Lilley is a 7 all night long. Don't disagree he can cover at 9 but he is not a hooker.

I fully agree, what I'm saying is in a salary cap sport, why pay Ward a 20k salary to be 3rd choice hooker when Lilley can provide the cover at hooker.

R.Ward is no longer a Rhinos player

Agree with your point. I'm thinking more of succession planning given falloon only has a year contract. Obviously a mute point of ward has left. I don't know enough about the academy to know if there is a decent up and coming prospect. Either way I assume Gary has a plan.

I don't think Lilley has the pace or creativity to be anything other than an average half back. Hooker might be his best option long term.

In that case then you've not seen nearly enough of him the kid has plenty of creativity and is faster than you suggest plus he certainly has the RL brain to potentially be a very good 7 not only in SL but in a Rhinos shirt.

I've seen most or all of his handful of SL games, so am qualified to form an opinion. I sincerely hope I am wrong, we are desperately short of quality HBs, but see him developing more as a Jimmy Lowes than a Jonathan Thurston. It will be fascinating watching him develop.

Lilley really impressed on Friday as he did against Cas(iirc) when he had a dig at hooker.

I'm not sure whether Sutcliffe will be back for the start of the season so Lilley could well have a shot at starting next season alongside McGuire.

Lilley and Sutcliffe definitely have the potential to be Leeds 6 and 7 for years to come. They certainly deserve a shot at it before we bring someone else in.

Four days is the answer to that.
Sets the benchmark a bit like the light meter in cricket.

IMO he looks a very good half back prospect with an eagerness to get his hands on the ball which shows his confidence

I read that and put Sinfield's name in place of Lilley's.

Lilley doesn't look slow to me. He's no Ryan Hampshire in terms of pacexecuted, but he's got enough to cause defenses problems, similar to Luke Gale.

Is Lilley any better than for example Scott Murrell when he came through at leeds?

At the time Murrell had mcguire burrow and sinfield all in their prime ahead of him so enevr had a future.

Yes. Next.

That Murrell couldn't make it work at any of his other SL clubs, ending up as a backup hooker at Hull KR, is a pretty damning assessment of his ability.

Is that the same Scott Murrell who made the England squad during his time with the Robins and made one appearance for his country in 2010 (albeit in a friendly)?

Yep, pretty damning assessment of his ability....

Oh yeah, I forgot he played against Cumbria Regional Academy U20s in what was basically an England Knights side. I take it all back.

Still, never looked like getting another gig at a big club after he left Leeds.

Like a number on here I have seen numerous HBs coming through, only to fade into obscurity. Same with hookers. It is normally because they had blistering pace from dummy half which shone at U19s level. Then there are those who are lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time - Deacon at the Bulls, Smith at Wigan - which masks their shortcomings but it is enough to see them get international honours. Brough is a strange one, he didn't explode onto the scene, it took a number of years for him to get noticed. Williams is the first HB, probably since Goulding, to start realising his potential.

Isn't McGuire just as much a halfback? 250+ tries and buckets of winners medals would suggest he's achieved his potential, at club level at least.

McGuire is a just a back up player though isn't he?

Lilley is lucky in one respect that he will be getting a shot in a Rhinos squad that doesn't have Sinny in it what so ever and that Magsy is now entering the veteran stages of his career compared to half backs like Gale for example that had far younger versions of the Sinfield's,McGuire's and Burrow's variety blocking their pathway to the first team

I'd guess that Lilley will get plenty of opportunities next season to showcase his talents in the first team and IMO he's very lucky to be the next cab off the rank and at a very favourable time for him to nail down a half back spot on a longer deal

Thought Lilley looked the better half back than hooker. Hes looked a good organiser and brave.

Thought Lilley looked the better half back than hooker. Hes looked a good organiser and brave.

There's an obsession with halfbacks being quick. Thurston is reasonably quick but not lightning fast and Cronk is probably slower. Johns wasn't and neither was Lockyer at the end of his career. AS bit of speed always helps but its by no means the only requirement, and we can all cite plenty of examples of very quick halfbacks who were rubbish at everything except running.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if there's a direct negative correlation between how quick a young halfback is and how good their organisational skills are.

It's the old age group coaching thing again, where the temptation is to stick the biggest/quickest/most talented kid at half-back so you can get their hands on the ball most often. Sides become one-man teams, being carried by the outstanding individual who is often being asked to play in a position that they aren't going to be good enough to play at open age level once their physical advantages are taken away.