I totally agree Brisbane. Zak can play centre just fibne. Its just whether such a big occassion gets to him. If both Watkins and Ablett are out then Id be tempted to go with Smith and Zak. If you have Delaney in the squad which I think is prob a given then if things to go bad you can always move him into the centre.



The key is to give ourselves options off the bench.

Hardakre would repeatedly get pushed aside by Carmont/Tomkins. I'd go for Smith and Delaney.

Playing devils advocate to a point here but ....



Whilst I agree Hardaker is still a bit light, his pace could cause real problems and his hands arent bad either.



Some good, some bad with a big call like this.

I think that one of Ablett or Watkins will pull through and start at Wembley, probably the former. In that case, I'd move Delaney to centre. Smith might be more of an attacking threat but he's not had a consistent run in the first team. Also, there are worse things that could happen than us having Delaney defending against Carmont instead of Watkins.



If Ablett and Watkins are both ruled out then our backline will need to be selloptaped together. I've never been one for experimenting in big games so I suppose we'd have to run with Webb/BJB/Delaney/Smith/Hall.

Those suggesting Smith to left centre... Are you really suggesting he would perform any better than Hardaker when up against J. Tomkins ? You need a big daft lad to do that... So Delaney it is then at left centre. Unless of course Senior makes a surprise top secret recovery.



If Watkins doesn't make it I would rather Hardaker partners BJB on the right... Not sure who would be better at centre to the other playing wing.... B U T def Hardaker over Smith for me please.

The biggest problem with that is neither Hardaker nor BJB have, to my knowldge at least, played centre at this level.



Wembley is not the place to hand them such a positional debut.



I know you have it in for Smith but at least he has experience of playing centre. Let's not forget he wore the no. 3 shirt all 2009 and ended up playing there for England that year. Surely that has to be better than throwing Hardaker or BJB in at the deep end?



EDIT: I'm not suggesting that Smith is the Messiah and I know he is out of form. However he is a utility back for a reason, that reason being he is competent at this level across the entire threequarter line, including centre.

Kirkstaller BjB played a few games at Centre for Quinns when the selected Melling at FB.

Don't know where you get the idea I "have it in" for Smith... If you read other posts you will see I would rather Smith be retained and Webb released.



My point here is that I would not put him at left centre against Wigan's big daft right centre ( remember how easily he swatted off McGuire recently ). Right centre maybe ... But then I think will he perform any better and does he deserve a place more than Hardaker ? I really do think Hardaker has more than proven he can handle the pressures of SL. His composure is first rate. Admittedly Wembley is a big step up again, but I believe he will rise to the challenge and be a match winner.... Probably on right wing with BJB inside him....but equally I would be comfortable with him at RC and BJB kept on the wing.

I think you are wrong - Hardaker has shown himself to be a solid defender when he has played in the first team - Carmont might have too much experience/know how, Tomkins will not run over him that is for sure.



On the other side he might actually be too quick for Carmont and too bright for Tomkins. I would have no hesitation in playing him, he is playing centre in the academy now.

Smith is, in all fairness, much stronger in defence than MCGuire. I wouldn't worry about him physically up against J. Tomkins, who at least is less likely to burn him for pace.



For once, however, I think I'd go with your option if we need to and pair BJB and Hardaker. It would be the high risk option, but I'm not sure what we have to lose.

I agree that Smith should only be considered for the right centre position. This makes a lot of sense after all as he has played on that side for most of his career. The big question I guess is just how effective could Delaney be on the left?



I've seen nothing from Hardaker to suggest that he is a centre. Winger, full back, stand-off - maybe, but not a centre.

Just FYI folks, centres very rarely defend against their opposite number these days. Most teams defend their halfbacks one in from the wing.



So if Leeds go with McGuire and Burrow from the start, they'll be defending against Tomkins and Carmont respectively. Cause for optimism there - no, really...