Many expect academy players to be ready for Super League from day one. That's obviously crazy. The game lacks a real pathway for youngster and decisions have to be made too soon on their futures. Reserve team rugby (even 21s ) is a must but sadly miles away. I recall going to A team games which were competitive and gave lads a chance to impress. and play regularly. Players can improve once they are 18 but most are lost to the game from all clubs. As always money is the issue but unless something is sorted things won't improve. IMG's proposals may make sense but do not solve this problem. For me the ability to run an 18+ team is vital. Forget loans etc.

[quote="Wires71":39sr1qre]His 2024 stats are a little underwhelming. Lees 258 carries for 1731m at 6.71 average gain. Vaughan 279 carries for 2290m at 8.21 average gain.[/quote:39sr1qre] Of course there is more to a player than just average gains like tackles, offloads, dummy runs & the important bits that cannot be measured. It would be interesting to see what sort of pack we'd come up with if we just selected the players with the best average gains in each position out of all the clubs.

[quote="Smiffy27":1dfu8iia]Of course there is more to a player than just average gains like tackles, offloads, dummy runs & the important bits that cannot be measured. It would be interesting to see what sort of pack we'd come up with if we just selected the players with the best average gains in each position out of all the clubs.[/quote:1dfu8iia] Of course there is more than stats but stats are important otherwise Opta wouldn't exist and performance teams wouldn't buy data from them or fit GPS trackers on players. To be honest in this age of robotic "middles" - stats like metres made and tackles vs missed tackles are quite telling. Stats showed Vaughan as head and shoulders our best prop. I wouldn't disagree with that.

[quote="Wires71":2w6mi0b1]Of course there is more than stats but stats are important otherwise Opta wouldn't exist and performance teams wouldn't buy data from them or fit GPS trackers on players. To be honest in this age of robotic "middles" - stats like metres made and tackles vs missed tackles are quite telling. Stats showed Vaughan as head and shoulders our best prop. I wouldn't disagree with that.[/quote:2w6mi0b1] Robotic, that’s what Roy Asotasi must have been but someone had removed his batteries.

IMO Lees is massively overrated.

[quote="karetaker":2mxdurio]Robotic, that’s what Roy Asotasi must have been but someone had removed his batteries.[/quote:2mxdurio] 100% Goal Kicking though, quite an impressive stat.