Not necessarily. He may be good enough for the 19's now but not the first team as there is a huge difference. In 2-3 years time he may be good enough for the first team or he may be good enough in 12 months time. Nobody knows how he may develop - it's how he adjusts to the full time environment in a Superleague squad that will decide. For me the journey starts here - lots of hard work ahead.

Leeds do blood them young and it seems to work but then again Burrow/Maguire and even the likes of Stevie Ward are real talents and would thrive wherever they were thrown in. Could be this lad is a future international and will be a superstar as a teenager but it has to be total conjecture at this stage and perhaps a Challenge Cup apperance here or there will show us if he has got what it takes to push for a spot but to be honest there are very few half backs around so even if he is just above average he will be a useful signing indeed, if he is in the same bracket as a Burrow, Maguire etc etc then so much the better.

im not saying he should be thrown into the first team,im saying he should be given a chance if that chance arises,ala last week.
i wonder if wigan fans ever thought sam tomkins would never get game time when he was included in their first team squad? unless players are given a chance no one will ever know whether potential can turn in reality.

5 tries on a debut sort of helps convince people you are the real deal (plus having your brother already established in the team helps too) but I take your point.

I saw Gareth widdop play as a youngster on a lot of occasions- I never said to myself- wow there goes an international and a young lad who can make it in the NRL. He was a good player - but didn't stand out massively amongst a lot of other good players. You don't get a first team contract then be given a shirt- neither would that be the right way to develop a player. The club think he may have potential- as do I - I've seen him play and he is good- but not of the standard required to perform at SL level week in week out. YET.

And my point is he'll NEVER be good enough to even play their occasionally if he isn't given game time when there is a need for it, like last week as Daz points out

Now if in the coming season Brough or Robbo are unable to play for whatever reason then its surely the perfect time to give him a run?

We know it can't be worse than the alternative!

we are not saying play him week in week out we are saying if brough or robinson get injured then he should play... instead of the fiasco that was the bradford game

No he shouldn't, he should play when he is deemed ready by the coaching staff. Not thrown into a game as a panic measure. That won't benefit anyone least of all him. Last week was about attitude and mental preparation. Playing an untried youngster wouldn't help that. The team last week was good enough. They just didn't turn up. If we had won we wouldn't even be having this discussion so saying we should've played an untried youngster on the grounds that he couldn't have done any worse is a puerile argument.

Eorl, Leroy, Jerry, Bruno, Cording, Fairbanks...

Agree with this - especially the first bit.

Throwing a lad with potential straight into a Superleague derby when he has just started training full time with the first team would be inadvisable at best. The pysical demands on his body alone due to the step up will be massive and will take weeks to adjust to. On top of that to then expect him to know all the plays and lead the team around the park would be almost suicidal and could destroy his confidence before he's even started. The coaching staff are the ones in the best position to know, especially Chris Thorman - if they think he's ready mentally and physically then I'm sure they'll give him some first team game time.

lawrence made his debut at 17? if they are good enough they are ready

but suppose we could wait till hes 22 to find out

like the others that have failed... hemingway..mcnally etc

Depends what you mean by good enough for Superleague. Having the talent alone isn't 'good enough'. The mental and physically attributes are also required. Lawrence obviously had all three. Hemingway and McNally didn't - that's why they are in the championship and Lawrence is in Superleague.

Didn't Cording come from Gateshead? Either way, we have made some good signings from our youngsters.

Yes - Lawrence made his debut at 17......as a winger, he just had to stand on the end of the line, catch and run, perhaps a couple of tackles when required- yes i'm being simplistic- but its a bit different from a player who is expected to lead the team around the park and create chances.

He debuted against Warrington. The last game of the season i think it was and came on at 76minutes.

He didn't touch the ball.

cording was from castleford if i remember right..

hey if he comes off the bench then so be it.

im sure no one would complain if anderson gave him a debut when our first choice half backs are injured would they??

fages at salford?? 18

You're correct, he was at Gateshead previous to Castleford.

Yes so that's 6 in how many years? And Fairbanks and cording have only been in the running the last two years with only cording being a regular first teamer this year.

So not our academy then?

I agree with Code, if he's good enough to hold a place in the squad and the chance arrives play him.At 18 he is not a kid and would not have been given a contract if he wasn't considered ready.

I will leave it up to the coaches. They know more about him than i do so if they play him then that is based on whether they think he is ready or not.

Cording spent a season on loan at Gateshead when he was at Cas.

At 18, he is very much a kid. For examples of late developers, look at Jerry and Brown at Hull KR. There is no hard and fast rule IMO. You need to assess each individual..... Individually.

Trust the coaching staff. We invest more now in the youth than ever before so we may see more youngsters coming through. Besides, our return isn't all that bad. There are worse out there without a doubt.