Joey had a great game against Catalans but he had been fairly quiet up to then (to the point it was questionable whether he deserved his place in the team with Hardcastle fit again) and he's looked vulnerable in defence at Championship level - not through lack of effort but his lack of speed over the first 5m has seen opponents run round him a couple of times.

He might still be reaching full fitness, of course, and he should continue to be destructive with ball in hand at this level. In any event, I think Mark Campbell wants a SL place not money (see the Kheirallah signing this week) so unless he has a SL release clause I doubt he'll go anywhere this season.

Some valid points being made here.
I for one thought we had a top 4 pack and was looking forward to our half back pairing.
Sutcliffe and Briscoe who got in due to Newmans injury were both considered weak links.
Prior for me was also a gamble and we have been unfortunate with the Holroyd injury.
Saying that he is still young hence why we all or most of us recognised we needed another no nonsense prop in the squad.
Who or where from was the issue.

Pretty sure there was a shortage of props available, not that our management of overseas slots can have helped. Agar did day we were looking which might have suggested we'd a plan to cope with this so maybe it was simply a case of not being able to persuade anyone to sign. The number of fans complaining about their own undergunned packs suggests luring the big menwas no easy ask. There must be a scenario where no stone has been left unturned.

Were going to be stuck without Newman for a while, had surgery on his hamstring out for 12 weeks

Newman out 12 weeks, we are really stuffed now. Briscoe and Sutcliffe without shadow of a doubt worst pairing in the league. Championship standard. I would put Handley and Tindall in centres and give us abit of pace and spark but i know this would never happen! Not replacing hurrell and using sutcliffe as his replacement is just poor poor management.

Deep sigh. I see they tried to hide it as the bottom story in a really vague bit of good news about Holdroyd and Myler. Depressing.

If not unexpected. I said 8w after first one and he played after just over 6w. I know we were desperate, but now look at us…..

Think I also said it sounded similar to the Phillips injury and he was out for 12 weeks.
Had he had the surgery from the start he would be almost ready.
Could Walker be the answer once Myler is fit?
Or could Walker play in the halves with Austin at centre?

Surgery is not without risk though. If we have Had started the season better I’m sure he would have had a longer initial rehab.

True.
I`m probably clutching at too many straws due to the situation we find ourselves in when I seriously thought we would be in the top 4/5.

It’s really disappointing to be wherewe are. Frustrating to see some younger players being held back too long, and only paying when we are literally desperate….

Ultimately the key issue regarding the development of our young players in the threequarters has been the underperformance of our forwards and halves. Our pack is consistently not getting over the gainline or achieving dominance up front. The halves have underperformed and created little for our backs and their primary role has been getting flogged bringing the ball back out of our own 25 into contact. That is why we keep going back to Briscoe and Sutcliffe as the younger players are not as physically developed despite probably having more speed and ability to beat a man.
Its actually impacted our threequarters and their performance and development since 2015 however this season has been the worst so far!

I think our halves have had opportunity to do a lot better. Some of the passing from Sezer in particular has been abysmal. Everyone is trying imho, and I think it’s actually a myth that players like Briscoe and Sutty are somehow metre making machines to help the pack out. We’ve tried safety first approach and it just ain’t working. As others have said the only thing to salvage from the season is at least looking to see who has muc potential. Corey Hall for example is a lean lad. Has he been battered to the point people are questioning his welfare? I’m thinking now if you have talent, you simply have to play……

Levi got over for another for York today. Hopefully his year there will really bring him on.

Got another assist aswel, 2 games, 2 trys, 2 assists

And along with Gannon hes still eligible for the U18s. Thats how young they both are.

Moving Bodene Thompson on early and bringing in an overseas centre would seem like a good option

Providing he is getting good coaching at York (would he get it at Leeds?)I think a year there will really benefit him.

Easier said than done who would take Thompson on plus finding a centre of quality who would be available wont be easy.Also if we sign a centre on a long deal that could be the end of Broadbent's Leeds career.

Jack smith looked good in academy, for his 2 trys, looks like he has pace runs good lines, and what a pass from Kai Morgan. We have talent in out club we need to make sure they make the grade and transition next 2-3 years not drift away like so many from last 4-5 years.

Weve produced some excellent players over the last 4-5 years.

Yep, said it for years, that year group of:

Gannon
Edwards
Simpson
Gatus
Edgell
Morgan

Is one of the best intakes we'v had in 15 or so years.

Newman not only looked good when he broke into the side a couple of years back but improved and when he returned from his broken leg was even better. So much so that he was as good if not better than any other in the comp. He has always been confident, not bothered about the odd mistakes and never shown nerves or let the pressure get to him. In other words pure class from the moment he made the side. Gannon has also taken his chance and really looks the part with a great future ahead of him.
In the case of Broadbent I wonder if it’s a case of having a bit of a break through year in 2021 he thinks he is better than he is and believes he is worth a massive increase in contract. This can be a problem with agents getting in players heads. Now he is getting a chance he needs to take the opportunity prove himself. Certainly needs to improve on Fridays effort!

Yeah, made a lot of sense to put him straight in va Hurrell! He should have been playing from game 1

While I can see the appeal this is a long way down our priorities. Until we get a dominant pack and performing halves nobody is going to look good in the centre as they will have no space to work in. Broadbent should be given the opportunity to see if he is at the level a lot of people seem to believe personally the jury is out for me. We then have Simpson and Edwards 2 potential high quality centres to come through in the next couple of years. Thats why Broadbent needs to earn his spot and why signing somebody else on a 3 year deal would block their progress so is not a great use of an overseas spot.