Agree re Burrow at 7 he is not a 9 if we do sign Clark that will be an excellent piece of business by Hetherington

I was hugely impressed by Clark. Not sure why Powell started him on the bench or spelled him. Like Roby with Saints I'd have him on for the full 80 mins.

Clark is so quick

He is mentally very quick he can read the game really well - maybe he starts Milner to weather the early exchanges so that Clark is fresh when he comes on

Clark was exceptional on Friday, Cas' best player by far. He'd be absolutely devastating in a top 4 team.

Clark would be a very good signing for us.....unfortunately I can't see us 'outbidding' Warrington. With Higham and Monaghan both knocking on and the latter having injury issues I think the Wolves will go strongly for him.

never doubted sir kev as a player but becoming more and more evident that the short/flat and inside pass are what's stifling potentially the most dangerous backs in sl ,if only moon and Watkins had the same early ball and space an average player like wardle gets from brough

The wire are in a similar position to us, with several key players nearing the end of their careers. I think it's vital we sign Clark , for several reasons namely he is good young homespun player. Also it will show our commitment to remain in the top four teams. It's a danger not to replace major players, with the hope you can produce all your talent from within the club.
You can quite easily fall out of the top bracket if you get complacent, just look at saints.
We have been successful in the past with the signing of Ellis and Hardaker, if it comes to a choice between us and wire it will be interesting to see which club Clark will pick.

Well, a 7 at 7 and a 9 at 9, an imaginative stroke of genius by the coach, who'd have thought of doing that?
But still I worry that it won't be different enough for him and he'll try something else again.

The area he should be focussing on right now is positioning the defence, communication of who's doing what and making the first tackle one that sticks rather than turnstiling.

And some back-up after a break through the line would be good.

Ellis I'll give you but Hardaker cost Leeds around £60K - sent straight back to Featherstone to continue his development and was an educated punt on a Championship level young player with the potential to make it in a full-time environment. So far it's been a wise investment.

Clark is somewhere in between those two - closer to Ellis that Hardaker. If I were Clark and had the choice I'd pick the club who I thought had the better coaching set-up that would allow me the opportunity to fight for a place on merit and fulfil my potential.

That club unfortunately wouldn't be Leeds at this present time.

What a bizarre statement. I doubt there's as much in it as you seem to think.

Which club do you think he should chose?

....in [iyour[/i opinion.

Which is odd given the example of Hardaker who has really fulfilled his potential, going from a "championship level player" to an international with two Grand Final winners rings.

If I were Clark I might look at that. I might also look at Tony Smith's career history and wonder how much longer the Warrington coaching set up will remain in situ.

What I find bizarre is that Burrow has been selected as the best starting hooker at Leeds for the past two seasons - except on those occasions when basically McGuire has been unavailable and Burrow has covered in the halves.

Hooker is a vital position in the modern game yet Leeds use it as the filler spot when injuries occur in the halves.




Castleford - the one he's currently contracted to.

I'm not sure about using it as a filler but I don't think the coach is 100% convinced by McShane or Hood for whatever reasons.

The loan and attempted signing of Lunt showed that last year.

The same situation basically existed when Lunt was at Headingley.

When McGuire, Burrow and Lunt were all available in 2012 - McGuire started all 14 at scrum-half, Burrow 11 at hooker (3 on the bench), Lunt 3 at hooker (11 on the bench (one of those as a non playing sub))

The last time Lunt started when all three were available was the home win V Hull on the 6th July. It didn't happen again on the final 6 occasions.

A 'genuine' hooker may look at that situation and the one that has existed all this season and question whether Leeds under McDermott will offer him the opportunity to advance his career.

Did you notice where Clark started Friday's game?

I've not got the stats but I thought Lunt got a lot more minutes on the pitch than McShane generally does even if he started on the bench.

Lunts defence is better.

Clark started on the bench just as he often seemed to do under the previous Castleford coach - just as Roby did for a long time at St Helens (a player Clark has been compared to in style) - indeed Rogues Gallery and I had a similar exchange on here earlier in the season where I expressed the view it's time Clark was starting - didn't do Roby or St Helens any harm once Cunningham (great player that he'd been retired) and I didn't and still don't view Adam Milner in Cunningham's class.

So what's the problem with having your genuine hooker on the bench then, given you have cited examples of two very good hookers who did exactly that, Roby and Clark?

As a Cas fan I would choose Leeds every time. The only team that would come close is Wigan but that thought makes me feel ill. I was in hospitality on Friday & talking to the (Rhinos) sponsors on our table they were lavish in praise at the professionalism & attention they get from all players at all times when they are fulfilling their contractual duties.

It's a case of getting the best from your players. If Castleford still see that as using him from the bench after starting with Milner then that's a matter for them. Looking in from the outside I'd do it differently.

Roby only did so behind another excellent starting hooker in Cunningham. Once Cunningham retired Roby hasn't looked out of place as an 80 minute player and I would argue he could have done so earlier in his career just as Matt Diskin had done so at Leeds.

Unless Clark has an issue with carrying a knock I'd be using him for the full eighty now just as I said in the earlier discussion with Rogues Gallery.

So I suppose it is equally bizarre that with "Burrow selected as best starting hooker" we actually won 2 Championships on the trot, a World Club Championship and got to 2 cup finals on the trot. Perhaps it is because the coach has this mad view that by keeping his best players on the park he has the best chance of winning. Now there is a really bizarre idea!

I appreciate you accept my word as gospel but be careful - I could be selling a dummy with the use of the term 'past two seasons' - you need to satisfy yourself whether the reference was to 2011/12 or 2012/13.

__________

Except quite clearly Leeds haven't won two Championships on the trot with Burrow selected as the starting hooker..... at least not yet they haven't.

You seem to be implying here that you think they already have - is that what you think?

Same question with regards to losing in two Challenge Cup Finals - both times with Burrow selected as best starting hooker ? Really ... come on, I know you don't do detail (except when the detail is supplied by someone else) but seriously.

It's not even the first time you've used (and I've pointed out the flaws) to this argument but here it is again. Very disappointing.