Saints could

Ferres might be a very good player, but if he's done as has been rumoured would you want him as a teammate? I reckon that would be seen as just about the lowest thing a teammate could do.

Absolutely. If he's done what's rumoured I wouldn't want him at Leeds.
If I was Uncle Gary I may be tempted to enquire into the availability of Craig Huby. I know we don't really need another prob but we could run with Cuthbertson at 13 again this season.

Imo we still need at least 1 BR even more so given Wards absence ,Delaney has had another post season OP and as we know he has injury absences on a regular basis.
Im yet to be convinced Jjb will be back and IF so have enough left in the tank to have the impact he has had previously for more than 5 games in a row.
I can see us using Cuthbo at 13 to start with and we know Singo can operate there as can imo Baldwinson but pick up 1 or 2 knocks in the FR and we are seriously exposed.
WRT Ferres no thanks Squad Harmony is huge at Leeds and he's allegedly crossed the line in that department if we are spending money then i'd go after Holmes at Cas.

Agree (that's why I thought Ali would have made a good 1 year stop gap signing, but hey ho! Glad for the bloke with where he has ended up).
Not so sure about Holmes but DEFINITELY not Ferres (as with Carney) for the reasons well documented.

Win the treble, and people lose the plot. The people who think Sutcliffe is a stand off are undoubtedly the same people who were calling for Mac's head in September. Sutcliffe is a LF, SR, even FB before he's a halfback. We will miss Sinfield's game management. You're deluded if you think otherwise.

Yes, those games he played at stand off last year were clearly an aberration. As were the games he played at stand off in the junior grades.

He's clearly not a stand off, in the same way that Kevin Sinfield isn't a stand off and Danny McGuire isn't a stand off.

I wonder if back in say 1999/2000 if people were asked would Sinfield (who usually played 2nd row/loose at that time) ever make a top HB and how many people said yes/no.

Sutcliffe is clearly going to be our first choice 6 now, and before he was injured this year he was playing very well there.He will only get better too.

I'll say it again...



Eh?

Sutcliffe is already a stand off. He also clearly deserves first shot there next year.

Sinfield played at LF until he was about 32! Sinfield's brain and kicking game took us around the park. Sutcliffe will need to develop that. He'll need to be strong enough to make game changing decisions. Is he a leader? Probably not yet.

You might want to check the line-ups for the 2004 GF and the 2005 WCC.

Liam reminds me of John Holmes a little. I reckon he'll hack it in the halves no sweat

He might want to go back further and check the line ups when Glanville was our LF and Sinny DEFINATELY played SR!
As for Sutty he's very much a 6 and has proved as such the game management side will come eventually and until then we have the likes of Mags ,Burrow off the bench and an experienced 9 coming in so i'm sure we'll be ok.
Will we miss Sinfield? Absolutely but we'll adapt and evolve into a different team just as we have in the past.

He won't, why let facts get in the way of a good close season rant

Don't forget the 2003 and 2005 CC finals.

I feel for Sutcliffe. He's on a hiding to nothing. All you lot building him up like the Messiah. As soon as he has a bad game, you'll want him out of the team. Just like with Mac after Wembley.

You couldn't be more inaccurate if you tried.

I think Him summed it up nicely with- Eh?

You talk more b0ll0x than your namesake. Quote one post of mine where I called for BM to be kicked out. I don't think anyone thinks Sutcliffe is anything other than a guy who's earned his shot at first team rugby. You however seem to think we should opt to buy in talent on every occasion rather than give our own home grown talent a go.

This is spot on. In 2/3 years will we judge Sutcliffe as a success or a failure at the HB role.....nobody knows only time will tell. But I'm happy for him to be given the chance at least.

Nobody thinks he's the messiah, and most accept he'll need time as it won't always be plain sailing and he'll have his ups and downs whilst learning the role.

Ian Kirke has rejoined the Rhinos

This is good, nice to see him back and without the pressure of having to play.

I think you are mixing up the position with the point of an organiser.

He certainly aint a fullback. He may be better as a looseforward. But stand off is his position through his career so far. What he isn't is an organiser, and nor too is Danny McGuire, and if your point has been lost here, because you actually mean McGuire and Sutcliffe is not the way to go, then I agree with you. But I don't agree he can't be the stand off full stop.