After having got stuck on the M62 for the second week running on my way to watch utter garbage again here is my take on each player.

1. Hardaker - one of Leeds' better players - very committed but tough to shine in a team that is so poor. The worry would be his kick return I can't remember the last time he broke the line.

2. Handley - tried hard but lacks size and power for the way Leeds want to use their wingers - inconsistent under the high ball

3. Watkins - poor, less said the better

4. Keinhorst - tackled himself to a standstill but doesn't have the ball skills or speed to be an effective centre

5. Hall - looks to be carrying too much timber - he never shirks the work but Manfredi has his number all night

6. Sutcliffe - poor, he looks more creative when he running ball in hand than when he either passes or kicks - not sure what that says other than if he is the future someone needs to teach him how to read the game.

7. Lilley - in a word slow - he will not make an impression against the better sides until he improves his pace and speed of thought

8. Galloway - makes Lilley look like Usain Bolt - he must had lead in his boots, I thought he would be a good signing but he looks really one paced and lacking genuine power - can't remember him making more than a couple of yards per carry

9. Burrow - a season too far to be starting - he shouldn't be dictating the plays - never a hooker

10. Cuthbertson - can't knock his effort but in a team that are so far behind the eight ball his skill set will never be optimised

11. Ferres - if he is an international second row I will eat my hat - perhaps his off the field antics have impacted his energy he looks slow and a bit niggly - not a Leeds player for me, at least it is only a year.

12. Achurch - lacks confidence but with his lack of conviction and skill so would you. What is the hair about is he doing Brideshead resisted?

13. Singleton - can't knock his effort but his impact was none existent - forgot he was on the field tbh.

14. Garbutt - returning after his last bout - pity he was so easily contained by the Wigan forwards - he looks out of shape and out of desire - possibly explains why he is here and not in the NRL a good player in a team going well but not somebody who is going to dig you out of hole.

15. JJB - welcome back - he was the best Leeds player during his time on the field. Looked fit full of energy and had fire in his belly. Hopefully he will kick some backside now he is back

16. Falloon - early days - he never made much impression in the NRL and he looks like what he is a stop gap until something better comes along. On a positive a big improvement on Burrow at 9

17. Mullally - what is he bringing - no wonder he has struggled to secure a starting position anywhere else - reminds me of Feather, size but no power or skill.

18. McDermott - he sounds like a very worried man - can he turn it around, I'm sure he can.

I would say that is spot on for last night, except two things. Ferres does not look slow, the rest of the point correct, but not slow. The point on Mullaley describes Galloway not him. He does look promising.

Also your point on Hardaker is correct, but he certainly kept us in that game in the main on his own in the first half last night, even though he too missed some. People talk about good defence because of the scoreline, but it wasn't really because of a team effort.

The Manfredi run and the Gelling try were very poor defensive efforts - Mullally I really don't share you positivity but the season has a long way to go and you could be proved correct. I would have to watch the game again re. Ferres he just looked off his game last night

Look at how hard Manfredi and Charnley returned the ball. We lacked all of that desire. Defensively we are woeful. Wingers can't catch the high ball either. Galloway is appalling. Can he bend down to tackle? I have praised Lilley this past month, but until he learns to tackle, he'll never make it. A season at Fev would do him good once Mags is back. Sutty, still nowhere near a stand off. Takes the ball in more often than a prop. We MUST buy a stand off sharpish. Burrow has had his time.

Nor sure how much you missed Sal but IMO Hardaker played possibly his worst game for Leeds and was one of the least effective players. He missed vital tackles and made few meters.

Our 6,7 & 9 between them made 1 tackle bust, 2 offloads and no clean breaks and devoid of ideas.

Cuthbertson and Ferres did the most work but Garbutt looked too fat and never bust a tackle along with Singleton, Achurch and Falloon. Galloway just plodded but wasn't the worst forward and I wouldn't bag Mullally who did ok in a well beaten pack.

Desperately need McGuire back. Should really have covered our half back weakness in the off season.

I agree Zac missed some tackles but his hunger/work rate are still there which seems to be missing from a number of his team mates.

Concur re. the half backs and Garbutt

He already said about his metre making. I said he still missed some tackles. But your biased view on Hardaker shows that you are watching a different game entirely. He was the difference between a respectable scoreline, and a big big hammering. Any biase can surely not hide that been seen.

Bloody hell, just seen the stats, and that missed tackle section is horrendous. Every single player missed at least one tackle.

Interesting that Achurch has been the scapegoat and got critisism on other threads, IMO wrongly, yet Keinhorst gets praise, IMO rightly, as their respective stats are identical for the game, except Achurch made more metres per carry, and of course played much les minutes.

Agree with most of this. I would personally rather see baldwinson get a shot somewhere but would rather see mullaly than Ben cross mk 2 on the field.

My big worry is the lack of any halfback in our team. We need mags back but by the time he gets back the top 4 spot will potentially be out of reach. Going forward sutty doesn't look like he is good enough at half

Wrong! Dan Sarginson's inability to catch the ball, coupled with forward passes (when he did eventually catch it) was the reason it wasn't a hammering. Hardaker is a shadow of the 2015 version.

Agree with the last point he looks a pale imitation of the 2015 model

Sal mentioned the worry would be his kick returns and failure to break the line no mention of metres of missed tackles.

It is your bias and love affair with ZH that blinds you to his inadequacies. As I have consistently pointed out, Hardaker's game is heavily based on physicality with little creativity on attack. He dies with the ball far too often and rarely passes or creates space for others as good full backs should. His good points are his ability under the high ball, goal line defense and metre making. So I do not regard him as highly as you do and his lack of attacking skills greatly reduce the effectiveness of our back line.

Maybe he has just lost his form this season or maybe the opposition have worked him out. Either way he is something of a busted flush so far this year at a time when the experienced players are needed to step up to the plate. To underline that this is not bias but a genuine opinion as a big fan of Burrow I include him in the same critical way to date.