A little premature perhaps but here goes...

Congratulations to the Leeds Rhinos on their qualification as...

[size"WHIPPING BOY SUPER LEAGUE RABBLE"[/size

Middle 8's here they come.

Hardly news is it??

There's another difference, Billy. I was at that Warrington game, and would need Tvoc's confirmation but reckon there'd have been about 7 or 8k there in those days. Even with the Wigan walk there'll been more fans there at the end tonight, not that that'll last for ever.

I was stood close to the old wonky scoreboard on the Eastern Terrace where the digits didn't always line up trying to work out whether Warrington had scored 43, 45, 54, 64 or 65. Their goalkicker missed most of the conversions as well.

There was a cracking attendance tonight, over 17k. Next season will be the test on attendances as season tickets this year were purchased with Treble memories to the fore.

I came away from that game thinking Mark Roberts was the future of British rugby league, whereas in fact all that happened was he'd been playing Leeds.

The attendance for that Leeds - Warrington game (16th November 1986) was 6,993

Leeds:
Ian Wilkinson
David Creasser, Andrew Ettingshausen, Andy Mason, Colin Cooper
John Holmes, Mark Conway
Jeff Grayshon, Bob Morris, Peter Smith
Trevor Skerrett, Kevin Rayne, David Heron
Subs:
Paul Medley, Gary Price

Tries: Wilkinson, Price, Mason
Goals: Conway (2)

Warrington:
Brian Johnson
Kevin Meadows, Paul Cullen, Ronnie Duane, Joe Ropati
Paul Bishop, Andy Gregory
Les Boyd, Kevin Tamati, Bob Jackson
Gary Sanderson, Mark Roberts, Mike Gregory
Subs:
Ken Kelly, Bob Eccles

Tries: Roberts (3), Duane (2), Johnson (2), M Gregory, A Gregory, Meadows, Bishop, Jackson
Goals: Bishop (3)

Conceding twelve tries at home ...... can't help but think Castleford missed a glorious opportunity there but if Leeds had McGuire, Hardaker and Cuthbertson Leeds win that game easily.

Cheers- My first season watching the club that, was 7 years old. Things have come full circle with plenty going on in between, quite a 30 years!

I shouldn't laugh BUT.....

You'll have to apply for one of them blue heritage plaques to go on the shiny new south stand, something along the lines of

LEEDS RHINOS
W.B.S.L.R.
12/05/2016

I think they scored 13 tries and Bishop? missed most of his kicks. Could have been so much worse.

For the record, I didn't go on the pitch, just went home feeling sad.

I went on the pitch, and gesticulated.

Good job we don't have the walk they used to have at Odsal up the hill the changing rooms!!

I was in the North Stand for this one. Some of the old gimmers even took the rugs off their knees to stand up and shout at the board.