I can't believe there is even a thread daring to criticize him! As a Wire fan I think he's been nothing short of fantastic for you guys in the way he has come into the team and kept you in games more than you'd probably like! His rugby brain is top notch and I can see him being your new Sinfield but with more skill if he sticks around. Your best player this year by a mile. Yeah he isn't the fastest but when he intercepts a ball if Watkins is up his backside he wouldn'tneed to be!. If you go down I think he'd make an excellent addition to our team, you can have Ratchford!

Could not agree more - he has the awareness that Mcguire showed in his youth just not the raw pace

Wasn't talking about his goalkicking which is very solid. I stand by the assessment of his kicking game from what I've seen in the last few matches. His high kicks are pretty ordinary, he has no cross field option that I've seen. His one short kick is end over end straight forward. One of the dropouts he forced was from a kick that would have ended up in Manchester had it not ricocheted off a Hudds player into another like a pinball.
I thought Lilley played okay, he took his try really well and you are right, some of his short kicks were weighted well but over the several games I have seen Sutcliffe is the one that looks up and varies his kick and they are attacking kicks looking to create a scoring chance, Lilley does the same kick and it's generally simple to handle.

Yeah. Why isn't this 19 year old who is in his first season the complete player? It really takes the mickey. Surely he's had enough games in a winning team, surrounded by top players in top form to do better than he is. So what if he has been our best half back, he should be better!!!

I think it does young players good to be hyper-critical about aspects of their game. I've seen too many young players come into SL with bags of promise but some serious flaws, and then plateau in their development without addressing them.

Young players in this country have a tendency to reach a comfort zone, where they are good enough to get picked every week without needing to tackle the weak points of their game. Anything which helps jolt them out of that and encourage them to continue developing is a good thing IMO.

That isn't down to us as fans, what right do we really have? I'd like to think that both they and the coaching stuff know that a player should always be working on their game. I doubt even JJB goes in and they tell him to relax because he has nothing to work on.

A thread about Lilley's shortcomings is a fecking disgrace. When I see these things I just hope the players don't stumble across these pages. He's putting his body on the line week after week. His defence might not be great right now, but he never hides. In attack he throws himself into it. In fact, on Friday, he took a drive in when the forwards were still coming back. He clearly loves wearing that shirt and is improving each week. Good enough for me right now

If he hadn't been playing on Friday we'd have struggled to score a point!

Well said. The critical comments about his kicking are a joke. He hasn't played enough games yet to show his full range of talents which will keep on developing.

Can't believe anybody is questioning anything about Jordan. He's coming on leaps and bounds and that is really all he needs to be doing. He doesn't need to be changing games every week, he doesn't need to be your best player every week. He's 19 years old in his first full season at first team and I think he's doing a cracking job for you. He's also a smashing lad and his dad Mark is a really good guy and obviously immensely proud of what Jordan's doing

I'm no Leeds fan but Jordan is a very bright light in your poor season so far, lay off him

m

Read my original post. I was arguing a very narrow point regarding his range of kicks, which I then suggested would develop as he gained experience. I wasn't criticising the player, just disagreeing with what I thought was over the top praise of one particular part of his game. But hey, let's just ignore stuff that doesn't suit our desire to have a crack at people and be clever.

He played okay. He took his try well and made a couple of very good defensive reads to make breaks and get us down the field. He's struggling with some pretty messed up running lines from some of our players and a half back partner who is out of form and drifts out of the game.

I am very encouraged by Lilley and tend to agree with the view that he is quick enough to get through a gap – on the basis that he seems to keep getting through them. So a pivot player who can a run through a gap, kick the ball (from hand / place kick) and pass it too – with plenty of potential for all that to develop and for the players around him to be able to better read his game and react off it. He also seems to have the ability to be in the right place at the right time and to make things happen. He reminds me a little of players like James Lowes when they were close to the line – not completely predictable but very effective. It’s a thumbs up from me.

Jordans doing a fine job, we wanted the youngsters to get a chance, now some are slagging him. He reminds me of Barry Seabourne in lots of ways, he wasn't the quickest but had the brain and a good kicking game. A halfback that can make the break is worth is wait in gold. If others around him were playing with the same intent we would be a lot better off.

Interesting comparison to Barry seabourne, if sutcliffe can be half as good as that other son of hunslet, mick shoebottom all will be well for the next decade. Time will tell. One thing lilley has done really well in last 2 games is read opposition plays. Interceptions and getting on the end of kicks.

This seems to be an entire thread of people complaining about slagging Lilley off, in which nobody has slagged Lilley off.

Classic Southstander.

I was thinking the same, glad somebody else can confirm i was right

He is full of confidence for a 19 year old, he is mature beyond his years. I try not to pick his game apart, he is going to make mistakes and sure, he lacks a bit of pace, but i try to imagine what this lad could be like with 100 games plus under his belt at 22/23 years old he could be top notch.

Agreed. But can Lilley?

Aside from the welcome interceptions when else has he looked to, let alone succeeded in, taking the line on. On the Hull thread I noted the first time (and in slippery conditions) was around the hour mark - his only other run I recalled that day was when kick pressure from Hull forced him to run instead.

Leeds' last three games have all been on Sky so those with examples of this alleged break making ability should be able to reference them here - no?

Thing is though if we were playing well then we would have had players in support, Watkins on the left and Golding and Sutcliffe in the middle and Handley on the right are all quick enough to finish off breaks but none were there in support when breaks were made (except Golding and Sutcliffe on one occasion but their defence had tracked back well)

Cronk, JT, Reynolds etc. all top players but hardly make any breaks- only make breaks when the defence opens up because of a miss read
Youve got Sutcliffe, Mcguire(if his new injury hasnt completely killed his pace), Burrow, and our (supposedly world class) backline to make breaks

Have you seen Melbourne's likely future half-back post the Cooper Cronk era a lad called Scott Drinkwater?

He would be an NRL equivalent to Jordan Lilley and IMO he (Drinkwater) is the real deal. It's really scary how mediocrity is increasingly the acceptable standard in SL.

Exactly! It's not as if the likes of Peta Godinet are getting starting gigs at Halfback and scoring Try's in the NRL! Or Jorden Rankin being a standout performer when the Tigers beat Souths!

Whatever next? a solid but not spectacular Hooker from a mid table SL rabble team will be leading the Daly M's!

Agreed but atm he doesn't even look like 5% as good

Is Godinet getting starting gigs and scoring tries or has he so far had just the one appearance at stand-off after Manly chose to move Dylan Walker to full-back to cover the absence of Brett Stewart. Those weeks when Cherry-Evans was missing oddly didn't present an opportunity for Godinet to fill in at half-back though so let's see if he gets an extended run now in the halves.



Rankin wouldn't be the only overseas player to flounder on Humberside. He's looked a much better player on the Tigers wing, at least when not faced with two balls on the pitch.



He weren't even that in SL but now acclimatised to what is required to succeed in the NRL he is an entirely different proposition and a fine example to other aspiring brits. The way points are awarded in the Dally M's could skew the resulting overall table but no disputing his early season importance to the Raiders.

Getting back to Lilley though how would you rate his potential against a jack in the box like Drinkwater?

I was only being mischievous mate.

Not seen enough of Drinkwater to give an honest opinion.

Me neither to be fair but so far one of them reminds me of Shaun Johnson the other reminds me of Paul McShane.