Totally agree!

I am glad we have stuck with Watkins and Hardaker, these 2 look like they could be the 'Burrow and Mcguire' of the 3/4s. However I would say that although you want every player in your team to be really good, centre is probably the least important position in the team. We have manged to win Grand Finals with a makeshift centre in Ablett we would never have done it with a makeshift halves or props.

Have to agree with all you state. Watkins and Hardaker are an exciting pair....but without those quality half backs. props ....AND hooker they will not have the platform to properly shine.

(Still state we will miss Buderus badly this season.....unless Hood can step up pretty quickly. Hope he does).

watkins was devastating in attack and poor in defence.cost us two tries.

hardaker looked as if he was playing on the wrong side. he cut infield every single time when a natural left sided player would have put his winger in a couple of times

I thought the 2 Horne Tries and the Welham one were as much down to Sinfield and Smith tbh mate and when they replayed the Hodgson try on the screen i thought he dropped the ball.
I do think we'll both agree our right fringe defence needs work especially in our 20/10m.
In Hardakers case in the 2nd half at least there were a few calls from our end of the ground for him to pass to hall rather than step but the cover defence had drifted and imo the step inside was the right call.
Again i think that combination can do with improvement which i think in time it will but we need faster ball to give Zak any chance of putting Hall away.
Finally with decent supply Watkins will score plenty this year.

I don't agree with you there.

2004 & 2011 we won with a make shift stand-off.

Thought the same tad, regarding hardaker, cut inside every time. When we controlled the ball I thought we were pretty good, our marker defence was very poor though

That's true, but we'll get plenty of that from Hardaker this season. As good as he is, supplying his winger is certainly not his strong point. Yet.

I agree GMC it certainly needs work as a combination and he as an individual will have to learn to read the pass better i was just saying that in some cases tonight the step was the correct call.

just seen highlights on sky and fair do's he wasn't at fault for either try.

I'm a bit concerned with Hardakre. He has one of the worlds best wingers outside of him but failed to supply him tonight and never really looked to. I saw hall having a word in the second half after Zac cut inside again, something I'm sure the coaching staff will work on but we've shown faith in Hardakte by not buying a centre which people were calling for all last season. See how he goes next week versus pies.

Contrary to what's been said on here so far I thought Hardaker made the right decision every single time to cut back inside. Rovers were numbered up defensively on each occasion and the only other option would have been to go wider and bring Hall back on the inside. An outside break was never on the cards - there right edge defence was outstanding. I was impressed he made something of a couple of the cuts inside with fine balance and footwork.

Watkins was outstanding and will be tough to put down all year, although some of the attempts were average at best. He could be an absolute beast with a sustained run in the side. Very exciting times for the future in the centre position.

I suggest you get to watch it again. There were two clear occassions in second half where we clearly had the space and numbers. I agree with you on the other times though. Thought he wasn't helped a couple of times by Webb been slow to move ball on.

The 2 occasions you mention Gotcha were not as clear as they may of looked the Defence had drifted and any pass would of put Hall in a position to get dragged into touch but i do agree with the some of the passes he was recieving slowing the momentum.

Give it time, he'll be fine. Fans will always look for signs of inexperience where young players are concerned and, unsurprisingly, will often find them. Had it been Ablett, say, who'd cut inside I suspect most fans would have overlooked it or not thought it worthy of comment. I reckon Hardaker has the makings of a really good player.

Absolutely CW!

Think Smiths side seemed to be targeted as they scored most of their points there

On watkins' side, Watkins was mainly central with McGuire and Sinfield defending the flank.

They bombarded us down that side all night long with quick play the balls when they had the chance. Thought they may have looked at Webster running at Zak more with the physical size difference.

Hornes a useful unit, big strong lad. Cant see why giants let him and kirkmond go, just to bring in some more three quarters then complain of being depleted in the forwards.

As for Hull KR, if they hadn't have given stupid penalty away after stupid penalty they would have had a better chance in final quarter.

Mr Bailey won 2 penalties and gave away none, so he's on -2 for this season.

Wonder if 'H'arrigan has finished tugging yet? Red raw I bet.

their

.....You being a teacher too



The sentiments I agree with ...both should be allowed to continue developing with continued selection. I have stated before that Hall should be switched to the right wing...he will get more passes from Watkins and the right side partnership could potentially then be the best in SL.

Left wing can be contested between BJB and Chisholm....(and Smith I guess).

WCR was joking with me in the ground about the "mess"



TBF every time he got the ball in space I just turned to Sam Buca II and nodded my head. Nothing more needed to be said. I did however get my picture taken with him (and him only) after the game and that pic is now my facebook profile

Defence was terrible at that side, Smith kept loosing his shape!

It'll take time for both of our centres to get settled. Hardaker will need to learn to use his winger because in the end it will make him a much more dangerous player. But it will take time for Hardaker to work out his style, and for fans to get used to it - he's not going to play like Senior and smash into the line every time he gets the ball. Over time the most interesting change to Leeds' attacking game could be a deeper line, as both Watkins and Hardaker are fast with good footwork.

Gotcha - If I get chance to see it again I will but until then I'm sticking with my original opinion which is that had Hardaker passed to Hall on any of the 4 second half occasions that he passed inside the most likely outcome would have been Hall ending up in touch.

The most pleasing aspect of Hardaker's performance was the way he fronted up defensively. I was also amazed once again by his balance on his half break in traffic. Complements Watkins perfectly who looks an absolute beast and has the speed and footwork to match this.

I wasn't complaing about Hardakers performance, just in case you got that impression. And nor am I saying that Hall would have definately scored off the two opportunities I mentioned. What I am saying is that a guy who has been our top scorer for last two years and top scorer in the league, and now regarded as the best winger in the comp, that his centre should have allowed him the opportunity to go for it.

Personally I think Hardaker had in his mind how well the Hull KR defence was sliding across throughout the game at that side, and he did not consider the opportunities that arose but more what had was happening throughout the match.