I would hope that when Furner arrives he weighs and measures what is required with recruitment and what he thinks he can turn round in coaching.

Once this is done, I would expect him to then use the link with Sir Kev to hammer out what he wants/needs, how badly and when. It would then be Sir Kevs job to go out and achieve these or maybe even turn round and say we cant/wont do that.

I would expect that until Furner arrives this is purely conjecture as until he sees the scale of the job, weighs it up and hammers out a plan WITH Sinfield / GH et al that were all in the dark.

What I would say when MM came in at Wigan, he went from top to bottom of that club and made sure all age groups, coaches and teams were all pulling in the same direction and singing off the same hymm sheet. This is what we need at Leeds. Weve been far too disjointed for too long.

I would agree that this is essential but would see it as Sinfield's role not Furner's.

I agree and I would be shocked if he isn't already looking at that, he has said there is a ton of work going on in the background

I would see this as a dual role.

Furner to set the standards required and Sinfield to make sure that they are not only achieved, but maintained.

You are right, Sinfield is going to have his hands full with this and ATEOTD its his responsibility to make sure they are attained.

I agree with your agreement. My original post was aimed at tempering those who were willing a root & branch overhaul by Furner, only 2 months after hailing Sinfield's appointment to do just that.

Furner and Sinfield need to work together to define the playing style and standards that the club will aspire to, regardless of which team within the club. They need to work out a series of actions and KPI's to measure the performance against the defined standards and have an action plan to get us to the right level. The action plan should include anything from conditioning, to coaching methods, to player recruitment and retention. Different people will be responsible for individual parts, but Sinfield should be responsible for the whole.

It's called management.

Agreed. Look at Cas as a great example. Powell has brought in a great philosophy of playing rugby in the right way since he took hold of the club which was a bottom half SL team of journey men and miss fits when he took the reigns. He identified a style he wanted to play, got the players in he needed to play it and stuck by it and look at them these days. I certainly have the patience with Furner and Sinfield if there is a clear indication we are building towards something on the field of play and get away from this 'off the cuff' play what you see nonsense we had under mcdermott.

'Off the cuff' is polite for pretty clueless.

I was going to add that but thought i would wait for someone else to project it



To be fair that style works, as it did for us in massive games, when you have the playing staff to do it. When you don't, well the evidence has been there for all to see.

I'd actually argue "off the cuff" isn't "off the cuff". To play that style of rugby you need to first be able to at least hold your own in the forwards, and generate quick ptb's. This comes by design, both in conditioning and application of technique. What people often call "off the cuff" is actually the selective application of particular tactics and then a flood of support for the ball carrier.

What Cas do so well is play the kind of attacking structure where Gale has three (or more) truly viable options (not people half d jogging up to the line) and then he selects the one that the defence will find hardest to deal with given their position and numbers for that particular tackle. To do this you need a very fit, disciplined (in terms of position and line of run) and committed pack/backs and a smart half who can disguise his play until the last moment.

We are a million years away from this with any of our halfback options, or those coming in too I think.

We need to go for simple percentage structure which won't be exciting but will give us a platform to build from as we recruit better quality players so we can play more "flashy" stuff

Ok Mark maybe JJB and Delaney were more than average but not in my opinion quality.
Didn`t I hear somewhere that Sinfield had been talking to Furner for over 2 months now about player recruitment and what was needed for the team well before the announcement was made?
Let`s hope that was a frank honest chat and we look to spend as much of the cap as we have available.

I agree with the last sentence we need quality additions.

According to Frosties thread, there are 7 players OoC at the end of this year who's future isn't yet decided or hasn't been announced:

Carl Ablett
Brett Delaney
JJB
Jimmy Keinhorst
Anthony Mullally
Jordan Thompson
Josh Walters

If we can get replacements for them all they could leave for me. In Furner we trust...

A few HullKR bound me thinks , but I can't see an overhaul of the squad all at once . I think Sinny and Furner will have already identified the positions that take priority

Agreed.
Ablett,jjb and Delaney have already had a year or two more than they should. Loyalty wise I think they have been given a fair deal.

BMD always favoured workhorses in every position over any other quality. We are crying out for some power in the props, strike ability in the BR ,leadership and organising in the halfs.
Because that has been neglected for so many years we now have to do that in greater numbers and accept it will take far longer to be a top 4 team again.

All will retained - one year extension. if you listen to the muttering from the club 2019 isn't expected to be a lot better than 2018 i.e. top 8 but not top 4. 2020 is where they think there will be significant improvements

Dangerous strategy, could lose a lot of supporters that might be hard to get back if the Elland Road lot get promoted.

I think leeds will be back in top 4 before united are in premier league, but stranger things have happened. Not sure that LUFC crowds affect us that mych, united draw fans fron across the region, i know plenty of Fev/Cas fans who support united.

To me we simpley cannot keep JJB Ablett and especially Delaney, bettween them that play less than one player should and are all probably bigger earners. There must be players around worth a punt, i would rather sign Hock than keep these 3. All been great but they are all finished.

I'd say we are looking at 2 or 3 more signings for next season, which would mean either promoting kids, or 4/5 of those OoC going around again. The following season we will see more changes (and have more players OoC).

I'm not necessarily expecting LUFC to get promoted, but if it happens it will affect all the local clubs, but Leeds especially given the cost to attend in the new stands and the likely product on the pitch.

Hello, new poster here.

I was reading the thread and considering the squad and players OOC. Without squad numbers and using players who are confirmed arrivals squad could look like this.

1. Walker
2. T Briscoe
3. Watkins
4. L.Sutcliffe
5. L.briscoe
6. Lolohea
7.myler
8. Garbutt
9. Parcell
10. Singleton
11. Ferres
12. Ward
13. Cuthbertson

14. Dwyer
15. Oledzki
16. Peteru
17. C Smith

18.golding
19.Crosby
20.Thompson
21.Mclelland
22.Trout
23.Newman
24.Handley
25.A Sutcliffe
26.Holroyd

This would mean we get rid of or loose

1. Ablett
2. Delaney
3.Hall
4.JJB
5.keinhorst
6.Moon
7.Ormondroyd
8. Walters
9. Mullally

I would say if the above transpired we should use funds for two key areas.

A big hitting, meter making prop who plays most games
A quick offloading wide running second row who can also defend the edge well.

Appreciate it could all be fantasy but keeping experienced players around is only worth it if they play, at the moment our experienced back row is very rarely fit.

Welcome on board, it's a fun ride, especially when we are as bad as we are right now!

Add in a Centre to replace Sutcliffe and I think you are pretty close to what will actually happen in this close season.

Where it will impact the Rhinos is on corporate side - Leeds Utd in the PL is a much bigger draw than the Rhinos in any league.

Which is exactly the kind of £ we are desperate for with the new cost structure of the stands. Like I say, dangerous game not to maximize the product on the field for a year...

I would say it is probably too late to recruit real quality for 2019 - hence why they are saying 2020 plus the North stand wont be ready until May/June at the earliest