Id be thanking McGuire and giving him his gold watch. It was always going to be a stretch to get much game time out of him this year and this will only get worse when he's a year older. Why the hell we didnt recruit a top quality half back for this year is beyond me given Sinfield was going with McGuire not far behind. Weve got lucky with Lilley although flogging him in this losing side may ultimately do more harm than good. we have a marquee spot so get your chequebook out hetherington

Whilst I think mags has a bit more in him than you give him credit for who do you propose we sign? There is a lack of obtainable quality in general.

Delaney under contract until end of 2018.

well, if he keeps on playing crocked he will be using a walking frame by the end of his current deal.

Hmm two and a half seasons then

Why was it always going to be a stretch to get much game time out of him this year?

He only missed 2 of our 36 games last year, one was rested before Wembley and the other he missed a week from Sneyd's crocodile roll on his ankle.

It was his best run fitness wise since his serious knee injury back in 2010/'11

Backs:
Luke Briscoe [2016
Tom Briscoe [2018
Ashton Golding [2018
Ryan Hall [2018
Ashley Handley [2017
Zak Hardaker [2019
Jordan Lilley [2016
Danny McGuire [2017
Joel Moon [2018
Liam Sutcliffe [2017
Kallum Watkins [2019

Forwards

I am not fully up to speed with which team has marquee players this year.
My guesses are only 5 or 6 teams have taken it up
Wigan Tomkins
wire Gidley
Hull FC Pritchard
Catalan Taylor
Salford Lui
Cas McShane

not sure about Salford and Lui but interesting that the others make up the current top 4. Appreciate the return of the prodigal pie munching son is yet to take place (hope Carney and Clarke can contain themselves when it happens). Although Tomkins is yet to lace a boot I wonder if these sides in general benefit from psychological, confidence boost of signing a top player. Can't see us doing it in 2017 - in part due to reduced capacity at Headingley. Interesting to see if saints opt for it next year if they miss out on the 4.
Does anyone know if a club has to announce they have used the marquee rule to sign a player?

Don't think any player has been given the marquee tag......especially not Paul McShane at Castleford.

Makes you think some may almost be too tough, determined for their own good. Trust Leeds are taking his long term well being is to account. Miles better medical care these days than old days of 70/80's "have another injection".

Cheers. I might have got him confused with Liam Finn at Wakey.

Thing with Delaney is, if Ward and Ablett were fit then along with Ferres it wouldn't be a problem if he could only give you maybe 15 games a season. With the starters injured his injury problems are highlighted further.

If you have him on a deal/money that reflected that he probably wouldn't make the starting 17 when everyone is fit but can be a useful/experienced squad member then I'd keep him. You could lose two 2nd rowers from the current squad in Achurch and Walters (maybe JJB will retire too) so if you potentially lose that many back rowers in one go do you let another go at the same time. Don't want to leave yourself short of numbers in today's game, we did last year and it almost cost us because unlike this year numbers 21-25, last year's 21-25 barely played for us.

Delaney himself has said that he's come back too soon a few times. That means he's not doing himself or the team any favours, and the decision needs to be taken away from him - train all week and pass a fitness test and you can play, otherwise sit it out again.

Who knows how many more games he could have played if he wasn't trying to be a hero. He's not the only one who seems to have done that this year, and BM and the fitness staff (who haven't covered themselves in glory this year) should have started doing this way earlier. If they keep doing this we'll be playing injured players right to the end of the season, which is ridiculous.

As for signings, if you want decent NRL you need to be actively talking now, not in a few months time. I think GH has tended to rely as much on luck as judgement in his NRL recruitment, despite his nice annual holidays. Nobody can expect an Ali or even Garbutt to land in your lap every year.

In previous seasons they've been times McDermott has brought players back possibly too soon when we had other options. This year though to be fair, he's not really had the luxury of giving guys extra weeks off, it's been bare bones a lot of weeks.

He has had another option all year. Simply don't pick injured players and, horrors, pick some Academy lads. We'd have lost some games by bigger margins, but in the context of this season so what?

As it is we're on a merry-go-round of players getting injuries, coming back half fit and getting injured again. Its not as if the tactic of picking the walking dead has actually worked.

Like I say, how many of our currently injured squad might be fully fit now had they not been played crocked?

Looks like Rangi Chase could be available.

I would guess every team has used the marquee rule this year, I have been told Leeds is Watkins.

Yet GH said we havent used it but would have for Sam Burgess??
Also unless there's been an extension i dont see how KW could be our Marquee player!

Leeds don't need a marquee extension - you need to be close to the cap to need that - an issue Leeds will never encounter

I don't know how much Watkins earns just what I heard. But it makes sense that if you have someone on your books who you can basically take most of their wage of the cap you would use it. As far as I was aware you can change who you nominate each year?

I may be wrong mate but i read it as signing a new player or a current player extending their deal with a pay rise???

Right didn't know that I just assumed you could use it on anyone who fit over the cap. I didn't hear it from any reliable source or anything so I'm probably wrong!

As I understand it If a player is trained by the club a marquee player takes £175k off the cap and if club trained only £100k. So Wigan only lose £100k on Tomkins and in theory Leeds could use to pay Watkins.
If Leeds do they are probably only paying him just over £100k anyway.

I have been told that Sam's contract at the Wigan Warriors has hardly broken the bank and that he actually wanted to come home

Although I'd guess that he is paid more than any Rhinos player currently

Suppose if Wigan pay him £150k and use marquee rule they buy themselves £50k for other players.
If you really are the man himself, I apologise unreservedly for any comments that may have been misconstrued at the back of the stand in Huddersfield whilst waiting for helicopter to return last year. To be honest I am not sure anyone could accomodate the league leaders shield in such a manner.