I think as forwards get older it is easier for them to keep playing aka menzies, peacock, morley as they don't need to have pace to burn, Danny Mags has been a fantastic player for Leeds but injuries and age are taking their toil on him and I think next season he may be found wanting..

Next season.?

How come Warrington are in the Grand Final then with the likes of Briers, Hodgson, Michael and Joel Monaghan as well as a forward pack with an average age of 34...?

because they have a coach who has rotated them to keep them fresh. our aging players have been flogged week in week out

H-T-H

Because we've been flogging our forwards all season while you've been resting/rotating your players.

Beat me to it.

How did rest and rotation work last year, compared to flogging the squad?

the players were a year younger and we didn't have the injuries either.

We flogged the players and they didn't get injured?

injuries can be for a variety of reasons. i never said injuries were the reason for being flogged!
being flogged was the reason we were knackered

So, anyway.....how did the approach of flogging players week after week work when compared to Warrington's squad rotation in the last couple of years?

And they finished 5th to be rewarded with easy play-off games against Wakefield and Catalan which meant they were comparatively fresh by Week 3 of the play-offs.

catalan away easy?????

Can you explain how catalans away was easy in the circumstances that were there last year?

Your answer can not include the words rabble, and whipping boy.

Did Leeds look tired and busted by Week 3 of the play-offs last year after beating Wakefield and Catalan in Week 1 and Week 2 respectively?

Did Leeds look tired and busted by Week 3 of the play-offs in 2011 after beating Hull and Huddersfield in Week 1 and Week 2 respectively?

What was different about 2013? Did having to play Warrington and St Helens in Week 1 and Week 2 make their play-off journey any easier than it did in 2011 and 2012? Or did it make the play-off journey so much harder?

Whatever the reason, there is no argument that they were knackered on Friday. Last years run in the playoffs was arguably tougher and more tiring with the trip to Catalans included, yet they looked fresh and energised.

My guess would be that they are mentally tired after 5 GF wins in 6 years. Injuries don't help, but there has to be a point when faced with a determined opposition that you mentally struggle. BMD has been very good at generating a team collective in the face of critical dismissal of the team. They have had a siege mentality in the last two playoff series, but this time nobody was writing them off, Peacock is in the frame for MOS and we did manage a reasonable 3rd place in the table.

Leeds were busted well before the playoffs started. In fact I can't really recall a period this year when we could pick from a fully fit squad.
First it was BJB, followed by Hardaker and Bailey for the WCC. Then Peacock and Ablett missed a few around Magic weekend time and Ward did his shoulder, then Delaney collapsed after Saints at home. McGuire and Watkins away at Hull, then one by one others fell. Leuluai, Bailey, Sinfield, Delaney again, JJB.

They played more game in 2011 and 2012 with the CC and had fewer injuries so most of the players played a sizeable majority of the games whereas this year plenty of players have had layoffs and not played as many games.

I think age is the factor. That being the case, it's not going to get better, only worse. Unless changes are made now, we could see leeds fail to make the playoffs when we move back to the top 5.

Were you focusing on winning the league leaders shield?



You've been telling us every year that its not about how high you finish in the league but about winning the games at the business end of the season so thanks for that tip.

In recent seasons, the focus at Leeds has been on finishing 5th. They must have been because this year they finished two places higher with all those players missing through long-term injury, therefore to finish 5th two seasons running without all those injuries must have taken a lot of extra regular season planning to execute successfully.

Not entirely sure what the club have been focusing on this season... definitely not the LLS. Perhaps they just lost their focus this season? Finishing 3rd was most definitely a disaster for them this year... that's for sure.

Has briers ever had the serious injuries McGuire has had?

Hodgson is out of the side.

Monaghan plays on the wing and doesn't rely on his pace.

They lost 6 home games this season , hardly fortress perpignan .

This season.

How many home games did they lose during the season in question?

The pension pack?

Briers hasn't had to recover from a serious injury this season. The older forwards for warrington all come off the bench and aren't as relied upon as the leeds ones of equivalent age who play large portions of most games. MM also comes off the bench as well and is spelled during games. JM is a winger who doesn't rely on speed.