That could potentially mean 11 'forwards' on the park against Warrington this Friday



...... 12 if we consider Burrow to be another impact hooker.

Smith's apparent loss of pace is a concern, but his utility makes him a valuable part of the squad IMO.

Yup. There was a reason he got the '15' shirt.

Juan C loves Cross. There's lot's to love: technically awful / former steel lumper arounder and soon to be one under Caddick PLC / old / Buderus' mate so get him signed up / 100 game rookie and well over 30 / silly penalties and errors that stand out like a black man in Texas / not the former State Of Origin player of the caliber of O'Hara and Cashmere that dipped their toes in the SOS scene / above all he's not very good and we have younger better prospects rented out to other Super League clubs while this guy hangs around looking puzzled.

On that point alone it's worth making a judgement on his rugby acumen, or lack of one.

Cross is a crap signing, as is huraki but we are stuck with both of them!!

On smith, not every player needs to be as fast as the wind and 18 stone of muscle. Being neither fast or big did wellens any harm. I think he should be retained, he may not be the best player in any position but few teams could put a full back in there team of his quality when their first 2 choices are injured

Neil Hague for a while was like 's[ihi[/it off a shovel' there wasn't a player in the league who could catch him for pace in '78. Don't know where it came from or where it went. For versatility Hague was the man but he didn't just cover positions .... he owned them.

Watching the Leeds vs Saints Wembley final that was on TV a few months back, it surprised me just how fast and how good Neil Hague was. Certainly better that the decent utility he was by the time I started watching (83ish onwards).

Smith is a talented footballer with a good reading of the game that makes up for the extra yard of pace. If he was playing for a Quins/Wakefield/Bradford level club he'd probably be at stand-off and the main man.

I really don't understand why people feel the need to give Cross so much grief, and particularly mock his career achievements. At the end of the day Leeds approached him and knew exactly what sort of player they were getting. A tough, safe hands, unspectacular but run forward prop, with an aggressive streak. Yes, that streak often leads to mindless brain fart penalties, but shock horror - he's been doing that long before Leeds came sniffing. Incidentally, and this may be just my opinion, I would much rather my prop give an aggressive penalty away, in the vain attempt to be intimidating/tough, than a blatant and pointless ball steal/interference/laying on etc...

I'm not trying to defend the Cross signing (I am disappointmented, as I thought he'd go ok), but just don't see why people would slag him off or question his achievements... I would guess he's certainly done more in his rugby career than anyone on here - albeit with limited technical ability.

I suspect it maybe be because it wasn't particularly a position of need heading into the off-season.

Leeds had Peacock to come back part way through the season, plus Leuluai, Bailey, Burgess, Kirke, Amor and Ambler all capable of playing in the front row. If Cross was going to come in, he had to be better than the majority of those names to make it a worthwhile signing. Fact is, he hasn't been and finds himself out of the first team squad which is a waste of a quota space and (I'm guessing here) a slice of salary cap.

Can't argue with that, although I think the signing of a hard running prop was a good idea, bit agree, whoever was signed needed to be as good/better than what we already had. I just think its a bit below the belt and uncalled for to give him so much grief.

He is what he is, and Leeds knew that before signing him. Bagging him the way some people do is pathetic, and in truth, he could easily come into the side and do a decent job. We've got him, we know what he is, let him just get on with it. At least he is available for selection, and not stealing a wage on the treatment table as we have come to expect from some 'favourites' and big names, both past and present.

On the money!

And just to add to that, I actually think under a good, disciplined coach and structure, his straight and hard technique would work well. Put him in the Warrington pack for instance and I think he'd be a bit of a fans favourite.

Put him at Warrington and he'd be behind Morley, Carvell, Wood and Harrison in the pecking order.

Same with any other current top 5 side IMO.

He'd probably go well at somewhere like Cas or Wakefield where they just expect their props to be battering rams and tackle all day.

Agree with most of that, although I think he'd sneak into a couple of the top 5 teams.

But a battering ram is exactly the way to describe him - just dont see why he gets mocked for being exactly that. That's what Leeds paid for - whether that decision was right or not is another question, I just don't think people should get on the blokes back.

I actually think Weller Hauraki has been a good player for us so far this season: he's made some good breaks, he has speed, he makes some runs, his defence is pretty average and he's even scored a few tries. He's a far better signing than Cross, let's put it that way!

Ok then.

I would disagree both are poor but for me cross is slightly better, hauraki's defence is shocking not average!

Hauraki's attack is far better, Hauraki makes more breaks and does a lot of work attacking wise. I wouldn't rate him highly defensive wise, but I rate him higher than Cross. Cross just gives away needless, stupid penalties and hasn't made any impact at all!

Hauraki was signed in the Ali mode and therefore he should be offering more attacking than the prop running down the middle. Agree cross has given stupid penalties but is fairly solid in defence. Hauraki is a revolving door in defence and equally drops the ball a fair bit.

I don't really know why I am arguing don't rate either of them!!

Hauraki's head is pretty much a perfect square. That makes him better!

but cross has a perfectly flat face like he has been hit with a shovel

They both do it well in the ugly stakes!

No SL side should be signing overseas players to make up the numbers in a squad. Ambler may come back a better player next year for the experience he's picking up now, but he'd be a better squad player right now than Cross.

Hauraki may have seriously disappointed, but I suspect he was seen as a gamble worth taking based on his performances last year (albeit a cheaper option as well than the alternative of signing an attacking back row from the NRL).

Sadly what we're left with is two overseas players who are amongst the least effective in their positions in SL.

Dead right, you want your over seas signings to be the jewels in the crown, the strike, the magic! The grunt lacking in uk players! our quota players can't get in the team. Sadley it's not because Kirke is on fire, Bailey is ripping it up or Jjb has a new lease of life. though those players and the likes of Pitts and Clarkson have improved we have hardly been in great form and they still can't command a start! Shizzer recruitment. The buck stops with GH. Gambles on Donald n kylie have paid off. Delaney defo has something to offer. Cross and Hauraki are fails so far. I think cross has done ok. But what we have plenty who can do ok, ambler, Amor and singleton can do ok! I've seen kids who can read an attack and defend better than Weller bless him.

Luckily so far is, what, 14 games?

No need to get excited.

Im not

We're at a point now where fair assessments have/can be made.

To write off either after 2/3 games may be a little premature. But they have both had a fair crack, played plenty of games, and their form that they offer finds them way away from an ideal 17. Even a current match day 17 which sees a few injuries pending.

Which means the senisible decision now should be to tie these both off at the end of the season. I wouldn't be surprised if something happens sooner.