[do what I'm doing, take it on the chin and look forward to Hull on Friday.'"

...and there is a strange thing.

I'm sure you know what I mean when I say that that sort of thing just doesn't go on anywhere else but in sport.

Thinking about it logically Leeds have seven days in which to prepare themselves for Hull and 14 days before they start the play-offs - why should a challenge cup defeat affect those subsequent games and why should a challenge cup win make Warrington put the cue back ont he rack and start planning their winter sun holidays ?

It shouldn't should it, but we all know that it does - why ?

Imagine in your place of work that you've just won a really big order, one that you've been working on for several months, would your boss find it acceptable for you to lose all of your enquiries for the rest of the year, would it be written off as a hangover from the big contract you won in August ?

No of course not, you'd be expected to be back at your desk on Monday with a fresh mind and even more eager to add to your sales figures wouldn't you ?

So why is sport so different ?

It was pretty obvious from the off that Warrington were winning the game up front. Their enthusiasm in defence stopped Leeds getting over the advantage line and that in turn disrupted the rest of the Leeds play.
Whatever gameplan Leeds came out with went out of the window. I was disappointed that Leeds were unable to muscle up and make a game of it. Instead they tried to play without any go forward and that meant they couldn't make any ground or sustain any pressure. It was like watching a side play catch-up football and as the game wore on it became more disjointed and easier to defend against.

Indeed.

The game plan tends to go out of the window when a side hasn't been doing the basics well for a long time - under pressure things more easily fall apart, with very experienced players doing things completely out of character.

I said before that the semi against Sts was actually very poor quality. We let in 28 points against a team with no halfback. Had we played in 'Grand Final' mode they could have been absolutely hammered. Having beaten Wire twice then beating Sts and romping past two very poor teams in Cats and Cas gave everyone a false sense of security.

Exactly. I've seen Leeds play far better in Challenge Cup semi finals that we have lost in recent years. A far cry from some of the rugby we've been playing in previous seasons.

You have to wonder how much this is a factor of Leeds not going out full tilt in the SL on a regular basis. It stands to reason that if you play at a lower standard week-in week-out the ability of the team to step up in the big games will be compromised eventually. This season we have been far too reliant on individual brilliance (including JP leading the pack forward) rather than concerted team effort to win matches. Not only is our attack less effective, our once much vaunted defence is now pretty average by SL standards. I hope Leeds will prove me wrong in the play-offs but there is definitely a hint of 'end of an era' about the club at the moment.