I know many will disagree but I think Garbutt is very average. Having said that I don't have to tackle him, the size of him could mean he is quite tiring to play against.
Out of the 6 Australian forwards we have I would only keep Cuthbo, who is excellent. Can't argue with the huge contribution Delaney has made over the last few years, but his body is done. Being totally ruthless he would have to go.

Made big metres, loads of tackles and played loads of minutes despite the long injury lay-off. Sure he races out of the line, but I can only think of one instance he's really got it wrong this year.

If he's not been excellent then he has at least been the pick of our forwards (Ferres aside) when fit this year.

I think that is fair, Cuthbo and Moon are the pick of our Aussie crop.

I'd keep Garbutt and Delaney depending what was available, but as you say I'm starting to question how much Frog has to give when he gives everything when he's out there, only to be rewarded with further flogging.

Nobody can be in any doubts about the way the likes of Delaney and JJB have performed season after season,but think Leeds squad needs a serious shake up a bit like what Warrington have done this season.possibly even more drastic,just can't see McDermott pushing through the next crop of young talent through youth system to replace the likes of JJB,Delaney,burrow.if falloons or galloways performances don't improve over the season then cut our losses and get rid,Anthony mullally needs to improve fitness and be coached more in the Leeds way,way things are going cuthbertson and Garbutt are going to be goosed by mid season,singleton needs to push on now from last season and establish himself as first choice and hopefully get stevie ward back and fit in near future.after watching the way we were brushed aside by hull Kr,it needs everyone in the squad who's available to man up and be counted.if they not capable of it then get some who are next season.cant see anything changing either personnel wise or coaching wise this season no matter how bad it gets.

How do you know body language from the players equates to not being happy with the tactics? Did being present enable you to lip read the players as one by one they turned to the North Stand and shouted "poop tactics again Mac"

The body language is much more likely to indicate that they are not happy with their own performances and those of their teammates but then I am not a psychologist like you.




Well I think it is a player problem. I have seen that we have regularly got our numbers wrong resulting in too many gaps which the opposition has exploited..



Well if it is a fact perhaps you could provide the evidence to back this instruction up. Sutcliffe is essentially a runner so I can understand if has been encouraged to play on his strong suit, however I do not believe that the coach would instruct him to only ever run and ignore overlaps. That he does this highlights his shortcomings not only as a 6 but also as a rugby player too.



Again some proof of this instruction would be helpful. This could be a good tactic against certain sides and at certain times in a game eg when forwards in mid field are tired. It also could be good advice to Hardaker who seems determined to set off and run away from any support!



Yes. Simple they are badly out of form and have lost confidence. It happens in sport and it happened for the games just after last years Cup Final if you recall. The injury situation all season has precluded the coach's options on selection as you well know.




It is quite usual that senior players are often involved and sometimes run training sessions as it allows them to practice their on field decision making. This does not mean they replace the coach and to suggest Mac has not proven his coaching abilities is just mischief making.

I repeat the coaches selection options have been very limited so far this season because of injuries and suspensions. I understand that for many games even those selected have been carrying niggles. However there was a big uproar from certain quarters when Garbutt and Singleton were not selected yet they had been the least effective props against Wigan and perhaps the coach he did drop them for not keeping to the game plan. When he did select them they hardly covered themselves in glory.




Well we shall have to agree to differ regarding Smith and Warrington. Warrington lost key personnel, had injuries and lost form the same as we have this year. After a poor season they jumped into the transfer market with a target of two quality halfbacks.

Mac has given the opportunity to all the youngsters that looked the part some of whom have not disappointed while others have. Last season the coach was criticised by some for sticking to his senior players and has proven he is loyal and does have faith in those with the right attitude and consistency of performance. Who are the seasoned internationals that he doesn't have faith in? he has never been able to field his best line up so far this season due to injuries as I keep pointing out.

Where I am critical of the management is in failing to see that Sutcliffe was not up to running a game if McGuire were injured. Not recuiting like Warrington did is a major error in my book. I do not know if the blame for this lays with Mac or GH or both but without a good controlling decision maker we were bound to struggle. What we don't know is if there is some major recruitment next year in the pipeline which encouraged them to take the risk.

I have been disappointed with Falloon so far but hope he will improve as the team regains some form. Young Golding's return could just provide the spark we need.

Let it go Billy - it was once, granted the most costly defensive error in England's history but talk about holding grudges!

Garbutt is a ten a penny player in Oz. I think they are given out to tourists at the opera house. He is a player who does a job, a warm body, on the front foot he gobbles up metres, he is fairly solid in defence. Id keep him but im not heartbroken if he goes.

Delany is no longer even that. Im sure he tries his hardest, and yes he runs his heart out, and no doubt he would run through a brick wall for Leeds, but he spends more time on his haunches than on his feet, can barely finish a game, and is far too often (through injury) having to be carried by the rest of the team. Even at his best Delany is a limited player. He isnt that big, isnt that fans and has no passing skills to speak of.

Galloway is looking like an expensive Luke Burgess right now, concrete feet, but he has shown glimpses.

Falloon hasnt had enough time and has come in to a struggling first team.

Achurch is surely gone.

Personally im not as doom and gloom as some. I dont think we are that far away. Its clear we arent as fit as we should be, arent as sharp. Its clear we are low on confidence and that where there were strengths, there are now weaknesses. But we arent Wigan in 06, we arent Bradford. We have far too many good players, coming in to their prime for us to need years of a building job, and we make money, not lose it.

It took Smith longer than one season. It was obvious the likes of Morley, Hodgson, Carvell were going halfway through 2013 and whilst Briers retired earlier than they'll have planned for it must've been obvious mid-2013 how serious his neck issues were.....so that was mid-2013 when they knew what personnel they were losing and only now at the start of 2016 have they got things looking right again (in comparison we're talking a third of a season so far at Leeds). In 2014 and 2015 it honestly didn't look like Smith had a clue what his favourite 1-7 was and players like Ratchford, Russell, Bridge would swap positions often and he tried Gareth O'Brien at HB but never really seemed to trust him. I recall them starting the 2014 CC Semi against us with Ratchford at 6 and Bridge at centre and then swapping them around at HT in a perfect illustration of how unsure he was of his best lineup. As usual with Smith it was dependent on the generosity of the owners chequebook.

I'm not sure tactics have anything to do with dreadful one-on-one tackle attempts and downright lazy defensive efforts. Especially when things aren't clicking on attack, the defence is the one thing that can be made strong through hard work (the constant mantra from BM and players in the media).

I have to agree that we have too many ordinary Aussies in the pack. They have all come through a clearly superior system, and even if individually not the best going round as a unit they ought to be able to more than hold their own in SL.

Fair comments which underline my point that after losing their key personnel and dropping down the table Warrington did not blame the coach but resolved the problem by recruiting quality half backs and rebalancing their squad.