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.

So what is the way to go then Gotcha?

And if you don't play Sutcliffe at 6, given Leeds are set up to play with the extra big man at 13, where do you play him?

Based on his performances in tandem with McGuire last season, Sutcliffe deserves first shot in 2016. If it doesn't work, then you can look at making changes for 2017, but at least give him the opportunity that he's earned first.

Me, I am not the one arguing. But I will be very surprised if that half back pairing works out a success, and then we end up writing off a good individual player who has a lot of potential.

I would have signed a top class scrum half, who can organise and move the team around the park, and I would have put McGuire back at six, with Sutcliffe on the bench where he can play a lot of different positions as we need it, to learn a bit more.

It might take a while to gel properly but I'd go with McGuire & Sutcliffe in the halves. We should have a pretty strong pack and 1-5 are sound too. By my reckoning, there ain't going to be a much better environment for a young player to learn the ropes at 6.

That is all well and good but which top class organising half could we have got? they are a very rare breed, perhaps only Brough comes close for me in SL.

I think McGuire and Sutcliffe will work well as a pair.McGuire as skipper is more than capable of of stepping up to the plate now he will be seen as senior half back, he has already adapted his all round game well the last couple of years since his pace went. Sutcliffe will only get better now the more he plays and with faith shown in him by the club.

We have a strong looking forward pack, and are a winning team high on confidence, with plenty of experience. There's no better time for a young half to come into the side. We just have to be patient.

Can McGuire not be the Dunneman to Sutcliffe and Lilley whilst they develop? McGuire is certainly a more decorated and talented player than Dunnerman was.

I have some sympathy with stevo's dentures regarding putting too much on young sutcliffe. the game management part we lose with sinfield will take time and big games to play and probably lose like sinfield did in early 2000s. To paraphrase Mandy Cohen "Liam is not the messiah". As others have said patience will be the key. However, the bit that concerns me more is if he is the goal kicker next year as well as at 6. That duty means you can never switch off and pressure builds quickly if you miss a few. I hope he is getting trained well and practising plenty because once upon a time it messed up the play of the best player I have seen at leeds, John Holmes. And he did not have to follow a legend. The big thing in sutcliffe's favour is that if he needs a break we can play mcguire and burrow. Hope the wider fan base have the patience of the regulars on this board if he hits a run of poor form and confidence dips. Also hope zak is practising goal kicking along with his kicking off.

Agree about Zak.....it will take a lot of pressure off Sutcliffe if he (Zak) becomes first choice kicker.

There are several different ways to play a rugby league game. Our game management will change without Kev, but that doesn't necessarily mean worse. Mags and Sutty will do something different, and the space left by Kev might allow others to do things. Cuthbertson looks a great organiser n the forwards and Ward (when he comes back) might be able to do more with the ball.
I'd like to see some of the workload taken from Ward, so to the original question of the thread, I'd still like to see us sign a quality, fit, high work rate back row forward - ideally British.

Yes especially at the start of next year because as we've seen with Sinfield practise makes perfect and Sutcliffe probably hasn't been able to kick a ball for several months due to his knee injury which is far from ideal if he's meant to take over the kicking for goal duties.