I was lead to believe that Sykes is definitely out of the picture but Platt was told he woudn't be first choice but if he was prepared to fight for his place he would probably get some game time during the season. Platt apparently said he was prepared to fight for a spot

If that's the case, good luck to him.



As someone has already stated, he's not a bad utility player to have.

Platt still has abit of speed and was one of the players who did improve last season like Bulliac said previous, playing as a reserve centre or wing when we get hit (inevitably) with injuries

Wonder what Sykes has done to burn his bridges then, apart from the obvious, but I'd have expected Potter to know about all that before he re-signed him.

I kinda liked Sykes

I thought he was useful without ever being top drawer. It was nice of Huddersfield to make him look like Greg Inglis for once in his career.

I can't understand the extension to Sykes' contract in the first place, but you do have to give Sykes credit for playing where he is asked, and he's got a much better try scoring record than Platt. I think what counts against him right now as far as Potter is concerned are his defence and age, so it would not surprise me if Platt has been told that hes effectively Shads replacement. Sykes on the other hand still has it to do a job for the right team, and I hope that happens for him.

Positives and Negatives, imo, for both players



They're both able to cover multiple positions across the back line. The flexibility that provides us is an asset in a physical game like RL where player injuries are pretty much a guarantee through the season.



Neither are likely to be among the highest earners at the club, which added to their flexibility in position makes them value for money.



Sykes also has the home grown status, which given the current rules on the numbers we have to have give him added value.



Now on to the negatives.



The stats of both players are a far cry from the stats of players in similar positions across SL; metres, carries, try assists, they're all way below what the top players in the league are producing.



So while Sykes and Platt are have great attributes to be squad players, they're not at the skill and ability levels needed if we're to return to the top of SL as starting players.



And with the emergence of players like Whitehead, Burgess, O'Brien, Bateman etc Sykes' home grown status becomes less valuable as there are youngsters with better potential and ability coming through.



I would imagine that, while both players have been good servants to the club, I'd not expect either to get contract extensions at the end of their current deals unless they were on very small deals.

I'd imagine part of problem is that at time they were re-signed they were effectively starting players and their wages would reflect that. So effectively we're paying two squad utility players at starting player wage levels. Theres no reason for either to accept a pay cut and would imagine any club they could possibly move to would also be looking at them as squad players so also a lower wage. Suppose it depends how much either of them wants to play on beyond their current deals. If their looking at retiring anyway when these deals run out then they might as well sit tight and take the higher money for turning up to training. If they have any ambition to carry on then they would be better served losing a bit of money and playing for someone else.

Any player that was prepared to just take the money to train and play the odd game wouldn't be worth keeping. Such an attitude stinks.

Not sure I fully agree with that.



At the end of the day, these sportsmen only play for a small number of years. The players in question both have families and need to provide and offer security.



There's no difference between these players and you/I. Would I take a huge pay cut if I'm not enjoying my job? Probably not, still have a mortgage and mouths to feed!

thats point I was trying to make. If they were looking at retiring at end of current deal then they arent going to be too bothered what people think of there attitude. There main concern is getting maximum possible income in what remains of their rugby career.