Wow. Amazing how quick McGuire gets the crap thrown at him. I'm sure he could have done what mighty Sir Kev couldn't and broke the giants of Italian rugby leagues defence up. Anyway I digress let's talk about how wonderful Bailey is...

Can't argue with the crappy performance from Sinfield et all ... But although it is often said Sinfield is not a stand off ( and it is difficult to argue with that .....especially against the quality of the Aussie or NZ national teams ) he does - normally - still offer the virtues of his sometimes sublime kicking game and leadership abilities.

Burrow still has his pace and unpredictability ( which can be both bad as well as good of course ) .....BUT poor old Mags has lost his major asset of pace in the half break or in support to finish a move. He has improved his game in other areas, but not enough IMO to be commanding a starting half back position for a team with any pretence of winning trophies. He is 'shot ' I'm afraid.



Ward, Sutcliffe (LF or SO between them) and Burrow for me next season ....with Sinfield sharing hooking with Aiton

Agree with most of that. I don't think he's shot, but I don't think he offers enough as a starting half back. I'm not sure Sutcliffe offers more yet, but with game time he could

Think McGuire can still play a part especially early on in the season. With Sinfield and Burrow being on England duty and Ward will not have played a SL game for nearly 10 months by the time the season starts then I think he could do a job whilst the ones mentioned get eased into the start of the campaign.

McGuire isn't as quick as he used to be, but he's our most creative half when he's fit.



The big questions are, can Sutcliffe and Ward deliver when given responsibility for running the attack? And crucially can they do it yet? Neither has had any spell at all as the key man in an attacking structure at senior level. So having them both as a halfback pairing seems a risky ploy. Patience is a virtue.

Good and fair point El ,D i personally would use Ward and Sutcliffe as 6 + 13 respectivley with Burrow at 7.

Alternatively Sinfield stays at 6 and Sutty goes to 7 with Ward staying at 13 and Mags on the bench unless he returns bang in form then Sutcliffe/Ward move to the bench with the other at 13.

Its a problem the Coach has to solve because imo its clear that Sutty/Ward are the future at 13 and 6 so he has to fit Sinfield ,Burrow and Mcguire round them in the next 12/18mths imo.

We wont know unless we give them the chance



At this stage its not so much about them delivering as developing.



They need game time now in order to develop and we need to have the patience to allow them to develop all aspects of their game.



They wont get this sat in the stand watching players who are, due to injury and the inevitable wear and tear on their bodies, now frankly past their best.



Its a sad aspect but it comes to all players eventually.



We have had great success over the past few years and I am truely grateful to McGuire in particular but the a large proportion of the current team is ageing all together and unless we develop the best of our available young talent we will not repeat our recent glories.

I agree entirely. I suspect there may remain a problem to solve at 7, but perhaps it will be 12 to 18 months before we know that.



In some ways (many ways) having so many otions is great. Managing that transition from the golden generation to the new talent is going to be a tricky balancing act that I don't envy the coaching staff in the meantime though.

Id like to see Sutcliffe and Ward share the 13 role next year. Would physically and mentally take some of the pressure from them, would bring them through in to a settled side and would, when circumstances allow, mean we could have both on the field taking a more leadership role. But it would mean they were still getting regular RL in an important position.



Mcguire and Sinfield in the halves, Burrow at 9. Ward/Sutcliffe at 13. If we are looking comfortable then we can rest one of Mcguire/Sinfield and move Sutcliffe in to the halves with Ward at 13

Its something the coaching staff should relish and seize with glee.



Their remit is not only to win trophies but to develop the future of the team and that means making some tough decisions at times.



I agree the problem is fitting all the available choices onto the team sheet and we may have to sacrifice at least one of the more "seasoned" players to accommodate the new talent.



I know which one it would be for me but thats just a personal opinion.

Sorry but that is just taking us backwards. When Ward broke into the team, he was an ever present, going on to win a GF winners ring, and looked very settled, better than some of his collegues. He started off last season like an house on fire, looking every inch our best option around the base of the scrum. had he not got injured, it was more than just a probability that his spot was cemented in that backrow/loose.



He's a much better option than JJB/Clarkson, and is more reliable to be there playing than Delaney.



Now just because of his age, it would seem, you want to start reducing his game time. Ward is not in the same boat as Sutcliffe, as Sutcliffe is indeed in the still learning phase, but Ward is past that early stage and is more in the getting wiser stage.

I remain unconvinced that Ward is going to be best used as a pivot in the short/medium term.



I get that there are concerns over his durability and asking him to work as a "battering ram", but from what I see of him at first grade level he's much more effective as a runner than a distributor.



If one of Ward or Sutcliffe is going to slot into that role then IMO it's going to be Sutcliffe.