Re: 2015 Leeds Rhinos Squad : Fri Oct 31, 2014 2:53 pm  

I seriously doubt he was heading out no matter what. He was dropped earlier in the year and when the rumour was he was ill McDermott set the record straight and said he wasn't. Late on in the year though he was in the team for the CC games and the final and started ahead of Leuluai for the Saints and Wigan games......hardly treatment of someone you were planning to get rid of. Possibly it might've been the final straw in terms of they told him he wouldn't get another contract after his 2015 one ran out and when HKR came asking they thought yeah they can have him.

If they were going to cut his contract short why wait until the end of the season? McDermott showed by 2011 when Cross and Burgess left that he'll go short of numbers if that's what he wants. They also didn't mind pushing Webb out of the scene at the back end of 2012 when they'd had enough of him.

Re: 2015 Leeds Rhinos Squad : Fri Oct 31, 2014 3:16 pm  

Maybe just maybe what Gal has stated has happened.

Hull KR 2 props down and need something. They asked about Bails, done a 2 year deal and the rests history.

Will it see Netherton and Bails back in the same team? Old school.

Re: 2015 Leeds Rhinos Squad : Fri Oct 31, 2014 5:22 pm  

Andy Gilder wrote:

By "letting him go", do you mean prepared to pay up the last year of his contract and take the salary cap hit if they couldn't move him on to another club?

No I mean letting him go. He could have been sacked anyway at the time,

Re: 2015 Leeds Rhinos Squad : Fri Oct 31, 2014 5:37 pm  

Wonder if that has relieved some salary cap space to bring in Scott Dureau?

Re: 2015 Leeds Rhinos Squad : Fri Oct 31, 2014 6:02 pm  

Ian Kirke out next please!

Re: 2015 Leeds Rhinos Squad : Fri Oct 31, 2014 6:16 pm  

I think if someone approached the club for Kirke they would say yes talk to him by all means.

Re: 2015 Leeds Rhinos Squad : Fri Oct 31, 2014 6:33 pm  

Is Kirke in his last year? if so, then i see us retaining him in case of an injury crisis but don't see much game time for him otherwise, before he is moved on at the end of next season.

One of the two clearly had to go, and it looked like neither would so todays news is good for the club.

Hopefully GH can find another quality prop from somewhere (won't be easy) over the next few months.

Re: 2015 Leeds Rhinos Squad : Fri Oct 31, 2014 8:56 pm  

Biff Tannen wrote:

Is Kirke in his last year? if so, then i see us retaining him in case of an injury crisis but don't see much game time for him otherwise, before he is moved on at the end of next season.

One of the two clearly had to go, and it looked like neither would so todays news is good for the club.

Hopefully GH can find another quality prop from somewhere (won't be easy) over the next few months.

Agree with that. I can't see Kirke lasting beyond his current contract. Whilst I appreciate what Bailey has done over the years and his undoubted early quality and potential I think it's been a few years since we saw much quality from Bailey.

Despite making us lighter by a prop I think it's a good move as it'll force us to look for another prop. Hopefully a quality one who can try and take some of the burden when Peacock & Leuluai retire.

Re: 2015 Leeds Rhinos Squad : Fri Oct 31, 2014 9:38 pm  

Gotcha wrote:

No I mean letting him go. He could have been sacked anyway at the time,

So he's committed a breach of his contract equivalent to gross misconduct, for which Leeds could have sacked him but didn't, instead choosing to retain him?

Re: 2015 Leeds Rhinos Squad : Fri Oct 31, 2014 9:39 pm  

Him wrote:

Despite making us lighter by a prop I think it's a good move as it'll force us to look for another prop. Hopefully a quality one who can try and take some of the burden when Peacock & Leuluai retire.

Peacock, Leuluai, Cuthbertson, Kirke, Singleton, Yates.

Don't be surprised to see Leeds go with that prop rotation, backed up by Mulhern and Baldwinson.