At which point Catalans outscored us comfortably

Thanks for that.
As someone posted McGuire has missed more games due to injury than Burrow over recent seasons which may explain why Burrow/Sinfield have been used more than McGuire/Sinfield.
The McGuire/Sinny stats are very impressive though and lend some weight to the arguement that McGuire is worth a go at 7.

Whether he is a better 7 or not is irrelevant.

The fact was there for all to see yesterday, McGuire is a better player than Burrow, and the team play better without Burrow than with him.

The difference in the way the team played yesterday when Burrow entered the field was startling. What a contrast that was. Certainly no coincidence.

Did we win the Championship three years in a row with McGuire/Sinfield at halfback?

Lets be honest here, the team hasn't been playing at all well this year due to injuries and simple poor form from a lot of the side. Burrow isn't the only one who can do a lot better.

Didn't Wigan win many championships and challenge cups years on the trot with Gregory and Edwards at halback?

Are you suggesting they would still do it now with that pairing?

So are you saying it was Burrow's fault we looked nervous,tired and hesitant in defence in the 2nd half when the Catalans got a roll on?
Lets not get carried away Mcguire and Sinfield played very well together as a 6 +7 granted but so did the rest of the team whereas in the 2nd half the whole game was literally turned on it's head and the whole team have to shoulder responsabillity not just Burrow and our defensive line looked like a dogs hind leg which again is not just down to Burrow.

WTF?

Burrow is 27 year old and has plenty left to offer Leeds.

I am saying quite clearly that the attacking options taken in the first half were first class. The movement accross the line was as dangerous as we have seen in the past couple of years, never mind this season.

When Burrow came on that changed, and we never moved the ball across that line the way we did in the first half.

Fine, you want to put that down to coincidence. I myself have the opinion that it wasn't coincidence. And I am talking about attack.

Your point on defence is valid and agreed. But then again the defence looked just as suspect in the first half as it did in the second. The good attacking play did not mask that, it just kept it at bay.

Good points but again putting it down to just one man isn't accurate or fair imo as the game wore on the team tired went down to 12 men and on the back of the Catalans comeback we weren't creating the same space or opportunities as the 1st half again i'd say that's as much as about the team as one man mate.

Which happened to coincide with a spell of 40 minutes without a try, having scored five in the previous 20?

Sinfield and McGuire were combining superbly as half backs until McLennan (in his infinite wisdom) decided to p*ss about with it, after which Leeds didn't look remotely the same threat with ball in hand.

If Burrow was going to come into the game it should have been to play acting half and leave the starting half backs to carry on the good work.

Not having Burrow in the starting lineup pushed a lot more pressure onto McGuire and he coped with it admirably. On the form shown this season so far, I wouldn't have been confident had the roles been reversed and McGuire left on the bench.

I think they've all started posting in the style of Ken to play with my mind.

Yes, the half back combination worked well for 30 mins yesterday, No, we shouldn't and won't over react and read too much into a 30 min spell against a pretty weak, dispirited Catalans.

How much should we read into nine weeks of having the halves look like a pair of amnesiacs only introduced on the morning of the game?

If that were the case (which it isn't) you should look at the structure they have to play with, the game plan and the appalling lack of running options for the halves, and not just the halves themselves.

G1 - My point was never about the combination. It was just about mcGuire looking a better 7 than Burrow which I think he has proven over the last couple of years when playing there.

I must've missed McGuire getting a Harry SUnderland in the 7 jersey, a man of the series award internationally in the 7 jersey. Fook it, I must have had my eyes closed for the whole of the Grand Final last year.

McGuire and Burrow are both great halves. We've enjoyed great success with their combination (with Sinfield's help. Burrow hasn't had the greatest of years but nor as he been as poor as most on here would suggest. He was still being slated when he set a Leeds record for try assists in a single game, he was still being slated when setting up most of the Leeds tries in the Salford game.

Maybe McGuire looks a better 7 than he does a 6? Maybe that says a bit more about McGuire's game than it does Burrows?

Get yerself on the "NFL" thread that'll cheer you up!

It's an irrelevance where the graphic on Sky or the team-sheet says he's playing, his general all round game doesn't change that much IMO. It's still pretty much a split attack with McGuire primarily looking after the right hand side and lining up outside Delaney in defence.

What worked much better yesterday was the combination between the half back pairing. It was McGuire's dummy run behind JJB that created the space for Sinfield to put him in with a lovely flat pass for example.

Even with Sinfield out of the side, there hasn't been that same level of cohesion between McGuire and Burrow this year, almost like neither of them are entirely sure what they are supposed to be doing and are too reliant on a miracle play or a piece of footwork rather than organising those around them.

I'd agree with that and the missing piece was back last night. You allude to him in your previous sentence.

That is why McGuire looked a better half. I made a tongue in cheek comment earlier in the thread that probably holds true. McGuire looked a better 7 than Burrow because he was afforded the luxury of playing alongside a quality stand off.

Nice logic.

It says McGuire must be an axceptional player to have reached such a standard and have made such a contribution in a position to which he isn't actually able to show his true potential

When I saw he was on the bench instead of Buderus I assumed that was the plan also. Bring him on last 10 of the first half and 20 minutes into the second half to attack tiring dummy half defenders.

I noticed Ablett didn't get much game time compared to his usual stint, possibly not fully match fit. Maybe Sinny had to drop to 13 because of that and Burrow comes in at 7.

Didn't we debate to death the McGuire/Burrow can't play together question years ago when Burrow first started to break into the first team? Surely we should have put that to bed after three titles?

I thought Burrow would come off the bench and spell Diskin at dummy half, mainly because I thought the tactic of playing a big lad at 6 to absorb the physical threat of a big opposing pack and then bringing on your real 6 or 7 later had been thrown in the bin when Andy Goodway was sacked from the GB job.

Apparantly not. And nice to see it working as well as ever.

I thought we looked a lot more fluent with Burrow off the pitch, but setting that aside it should be also noted that (IIRC) we didn't score a single try when Lauititi was on the bench. It's ridiculous how much less dangerous Leeds are without a single attacking threat in the forwards (giving the halfbacks more time and options as well as what it's worth for itself).

Yes but apparently a great half an hour against an weakened and dispirited Catalans is a better indications of their ability to play together than those three title winning seasons.

You've been round here long enough to know that the last half an hour is what we judge things on, not the last five years. You should know better than that. tsk tsk.