Not even the most clueless Leeds fan sees us as a "benchmark team," far less the opposition. And on this seasons performances, Keef kept his spot simply because we are totally lacking in having a quality centre to challenge him.

And no, I don't see Lee Smith as the answer either.

Was it?

I only watched the game once but I can't recall any positive contribution whatsoever from him. I don't recall many glaring errors either mind.

You kind of answered your own question at the end there then. So as we were.

Smith isn't the answer but is probably the best option we have at the moment

Sums up the season to date does that.

Indeed.

Why this persistence is saying Smith is our 'best' option at centre ? How depressing.

Until the return to fitness of Watkins and BJB why can't we utilise the reserve teams (Wilson) or try Hall there ? In fact experiment with both Wilson and Hall in the centres against HKR. Get Delaney in the SR where he belongs and where he will be [ieffective[/i.

So what if it proves to be an error...this season is a write off anyway. Top 4 is beyond this present Rhinos' set up regardless and the paucity of SL strength in depth will still ensure a top 8 spot either way.

Senior should not have been depended on this season ....for gawd's sake. It's a blessing in disguise which will hopefully compel GH and the club to act at long bluddy last.

I wish the old fella well ...and if he does stay at the club (he shouldn't other than for sentimental reasons) it should be as a back up second rower only.

I can see senior at Leeds next year. Just hope there are a few more faces not present.

Agree we should probably be given some chances to the youth but i would still like to see us compete not just completely throw the towel in

....but it looks like the senior players already have.

The " kids " could do no worse than their more petulant hierarchy.

I'm fully with you on giving the youngsters a go instead now. But it needs to be youngsters who have a future, not just getting names in head and throwing them in. Players like Ward, Carvill, Singleton, Stewart.

Playing players just for the sake in positions isn't the answer. I guarantee you Wilson will never been seen in a rhinos shirt in super league, he ain't good enough. I guarantee you Hall won't be playing centre for the rhinos. And I am 99% sure that BJB won't ever be a centre either. At least in Smith you had someone who made a fist of it a couple of years back, and at least by playing there for rest of this season we can either know he can do the job or have a better replacement lined up for next year.

Granted Smith DID make a ' fist ' of it ....at RIGHT centre.....but even then he was less than ideal for the role. He appears to be even less equipped for the role now.
The policy of waiting until the end of the season would surely only result in a repeat of too little too late being available. Decisions have to be made now.

You're probably right about Hall and BJB not playing centre....but would you consider Delaney and Ablett much better solutions in satisfactorily fullfilling the centre role ?

Absoluely agree about the other ' kids ' you mention. They should be a priority for game time now.

Many do seem to think Wilson has the capabilities to be a SL standard centre.... Is it not worth giving him a chance rather than persisting with the Smith, Ablett, Delaney, old man stop-gap sticking plaster option ?

Missunderstud here. Watkins is the left centre to replace Senior, and therefore when he is back he will hopefully be playing that role. In the meantime Smith is the best option for that role, and not a bad option.

When Watkins is back, Smith can revert if need be to the right centre competing with Delaney, and if needed Delaney can move into the backrow. That is for the rest of this season. We don't have any other option at the club good enough. The club should decide/decided that we need another centre for 2012 (hopefully hvae done), but in the meantime Smith can show what he is up to in that position. I keep saying it, but had Smith not chosen union then this would have been Smith's 3rd season on the trot in that right centre spot anyway.

I wholeheartedly agree with this.

All I would say is I wouldn't be so sure BJB won't play centre whilst McDermott is coach (he played him there for Quins) and Smith did much better than "make a fist of it" back in 2009. He grew very well into the role.

Agree before his move I though smith was developing quite well as right centre, I think BJB played centre a few times for quins under Brian mac

Culminating in his excellent international appearance in that position of course

I think you would struggle to find any back who did well internationally that year. Didn't hall have a stinker of a series as well? Are we calling to get rid of him as well?

Errr...if we could have Broughton back, yes !

well Williams might be available soon!!!!!!'n

The last time Leeds conceded 40+ in consecutive games was under Daryl Powell in July 2001. (I was hoping it was going to be before Senior arrived but I was left disappointed.)

I haven't checked properly but I don't think Leeds have ever conceded 40+ on three consecutive occasions and earlier this season Hull KR ran in 38 against Leeds at Craven Park.

Surely not?

Peter Fox reign?

I checked back to 1959 so that covered that possibility.

Any earlier than that 40+ scores were much more of a rarity than in the 'modern' game.

Couldn't remember fully, but do remember the losing run and the stuffing at home to warrington before he was sacked. Remember everyone on the pitch shouting for "Foxy out".

That's a stat that surprises me tvoc, given how bad Leeds were at times under the likes of Dewhirst and Fox.

Always seemed to be towards the end of seasons when we got good hidings - a John Woods inspired Leigh, Bob Beardmore beating us on his own at Cas, trips to Odsal over Easter.

Even when we won we were boring under Fox. Apart from a particularly excellent league win over Widnes at home.

In the Dewhirst days it was still the 3 point try which may have helped (apart from the start of the 83/84 season before he was replaced by Mo). In fairness to Dewhirst we topped the table for much of the 82/83 season, in fact we were 4 points clear of Hull with around a third of the season to go. This of course coincided with the time I started to go to games. The rest is as they say..... history.

www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/s ... _1_3478508 Interesting.

www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/s ... _1_3478508 Interesting.

Me too. Just shows how relatively rare it is to concede 40+ in consecutive games (Leeds have managed this five times now during the SL Era (515 games) - twice under Coach Bell in 1996, once under Coach Lance in 2000, Coach Powell in 2001 and Coach McDermott in 2011)

While the treble has so far eluded Leeds the final four games in '96 came close with a succession of non defensive performances that were truely cringeworthy - 56, 68, 28, 64. Even in the targetted game from the sequence V Workington they leaked 28 which in itself was a major improvement.



The hiding at Leigh I immediately remember was a 51-2 mauling in 82/83 but I also recall that quite incredibly the following week virtually the same Leeds side went to Wigan and won 12-9 in the first round of the Premiership ..... you couldn't make it up.