Oh even as a leeds fan how I laugh. Done deal in January I believe, good sources they say as well. I'll never reveal my source but he or she is always bang on the money.

FWIW the stumbling block with the Leeds approach was the contract length we offered. We werent willing to offer three years. it wa 2 years with an option to a third. Also Hull offered a litle bit more moohlah

The Cooke debacle was instigated by him and HKR wasn't it?
Surely KH like everyone else at your club trusted his word when he verbally agreed the deal other han hold a gun to his head and make him sign there and then what could she alone have done?
We've built up over years of laying the foundations within the whole club structure and within the acadamy set up.
Plus we had numerous amounts of exemplory work by numerous individuals nor did we have an owner come in and tell anyone and everyone that we were gonna do this that and the other and get to the top.
As for the slowly building many on here have pointed that out and highlighted that Ellis alone won't get you up there and have you challenging every year whereas some of your lot find that hard top accept and see it as some kind of arrogance ,bitterness or jealousy.
I'll also add you are soon losing T.Briscoe to the NRL are you not? If/when that occurs it seems you make 1 step forward and 2 back.

Fair points but Pearson has overhauled the clubs academy completely and we should see some benefits of it,we have already debuted young players this season.Pearon has just said what his ambition is for the club and sooner hear that than the silence from previous board.I know its a building process and am prepared for that.As for Briscoe,good luck to him for wanting to prove himself over there...unlike TWBW,who wants to stay here

...Briscoe is good but not great like others tend to say and we may promote Lineham from U-20S so isnt that a good thing.

If Hull win something with Ellis, he'll be credited as playing a major role in turning around their fortunes.

If Ellis came back to Leeds, to be part of yet another title winning side, he'll just be another good player in a long line of good players, playing second fiddle to the likes of Sinfield et al. who have been there for the duration of the successful period. Ellis was also part of that in the past as well - going to Hull is more of a fresh challenge.

More scope for individual glory at Hull IMO, assuming he's not being offered more money as the reports claim.

I know barrie Mc has rated many of your younger players for a while so maybe this coach will blood them.
Re-Briscoe it is fair play to him we had the same thing with Morley and then Ellis but now with the likes of Watkins ,Bjb ,WBW etc we are keeping them here and building an enviroment they don't want to leave.

Was that actually offered to Ellis? or was that what was requested in talks?

Like I said earlier, from a reliable source, Leeds never got round to actually offering a contract to Ellis.

Maybe they felt because of the contract length it was not worth pursuing? Hardly here or there really though.

Well I suppose when they've had nothing much else to cheer about,So cheering their chairman and thumbing their noses at the 5times sl champions after they beat them to the signature of one of their ex players will have to do.For now?

As far as balance goes I think Griffin is a better signing for our squad than Ellis would be in the back row.

Good luck to him i say. Only a few weeks ago some folk were saying it would be good for SL if he went to a team out of the big 4, now he has, great signing for 'ull.

Didn't Ellis express a desire to return to a Yorkshire club? did Hull offer the highest salary of all the Yorkshire clubs?

Well, I stand by my earlier posts, I'd have been happy to have him back, but not devastated not to.

Whatever the offers (salary, other perks, contract lengths) obviously Hull made more sense for him, and presumably their offer made sense for them. Win win.

I think he's a cracking player (still would rather have JJB - which I said well before he signed for Hull before anyone starts, check the thread) and I agree with Hull fans saying it is a statement of intent/ambition from them.

Well done to Hull and Ellis, I can only wish him well after his performances for Leeds, and I think it'll be a good signing for a club that seems at the moment to be heading in the right direction after a disappointing few years.

That's great. My comments weren't in any way meant as a criticism of Hull's development of young players, merely a reflection that I'd prefer Leeds to develop new & hopefully even better ones. Far as I'm concerned how FC go about pursuing success is entirely a matter for them and their fans.

All of this.

Would've liked to have seen Ellis play for Leeds again but possibly more for nostalgia. Hopefully this means the club are putting alot of faith on Clarkson and Pitts et al.

Good signing for Hull, I only wish him well and he's sure to get a great reception when they visit Headingley. He could be their Morley-type signing and have a big impact on the club.

Indeed, this should be a great shot in the arm for Clarkson et al that Darth and the club have faith in them to develop and step up.

Are you joking?

No, he's quite serious. Can see where he's coming from too.

IMV this saga is comparable to those surrounding Harris & Morley & we did ok without either of those.
I expect the same will happen this time with(out) Ellis.
He's a good player but not a matchwinning player. He makes few mistakes, does a vast amount of effective defensive work but isn't really a gamebreaker.
As others have said his move is good for the competition but doesn't harm us.
It means that GH's salary structure remains intact to the benefit of the entire team & squad.

What an absolute @rse Frosties has made of himself all over this site.

Fantastic signing of one of the world's best players ever (as predicted on this forum) who has been ripping it up in the NRL and dominating the Australians for the past 3 years. Trust in the sleeve who yet again has pulled another one out of the hat at a very reasonable cost as per usual, and in keeping with the brilliantly managed salary cap structure in place at the club. Kudos to Ellis for once again placing trophy-winning opportunities ahead of a big salary as he always does just like Sinny and all the boys who love the club, and what a legend he is and how great it'll be to see him in the rhinos blue and amber again where he belongs and wants to be and I know this because I have insider knowledge and know his dad and I know his agent will always get thrashed in contract negotiations when he comes up against the legendary GH.

Erm...

Oh...

?????

Eh? What!

He's signed for Hull?











Ellis is a rubbish signing who'll do nowt at Hull and he'll win nowt - FACT! Good luck to him cos he'll need it there - END OF! He's too old anyway, crocked, past his best, the rhinos don't need him, don't really want him and are better off without him. Hasn't been that brilliant in the NRL anyway - overrated if you ask me - and his club there lose more games when he plays for them than when he doesn't and they win more games when he doesn't play for them than when he does - FACT! Griffin and Moore are better than him - END OF! and fetch more to the club and Hauraki can only get better -FACT! Well done GH for sticking to your guns and not upsetting the beautifully-crafted salary structure in place at the club which Sinny and all the boys swear by because they are in the business of winning trophies and being loyal to the rhinos unlike Ellis who is just looking for one last huge payout before he retires and he's got it the greedy steward of the bar. Oh, and his agent is a pillock as well and good on GH for not doing business with him.

I'm not devastated. FACT. END OF!

Well said... ETC.

Wow, its taken 31 pages of postings to say that you didn't really want Ellis. Priceless!!

Hull fans have no right to come on and 'gloat' about this. We're the wrong team to try and get into a d!ck measuring contest with.

Quite right. You'll always win when it comes to being the biggest dicks!!

the story goes that we made a provisional offer with the terms being over a 2 year deal. With the recent spate of injuries and age factor that was the fair deal. We did offer the option of a third year on Leeds request. Hull offered three im led to believe but then his agent started haggling and we advised him that our offer was the only offer

I wish Ellis good luck and think he will do well for them. But we had his best years and now IMO with JJB, Delaney and Ablett we have the best back 3 in SL at present and with reasonable cover and a couple of youngsters coming through we need not fret!

Can you read?

The key bits are "as far as balance goes" and "for our squad"...for the last couple of years Leeds' squad has been heavy on backrowers and a bit light at prop (but have got away with it thanks to the presence of JP).

Griffin is playing very well and has considerably less mileage on the clock than JP.