From the YEP:

The future of the current Leeds Rhinos team has been thrown into question by club chief executive Gary Hetherington.

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So, basically GH is putting the poor performance against Wigan - and others - clearly at the feet of the players. That's a very different message he was putting out at the same time last year, with veiled threats that no player is bigger than the club, and (reading between the lines) that 'player power' won't be able to get rid of BM.

Have to say I'm glad he's come out and said it if he believes it.

Agree wholeheartedly. It's good that he's come out and said something and it's good that he's clearly running the show. Having watched Leeds underachieve for so long before he arrived, I do have a certain degree of trust in him to point us in the right direction. Wire performance will be very interesting

[urlhttp://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/leeds-rhinos/leeds-rhinos-show-your-true-mettle-hetherington-1-4617053[/url

GH mentions, on several occasions that the current form is down to the players and NOT the coaching staff.

I think this is simply as kick up the s for the players and he has absolutely no intention of making wholesale changes to the squad.

GH saying one thing and doing the opposite shocker!!

To be fair FB wasn't there a similar article prior to Powell swinging the axe???

Just can't see it myself mate - we've just handed some of the old guard extensions to their contracts and I don't believe GH would have a wholesale clear out after a couple of shocking performances.

Scare mongering I reckon.

Jury out for 2013 team?

Well the vast majority are signed up any-road, a bit late for that 'threat' !

I think its more a case of firstly, giving the team the kick up the backside they need because he knows how well this squad has responded to criticism before.

Secondly he is quite clearly protecting McDermott, if individual players future's can be questioned for 2013 for the season we are having then surely the future of the man in charge of those players has to be at least considered along with them but he's laying on the praise making McDermott completely blameless.
Any team currently below where they hoped to be in the table would/should surely be reviewing ALL areas of the club not just the players, but GH say's ''it's not a coaching issue'' at all. I'm sorry but if the current set of players are underperforming then yes they do need to be looked at but then again so does the coach in charge of this happening. If they're no longer good enough it is again the failing of the coach for repeately picking the same players week-in week-out when he does have the option of trying a few promising young players. If anything it suggests just how much McDermott is struggling personally atm and GH trying to lift the guy and have the spotlight of blame shifted away from him towards the players because they can cope with it better.

You may well be right but i seem to remember some public warning from him prior to the Powell shake up mate and even if it was just 1 or 2 it would show intent to the others.
I do know one thing if next seasons ST sales seem to be down he won't hesitate to pull the trigger.

Unfortunately the buck always stops with senior management ,step forward GH.
Our major problem is signings of recent months have not been as good as players departing.also some of our stars are ageing and not playing well.
At least he seems to recognize there is a problem. Like other scribes on these threads we agree he is up for the job. I remember only too well the times before GH and Paul Caddick arrived.we were skint and the club was run by people who spent lots of money on players at the end of their careers. Trophy wise we won very little.i look at the bulls situation which is a testament to bad management and know we are in safer hands .we just have to get behind the team and support them.we have had some magnificent times recently,most notably last years grand final having supported Leeds for donkeys years I can honestly say that was the best and most satisfying match I have ever seen.
It was only eight months ago.what ever happens this season at least we have one piece of silverware in the cabinet,some clubs will never win a world championship .

I think it speaks volumes and perhaps hints at a split between the players and coach that the Chief Executive has had to step forward to give the kick up the backside instead of McDermott.

There's no way it can be purely individual performance, unlike Wigan we have no structure to our play and our players regularly get sucked in leaving enormous gaps on the wings, which when against a team like Wigan with Tomkins and Charnley is clearly going to result in 1 thing. We never seem to be able to beat the opposition defence, we don't seem to have the strength to pick holes - something Ryan Hall is very good at, on the topic of Hall the utilisation of Hall (or lack of) is shocking. Not only that but as other posters mention regularly, players are played out of position regularly and lets not even mention the use of the subs... I'm not calling for McDermotts head but I think we have some big decisions to make and soon, yes we won from 5th last year but we are still getting beaten week in week out by teams we should be at least challenging. If GH and BM think it is players then we need to start making changes and not handing out contracts to players who are earning an easy living. That doesn't mean we are completely out of the runnings this year cause we aren't and we could still easily pull of a few shock results.

The difference between now and what you are talking about, is that in the Powell reign it was planned for, and they always knew who the replacements were going to be.

Now it isn't planned for, and the comment "perhaps this team has run it's race" should have been acknowledged and thought about in 2010, not 2012. It was quite obvious to most (those with head in sands are excepted). 2013 could have been viewed with anticipation and excitement, rather than dread.

Then to compound the matter, handing out long term contracts to distincly average players was poor management. He was right not to blame the coach, since those contracts were handed out by GH and therefore the buck actually stops with him.

I really hope he can manage what he says, and can get rid of some of these players despite been under contract, otherwise it will be a fruitless next couple of years.

But back to the coach. If the club feel the players are not performing then why the hell are the same players picked every week?