Barrie's Glass Eye wrote:
Do you honestly believe we'd have been in the position to win the treble with Burrow at hooker every game last year? It's a simple question.
yes. We were in the position to win the treble, and in fact did win the treble with Burrow playing the majority of games at hooker.
Ill question the alternative, why do you think that a journeyman hooker like Paul Aiton, that couldnt really make it in the NRL, didnt stand out at Wakefield, looked decidedly average in 2014, hasnbeen pretty poor this year, suddenly became world class and absolutely integral to a side that had been hugely successful without him previously and continued to be successful when he was injured?
2014 we had Aiton. 2015 we had Aiton. 2012 we had Lunt. 2013 we went with Burrow and won naff all.
Burrow can play as an, interchange, he can even start, but he has to work alongside a 'proper' hooker, to suggest otherwise based purely on us limping home last year after being untouchable for a lot of the year (surprise surprise when Aiton was fit) is a bit daft imo.
Going into this season or any other with Burrow as your choice of hooker is a recipe for disaster.
We didnt limp home. We beat the best other three sides in SL in succession. We beat the 2nd best side in SL twice (a team that beat us twice WITH Aiton) within 6 weeks.
In what world, other than this imaginary one which we are creating purely for the purpose of doing down a leeds legend, is this
14 Aug 2015 20:00 Super League Leeds Rhinos 25 - 18 Wigan Warriors
21 Aug 2015 20:00 Super League Hull FC 22 - 36 Leeds Rhinos
29 Aug 2015 15:15 Challenge Cup Hull KR 0 - 50 Leeds Rhinos
25 Sep 2015 20:00 Super League Huddersfield Giants 16 - 20 Leeds Rhinos
02 Oct 2015 20:00 Super League Leeds Rhinos 20 - 13 St Helens
10 Oct 2015 18:00 Super League Leeds Rhinos 22 - 20 Wigan Warriors
anything other than absolutely fantastic form? What year, whether we had Buderus, Diskin, Lunt, Millard,Lunt, or Aiton or a frankenhooker of all of them would we look at that as anything other than an absolutely wonderful run? When have we been so good that a win against Wigan is a given, twice? when has a knockout game against St Helens been a game we would limp to a 7 point victory in? How long has it been since we could guarantee a win against Hudds?
Perhaps, rather than seeing Leeds as under-performing because of Burrow and being rescued by players like Lunt and Aiton, maybe, just maybe, it was the players who have done next to nothing outside of a very short time at a leeds side that was hugely successful without them that were being carried and not the 7 time grand final winning, 2 time harry sunderland award winning, 3 time lls winning, 3 time wcc winning, 2 time challenge cup winning England international.