Hope not. Specifically what will the Andy Lynch of 2011 bring to Leeds that they couldn't have had by keeping Burgess for example.

Lynch this year is hardly better than Cross, nevermind Burgess, not to mention he is 8(?) years older than Burgess...

I hope we try and loan Burgess from the Rhinos while we're without Hargreaves. I rate him.

Someone on the Hull FC board says they've had a text saying Chase to us in exchange for Burrow and JJB!! Is a done deal for next season.

I don't believe it like but stranger things have happened like releasing 2 experienced props half way through a season

we're not ageist up at HQ wasn't Cross (30+) brought in as a replacement for Easwood (23)

Bizarre news really. Only explanation is that you have made one or two massive signings and want to fit them in for a run on the playoffs this year. But who?

Guess you have not seen his stats then.
Age doesn't matter with props. Ask the 3 England props: JP, Moz and Carvell.

Burgess is by no means the finished article as a prop, but I thought he'd shown great improvement to his deficiencies this year (flat-footedness, ball-retention) and was looking like becoming an excellent forward. Fair enough, he may have been looking like becoming an excellent forward in Sydney not here, but he's still on Leeds' payroll and was our best prop in a poor first third of the season. I can't understand why 1) He's not playing. 2) We're offering him a release to strengthen our opponents for the rest of the season.

Cross was a poor signing but has been treated very shoddily.

I fail to see what Ian Kirke offers over either of them.

Not really. Its clear that Burgess will only be used for injury cover as he is going out on loan. He desperately wants first team rugby to earn an NRL contract, going out on loan suits both parties.
Cross hasn't been any where near the side since the Cas win just after Easter. He might aswell go.

Lets be honest our coach has treated both like sh#*.
There's been many below par performances that warranted changes and both got over-looked and both offer more than Kirke imo.
The more concerning thing for me is who has made this call ,Brian Mc therefore indicating he's staying beyond the end of the season and will take charge of our re-structure (God Help Us) or was t it GH making space for new arrivals.
I know the players are credited with the requests but it's obvious they were'nt in favour.
Burgess wanting to leave for the NRL is not surprising and losing Cross isn't gonna decimate the squad but i think he deserved better lets hope this "ruthless streak" continues onto Senior ,kirke and Ali.

I'm not buying that. Leeds aren't short of cash. Having senior players as backup to the first team squad would be welcomed at any Super League club. Loaning senior players out is a very rare occurance and releasing quota players early is almost unheard of.

I reckon you've agreed a deal to sign someone and need the cap room to bring them into the squad this season.

Which quality players would want to come to a club with 2 clowns in charge?
Burgess and Cross appear to have been treated terribly. I feel even more pessimistic about the next few years now.

To be fair, all that Cross has shown us that he is a Penalty Machine

Yep, all of them were a massive dissapointment on Friday night.

I hope GH is not basing his opinions on 1 out 10 decent performances by Bailey.

I know I'm dozy at this time of day and missed this thread earlier but Cross has not been treated shabbily. It was clear very early on that he was reluctant to put his reputation to the test and work hard. When he was in the team he always looked pedestrian and lacking in passion. If that came across on the terraces so loud and clear then it must have been even more obvious to the insiders and wage payers.

We were in no position to "release Burgess", he was out of contract and had told us he was off to Aus. That has been widely predicted on here for about 18 months. It's a shame but no surprise.

As for Cross, meh.

Maybe there's more to it than we know... I've been wondering if given the form of some of the players that have been left out recently (Burgess, Clarkson) if there's been some discipline problems, and while Cross hasn't been amazing for us I was really surprised we wasn't in the 19 for last Sundays match given that our 2 main props were playing on Friday in the international.

Something else I noticed at the game on Sunday but didn't think too much of it at the time was that Burgess was named in the 19 man squad and Clarkson wasn't, yet Clarkson was warming up with the squad so I assume he was 18th man? Was that just a change once McDermott knew all the players had come through the Exiles game, or is there a bit more to it?

This suggests to me that they may be looking at recruiting elsewhere. Centre springs to mind.
The players are probably going at the end of the season and it may be worthwhile loaning/ bringing in a centre

Yup. That is what disappoints me. That our coach thinks that Kirke is a better option at prop than Burgess.

BTW, I will disagree with your comment about what is the primary reason we lose to the big sides. I think the primary reason is busy blowing up a rubber glove somewhere.

Couldn't disagree more



The coaching staff have treated these two poorly - Both should have been rotated given the poor form of the squad to date. But GH has always been a man that looks after the players and treats them well. He doesn't hold back players that don't want to be at the club. Greg Eastwood. Without a doubt Cross and Burgess would have asked for the releases as reported and Leeds would never have said no to them. If a player doesn't want to be at the club he needs to be out of the door asap. Cross is useless to Leeds. Burgess still has a place as he is great cover for injuries. That is why Leeds are only loaning him out. If Leeds had someone in place then Burgess would have been released not loaned.

Disagree, burgess loaned out frees up cap space. He could be brought back if needed. Him and Cross out ensures space is there to bring someone in in an area where more cover is needed. Given the long-term injuries and Seniors age I reckon a centre is probably in the offing. Either that or the Carnegie relegation means a tighteningg of belts if they want to keep together the guts of a squad that can get promotion.

In maintaining the general direction the club is currently heading, retaining the likes of Bailey and Kirke is of critical importance. I look forward to improved contract extensions for both.

Head in sand.

We were in as strong position we could have been to keep Burgess. We should have been speaking to him about a new deal at end of last season. He said himself at start of season that he was aiming for a new deal, so whether predicted for 18 months or not is irrelevant. He has been treated shockingly since then. The club don't even know he is off to Aus, so how has he told them? GH statement says "he has implied he maybe going to the NRL".

I agree on Cross. But I can't accept the poor treatment he has received. How does that make potential new recruits feel.