As a Wakefield supporter looking from the outside.

I expect that Gale will leave, but even so that looks the strongest looking Leeds team that i have seen for a long time. You should definitely be right up there next season IMO.

So we are still a centre short , a metre making prop and a coach from being able to challenge Saints ( god help us if Briscoe is first choice centre )

How the hell Walker would get in before Myler is beyond belief

The prop is the only issue there. Like the club I've got a lot of faith in Sutcliffe being very, very good at centre next year - and very few people who have actually worked with him say Agar is anything other than an excellent coach.

Yeah I struggle with this too. He wasn't a top 4 full back before his injury, nor will he be on his return. And a side supposedly challenging for honours goes with its strongest spine. For me, that means Jack provides cover

Walker's all class and is the future. If he stays fit he's a better runner and defender than Myler. Plus Myler is at the back end of his career now.
Myler will play loads anyway as Walker has sadly never managed a full season injury free....

Although Myler will rightly start the season at full back, I will not be writing Walker off. If he comes back fitter and stronger, he can still be a great asset. Walker is much better under the high ball, better defensively and a much better runner than Myler: it is his passing game that he needs work on.

I suspect some of the negativity towards Walker from some stems from when it looked like he was leaving before he signed the new deal. He could potentially be the GB/England full back for many years if he can finally put his injury issues behind him. He's only 22 but has shown some real quality already, yet some have written him off and would be happy for him to leave.

I think Agar showed his limitations as a coach towards the end of the season. Honorable man no doubt but could you really see him coaching a Saints/Wigan/Warrington?

On Sutcliffe - I am with you he is underrated but he has yet to find a consistent spot in the team. What happens with Broadbent?

Not short a centre at all.Newman,Suttcliffe,Broadbent and Briscoe who has shown can fill in if needed. We also Hall and Edwards who is one of the best prospects in SL who should get some game time next season.

Broadbent will get his chance as there is always injuries,its then up to him to keep his place.

Had forgotten about the delay in him signing his contract so not a factor in my previous comment which was instead merely based upon whom I think more likely to perform best at the start of next season.

Must say that at the beginning of 2020, just before lockdown, he was playing his best Rugby. That version of Jack is a better full back than Myler in my humble opinion. However, quite a bit of water has rolled under the bridge since then and Myler has done very well. Massive incentive for both of them to shine in preseason and the same can be said for a number of other players who were once assured of a place, but now not. Bodes well.

The Walker/Myler argument in interesting. For me it all depends what we do at 13. If Cam Smith/Blake Austin start then we can afford to use Jack's running game, if not, we have to start with Richie as we gain so much having that extra man out the back. Jack offers pace, which we don't tend to have in the team, but not a passing game unless he has developed whilst under rehab. I would be happy with either as long as the balance of the team is correct. Whatever happens, it is the most I've looked forward to a season for years.

For what its worth, I would go with:

1. Walker
2. Fusitu'a
3, Newman
4, Sutty
5, Handley
6, Gale
7, Seizer
8, Mik
9, Leeming
10. Zane
11 Bentley
12 Martin
13 Cam Smith

14 Austin
15 Prior
16 Holroyd
17 Mellor/Donno/Gannon/Muizz/etc

My17 if everyone is fit

Walker
Fuzzy
Newman
Broadbent
Handley
Austin
Sezer
Oledzsjki
Leeming
Prior
Bentley
Martin
C.Smith

C.Johnson
Holroyd
Tetevano
Gannon

That would be my team also maybe Sutcliffe over Broadbent but TBH i think Broadbent will make the step up this coming season.

That team looks really really handy

Hard to call at this minute in time with regards to fullback but that looks good to me.

I'm in total agreement with Stanningley. I'd like to see Broadbent and Gannon force out Sutcliffe and Smith by the halfway point in the season though. I.e. Gannon to SR and Bentley to LF.

Whereas Bentley might make a decent LF I really don’t think Cam Smith is a problem. He mostly played very well last season and he’s still young.

Bentley also comes into Leeds under a significant injury cloud don’t forget. Back issues are notorious.

I honestly think Agar will be assessing the players on performance in pre-season before finalising his side. There are some shoe-ins but plenty of questions too.

We just need more luck with injuries, this year has been ridiculous.

Assessing players on performance!!!! Have a word with yourself, Jim. Far too sensible for this forum.

Austin
Sezer
Gale
Leeming

Dwyer/Johnson

That will be the pivots IMO

Briscoe as a fill in says it all .

A decent centre is needed , yes i am sure Broadbent will make it at some stage , how much longer are we going to wait for Sutty to come of age .

We can all guess what will happen , the new signing will finish up at centre with Briscoe on the wing

Yep asess on performance means Myler is a shoe in as he has been our best performer and at full back the last 2 years

Next season there will be no need at all for Sutcliffe to be moved around and I am pretty certain we'll be talking about why he should be in the England squad at centre.

The biggest (not only) weakness Sutcliffe has as a Centre is a lack of pace for the position. His defence should be Ok, and his hands should be OK (as long as he passes and doesn’t drop his shoulder and go for the line all the time), I’m not worried about his positioning, so its pace for me.

Let’s hope he doesn’t get gassed by many and he should be OK.