a reply on that, at least not a truthful one anyway and definitely not one that's backed up with any evidence.
Now you've called him out on his bull, you'll be subjected to days, weeks or maybe months on end of abuse from him and his girlfriends.

Good luck!

It was an honest question. But I could not give a $hit who comes after me on an internet forum.

My understanding is as follows:

Sinfield was discussing his future with GH and suggested his future was more in sports admin than in coaching and his ideal job would be CEO of Leeds Rhinos. GH took umbridge and the two fell out.

Soon after Sinfield was at a press conference saying how much he wanted to play RU!!

Since his retirement has he been seen at Leeds - no - very strange for a club that prides itself on looking after players who have been loyal to the club - read into that what you will. You would have thought he would be an ideal person to support the side during the dark days of 2016?

It was announced he was off well before 2015 unfolded as it did so he could easily have finished as 2014 did. If you think GH was happy about it ask why him and McGeechan haven't spoken since?

Last December's floods provided the ideal chance for GH to dispose of the body! Why didn't I see it before??

Didn't Sinfield quit the sister Union club early too?

He originally signed an 18 month contract with them.

Said he wanted to quit early in order to get a proper job



I'll let you decide whether my response is factual or negative spin

Pretty much everybody has known for maybe 3/4/5 years that Sinfield wasn't interested in coaching and his preference was sports admin. GH will have known this better and earlier than anyone else so I hardly think he took umbridge at the start of 2015.



He did come out earlier in the year and back them to bounce back. Not sure exactly what you want him to do? The club has to move on and not keep returning to him whenever they hit trouble and Sinfield himself probably wants to step away from the comfort zone of Headingley.