When you eat that amount you need 2 ar***

Three, surely?

Well based on Liam Hoods performance (or lack of) yesterday it's McShane back in for me next week.

Is it significant that in all the recent 'hooker news' there has been an ominous silence with regards to McShane ?

We've signed a hooker/back rower, have one potentially injured and let another hooker go out on loan. To be honest his position shouldn't change. Ultimately, it's all down to him whether he wants to succeed.

Maybe McDermott is rethinking the need for an out-and-out hooker on the bench? No idea but he does talk about Lunt being a utility forward. Maybe he feels that whilst he wants someone to cover hooker, and maybe give Burrow a rest for 10-20 minutes, its a waste of a bench spot if they can't really cover for/help spell anyone else?

Could be right. IMO it is more important to have another pivotal playmaker type (or 2) on the bench than a 2nd pure specialist. The roles of half back and hooker have morphed in recent times and Burrow has proved that a hooker does not have to include in his repertoire a high tackle count to make a match winning impact providing you have backrowers and centres that can put in some extra tackles.

The sooner we move from the predicable 'pick 4 forwards on the bench' routine (and worse 4 props on the bench) the sooner we will improve the entertainment value. These days backrowers are better value than most props as they tend to have better hands, can make as many or more metres, make more tackles and play more minutes and be able to play in different position.

But I much prefer to see players on the bench that can make a game changing impact rather than just give the first choices a rest. Too often this has been confused with big props who just run into contact and come on to give a rest to another big prop that just runs into contact. IMO better to bench a head up playmaker or a pacy try scorer or a good attacking kicker to turn around a game you are losing.

Do you have any specific examples of this tactic being employed?

According to Mac on SL extra McShane out with a stinger and Rob won't be back for three weeks.

If Mcshane wasn't contracted for 3 years, and if we could keep Lunt, I'd let him walk at the end of this year to be honest.

After a very impessive debut I would Agree. That was the best performance by a Leeds 9 since Bedsy went back to Aus.
Macca must be a very worried man tonite. Even when Robbie comes back I would be tempted to emply the same tactics that worked so well at the back end of last season, just Lunt instead of Buderus.

lets calm down before writing a kid off who has still got stacks of potential imo and lets face it when he's played recently the whole team have been off colour not just him and i still maintain he offers some good options at 9 that Hood ,Burrow and even now Lunt don't.

I'm not geting too carried away. Last season I was praying Macca would stay as he has always had the talent to go far, but this season for whatever reason he's failed to live up to that mark. The odd 40/20 and flash of skill aside he has been very slow/ordinary almost pedestrian. Tonite was a masterclass on good dummy half play.

RR "Tonite was a masterclass on good dummy half play". That was on the back of some real hard yards and great go forward by our pack are you saying when we've been poor its just been down to Mcshane?

No i'm saying that Mcshanes dummy half play has been very slow, that may be a result of poor play by the rest of the team, but even in the games where we have been on top his play has still been very slow, thus making everything else in the team a little predictable!




Are you Pual Mcshane's Dad??????

Tonite's game showed how a good number 9 should play. There were 13.000 witnesses saw how well Lunt went tonite, there are also quite a few on here both raving about lunt/bagging Mcshane! Why have a go at me for doing the same???

It's a lot easier to get good go forward if you've got a dummy half providing quick and accurate service. Lunt did that tonight. From the times I've seen Leeds on Sky this season McShane and Hood have both failed to do this. McShane in particular has looked dreadfully slow both in distribution and movement and Hood looks a lot like a natural athlete learning to play a position.

Hood out on loan to Dews is a great move by Leeds and he'll benefit greatly from it. McShane needs to speed up everything he does otherwise he wont make it as a hooker.

Coincidence or not Lunt showed how it should be done....great distribution. He and Burrow should now be first choice interchange dummy halves on that performance.

Difficult because I would also like to see Hood on that bench every week too.

Either way McShane is now well down the pecking order IMO.

McShane was outstanding against Manly, it would have been hard to fault that performance also. Lunt is a good player, but that effort from he pack tonight was pretty special. When you dominate collisions like we did my mum would look sharp at dummy half.

Lunt's had one good game and McShane - a young player -a few average ones.

The only good option that McShane brings to the party is the odd 40/20. His distribution is slow and his whole play lacks zip. Much is said about him not having enough game time but Lunt showed in one game his class whilst McShane has never managed to show anything more than promise in 30 to 40 appearances since 2009.

Watch his apperances vs Castleford & Bradford both away last season then come back to me.

I did. So McS made a try with a good pass from a PTB against Cas - big deal. He has never given an 80 minute performance like Lunt did in his first game for Leeds and has never shown enough to be rated as anything more than promising. He has sadly failed to show the improvement necessary to make the 9 spot his own and now could be down to 4th choice at Leeds.

Did you see his game v cas away last year?
Did you think he was ordinary v Manly?
Lets also get some perspective here Lunt is 25 and has made the England squad Mcshane in SL terms is still a young lad learning the game and has played a bit part mostly and before you jump in with "because of his form" what did he do wrong not to get picked away at Wigan or after the Manly game when the coach clearly stated he was just "rotating" him with Hood?
Afterall yer posturing over Farrell in yawnion you go and write kid off because someone with more experience has a good debut what next ditch watkins because Ablett has played well at Centre?
I can't wait for your reaction to Lunt when he's poor in cr## team performance wil he get the blame like Macca has?

I just can't ever see mcshane been a regular top performer

3 seasons on the fringes now