It just comes back to what many people said all along, that it's the team and not the finishing position.

If leeds had finished 5th this year (as some people cheekily suggest they should want to do in the final weeks of the season) they'd probably have been going away to saints instead of home, and looking at last nights game how that would have been any better I don't know.

The problem is that some have spent so long writing the Leeds team off that when they're proven wrong they can't be mature enough to say "ok I was wrong". They have to scramble for excuses for why their prediction didn't come true and try to downplay the success to shift the spotlight away from their erroneous calls.

I think everybody on here likes to be right with their opinions, just some can't accept when they're wrong.

I'm wondering if any will join in this thread with some classic reasons and excuses for why the playoffs have turned out this way in 2013.

Speaking off playoffs.

In the all mighty NRL the team finishing 7th place Newcastle Knights have just reached the final 4 after beating 3rd place Melbourne (WCC indeed

). This after finishing 11 points behind the League Leaders and not winning a single game against the top 4 during the regular season.......joke of a league!

Cam Smith & Billy Slater for Golden Boot

William Eve?

AWOL


Come out, come out wherever you are

You're batting on a sticky wicket here. One defeat in eliminator or GF, whether it's in 2013 or 2023, and they'll have been proved right.

You won't see him for a while.

He'll no doubt reappear in a different guise. He didn't want to commit last week to Saints winning from fifth when he realised the mighty Rhinos stood in their path!

Not really, it's already come to pass. The theory was that Leeds only won in the 2nd week because they had an easy 1st week match and took momentum with them and 4th place couldn't regroup after a convincing defeat.

Last week's week two results can now be added to the previous four seasons.

On the face of it had St Helens possessed a reliable goal-kicker or even drop-goal kicker we probably wouldn't even be seeing such a thread this week. Such small margins change little.

It has to be assumed that over time clubs will form plans developed on past experiences - both good and bad. Both Tony Smith and Brian McDermott have acknowledged this recently - Smith after the defeat of Leeds in week one and McDermott prior to the regular season end where he said Leeds had made plans for the Play-Offs that were dependant on their eventual finishing position.