Rate him more than big brother vinnie though!!

is that because he can tackle and wouldn't fit in?

Shurrup you!

They are solid players dont get me wrong, i just wouldnt have them at Leeds.

Anderson - No thanks. Is Ben Westwood available instead?

I'd have to agree with others regarding Vinnie Anderson.

With the number of 2nd row options we have IMO it would show how far we've slipped down the barrell if we were seriously considering Anderson.

I appreciate Ali is probably going but if we were after a 'top' replacement Anderson wouldn't/shouldn't be anywhere near the top of the list?

I think 2nd row is the least of our recruitment needs

Very true, but were talking about Louis.

Other than us being linked with louis rather than vinnie I agree with the rest, SR is the least of our problems, and we should be looking at different positions first

Sorry....my mistake..

my point still refers to Louis though

Where have the Louis Anderson rumours come from?
and what about Cory Paterson from Newcastle Knights to replace Ali?

There's gonna be some surplus players around Newcastle now Tinkler and Bennett have taken over and i'd take Paterson and at 24 the right age but i think he may stay in the NRL.

Antonio Kaufusi wouldn't be too bad either. With Buderus apparently leaving De Gois wouldn't be bad, but would rather see McShane and Hood be allowed to come through

There's a small section in one of the League papers saying Buderus is staying mate and tbh i would'nt sign another 9 even if he left at the end of the year and don't really rate De-Gois as a marquee player!

On the assumption that Buderus' contract with Leeds for 2012 is reality rather than Headingley spin, I would be hugely disappointed =#FF0000if he was to cut short his stay. I thought he had more integrity than that.

Buderus is staying for 2012.

I hope your right, with him staying for another year, it would allow McShane and Hood to come through!

Looking at all these posts, it's interesting to see what people want for our squad.

I think Cross is absolutely shocking and we should never have signed a 31 year old Aussie reject. We need a good, young replacement for him. Somebody who can actually go a game without giving away a needless, stupid penalty.

I think if Webb goes, BJB is the perfect replacement. If Senior goes, Watkins is a brilliant player to fill his boots. Smith should go, he's not really been good since his return from RU. He's had a few good performances but isn't good enough. Hardaker should go on the wing instead of him. Our youth system has been superb for numerous years, and we don't need to sign many players from NRL because of that. Kylie and Ali should both stay, I rate them both very highly and believe they need to stay at the club. Letting them go without getting good replacements would be taking steps back!

Lets hope Brian McDermott can make some decent selections here and help us progress!

Unless we do a deal with Widnes or similar, Cross will unfortunately be at Leeds next season.

Assuming Webb and Senior go, we need BJB, Watkins, Hardaker and Smith to step up between them. If that is the case then Watkins needs some games at left centre this season. FWIW I would keep Smith as even if he's not as good as he was, he can cover all positions 1-5 reasonably well.

And 9, indeed I wouldn't be surprised to see him developed in that position. He's always been good out of dummy half when tasked with the role. Wholehearted in everything he does just lacking a physical presence and top speed to stand out in the backs.

Absolutely. Nothing wrong in being Neil Hague Mk2. He's certainly a far better 'backup' fullback, wing or centre right now than most teams have.

That could potentially mean 11 'forwards' on the park against Warrington this Friday



...... 12 if we consider Burrow to be another impact hooker.

Smith's apparent loss of pace is a concern, but his utility makes him a valuable part of the squad IMO.

Yup. There was a reason he got the '15' shirt.

Juan C loves Cross. There's lot's to love: technically awful / former steel lumper arounder and soon to be one under Caddick PLC / old / Buderus' mate so get him signed up / 100 game rookie and well over 30 / silly penalties and errors that stand out like a black man in Texas / not the former State Of Origin player of the caliber of O'Hara and Cashmere that dipped their toes in the SOS scene / above all he's not very good and we have younger better prospects rented out to other Super League clubs while this guy hangs around looking puzzled.

On that point alone it's worth making a judgement on his rugby acumen, or lack of one.

Cross is a crap signing, as is huraki but we are stuck with both of them!!

On smith, not every player needs to be as fast as the wind and 18 stone of muscle. Being neither fast or big did wellens any harm. I think he should be retained, he may not be the best player in any position but few teams could put a full back in there team of his quality when their first 2 choices are injured

Neil Hague for a while was like 's[ihi[/it off a shovel' there wasn't a player in the league who could catch him for pace in '78. Don't know where it came from or where it went. For versatility Hague was the man but he didn't just cover positions .... he owned them.

Watching the Leeds vs Saints Wembley final that was on TV a few months back, it surprised me just how fast and how good Neil Hague was. Certainly better that the decent utility he was by the time I started watching (83ish onwards).

Smith is a talented footballer with a good reading of the game that makes up for the extra yard of pace. If he was playing for a Quins/Wakefield/Bradford level club he'd probably be at stand-off and the main man.