Buderus' delivery of the ball from dummy half and line speed and intensity in defence is far superior to Diskin's IMO.



The biggest difference for me in last nights game was the ability Wigan had to make yards from deep in their half and get into position to make an attacking kick - the prime example was the first drive of the second half. I think with Buderus' intensity in defence and ability to get out of the line quicker we were better with this when he was on the field.



Diskin did some good things and Buderus some poor things last night but the player who offers more to our side is still Buderus for me. I think it's criminal his game time is as limited as it is at times.



Having said that Disko should, and will go down as a Leeds legend and I have no axe to grind with someone who is a very accomplished and successful Super League player.

Just a question, but shouldn't we expect more - a lot more - from Buderus given his track record pre-Leeds?

Hoo frikkiin ray, some sense at last.



Of course we should. He's been an absolute bust. When people speak about his tangible errors, as shown last night, his supporters talk about the speed of the ball from Buderus which is really unquantifiable and hasn't really done much for us this year. Diskin's speed of the ball has been pretty useful.

Yes, and I still don't think we needed him when we signed him. Although I'd argue that behind a pack which has been depleted and struggled for a lot of this year both him and Diskin have performed fairly well.



In fact after McGuire and Bailey I think Buderus has probably been our best player this year.



HAving not seen large parts of his NRL career would it be fair to say that while being a great hooker he never really managed to drag a poor Newcastle team at times to his own level? His defensive work and service are superb and can set the tone but on there own cannot change a game.



What he does he des very well and in dominant NSW and Australia sides he was clearly a great hooker but with a team on the back foot he isn't going to inspire you in the way that a Cunningham or a Lowes have done down the years.

Buderus did not cost us the game, lack of creativity in the halves and the bounce of the ball on a couple of occasions leading to 2 wigan tries cost us the game. Neither diskin or buderus cost us the game but both played poorly.



The game was made for mcguire because on at least 3 occasions there were chances for an offload which mcguire would have scored from 9 times out of 10 but nobody was there. Burrow was poor and has been all season and offers us very little. We need a Briers or Dobson kind of halve back to compliment Mcguire to the maximum.

Am I right in thinking you question the sense of signing him due to our needs rather than his ability?



Would you agree he has outperformed Diskin over the course of the season?



How would you organise the role next year as we have retained both players so will be in the same position?

My only gripe with the hooking 'situation' is the persistence in trying to keep both happy with equal game time. For 2 seasons interchanging hookers hasn't worked, we just seem to lose our way as the team re-adjusts to the differing style of each player. Nothing against Diskin (a fine club man) but we shipped 18 points after he'd come on. Could be coincidence, but its not the first time this has happened.



Next season give either Buderus or Diskin a clean run at hooker and free up a bench spot for another forward. How useful would Ambler have been on Saturday given that when Kylie was spelled we had no recognised props out there.

That is correct. He was a luxury that was not needed and the quota and cap space could have been much better used elsewhere.



My other issue is with the complete over reaction our fans have to his performances which have ranged between poor, anonymous and good but never as great on a consistent basis as any reasoned fan would have a right to expect from such a player.



Not by as much as some would have you believe and given that he has had the lions share of the role not by enough. Certainly not my the same margin's as Diskin out performed him when given the role exclusively in July last year.



I'd start Diskin and bring Buderus off the bench.

Bang on, and something that Webb has been doing increasingly more often this season.



How many times do you seem him making tackles up in the defensive line ten metres out and then being in no position to deal with the kick on the last play?



Whether it's the way he's being told to play or something he's doing off his own back I don't know, but it's leaving a yawning gap for the grubber into the in-goal.

As has been mentioned previously, Buderus bombed a walk in by trying to score himself and not passing outside. The deliberate off side was also very odd, given that he made absolutely no attempt to get back on side.

The problem is that niether of our hookers are particulalrly good at being the interchange impact sub. However, I have to agree with G1, of the two, Diskin is probably best suited to starting the game.

I don't like to criticise coaches because I'm pretty certain that even the worst SL coach has a greater knowledge of the game than me. However, I have found myself questioning Bluey's decisions so often this year that I really do worry about next season.

If some of the things I've been hearing about McLennan from inside the club are true, I'd question whether he'll still be at Leeds next season personally.

I think that is more to do with how disorganised we have been in defence and Webb's confidence in those in front of him, rather than any grand plan. Either way, you are quite right, the gap left is very difficult to defend against on rushing attacking players.