As an outsider I don't think Furner is the problem as such. When McDermott left didn't he mutter something about if you think its bad now? Reading between the lines which is all I can do what he was saying is that the club as a whole has lost its way with too many people doing jobs they are not equipped to do or alternatively an old boys network has developed.

Happens all the time after clubs have a glory period, happened to Wigan post Linsey to a degree. Happened twice at Man U and at Liverpool to name just a few.

I don't know why because as noted history proves otherwise but these clubs fall back on ex-players from the glory years somehow believing the magic will rub off. It doesn't because it can't Kevin Sinfield is your most obvious example. He was a great player and in time may become a great administrator but for now he's utterly out of his depth. Worse still he's a one club man and thus probably only knows one way and when that way isn't working he simply has no plan B.

Sometimes a new brush and one that simply cannot be argued with, a coach who can change the culture. This sadly can't be done with someone like Sinfield and Peacock (is he back with you?) who are inexperienced and trying to make their names, certainly not if they are involved in the recruitment and sit alongside the Coach in the management structure, its simply a personality clash in the making.

Leeds will need to splash the cash on an unimpeachable Coach who is answerable only to the CEO and sadly he will almost certainly need to be an Aussie. Thats how I see it, please excuse me if I've got Sinfield's and others position in this all wrong.

You have probably got most of that right.
Whilst it was deemed a master stroke bringing back Sinfield the worry and it seems to have been proved right is that he was /is too close to the club and his cronies.
To give the likes of JJB and Ablett a contract can only be down to his friendship with the players.
He is I am sure mortified at the way the club has fallen and was falling under the helm of Mc Dermott.
We have brought in two very good marque signings but have ignored the need to have a pair of half backs that can run the game and be creative.
We also up until now ignored the fact we needed fire power in the pack and have had to keep faith with players such as Ferres, Myler, Sutcliffe, Briscoe and Singleton who no longer come up to scratch.
The dilemma is we have too many average players on long contracts and the young lads who need guidance out on the pitch are not getting it or developing fast enough.
I would say it will be a couple of years yet until we get back to anywhere near to where we want to be with or without Furner.

I think you have got it wrong TBH.

Sinfield was brought (amongst others) to facilitate the rebuild of the squad and club - judging him or blaming him for this year when he hasn’t even been doing the job for a year seems misguided to me, Sinfield has been consistent in his message that there is no quick fix and it will take time to get back to where we were.

Nobody really knows whats going in behind the scenes so as I say it’s difficult to judge whether the new set ups is going well or not, this year was always going to be tough.

Peacock has nothing to do with the playing squad he is there to sell the corporate side of things and by all accounts that side is a success.

Realistically what could Furner and Sinfield have done about the halfback situation? Myler was contracted and Tui I believe was signed before they took over, the two major signings they have sogned have been our best players, they have shipped out some of the deadwood and signed a very promising young half back.

I can actually see the reasoning behind the JJB and ablett deals but don’t necessarily agree they were the right calls.

Sinfield was a great player and captain for Leeds but like JP has absolutely no management, coaching or business experience. I said this at the time of his appointment that he would be a supernumerary and would be an obstacle for any new coach.

The second half of last season when he was in charge of the team the performances got worse and he made some poor 2nd rate signings and strange selection decisions. Furner had no head coach experience and his own selection decisions have closely followed those on Sinfield which suggests he is not his own man.

Since Sinfield himself stopped playing for Leeds we have needed a playmaker as the number one priority yet our chief excecutive failed to address this need. Other retiring stars have not been replaced with quality either and the board have only had eyes for the new stadium.

I do not accept Sinfield’s opinion that it will take 3 years or so to bring success back to Leeds and neither should the board. SL is now of such poor quality that a club the size of Leeds should have been able to provide the funds necessary to transform the squad within a year. Other teams have made much better signings than we have in the last 12 months.

Furner could well prove to be a good head coach but he is a rookie and we perhaps should have aimed a bit higher.

Merrin should be made captain and young McLelland should be given a chance at half back as he cannot be worse then any of those selected so far this season.

Furner was head coach of the Raiders for 3(?) years. He then had various assistant roles. Let's please put the myth of him being inexperienced to rest.

In a salary cap sport you cannot simply make wholesale changes - it will take time. This squad has been going backwards since the close of 2015 and it will probably take 3 years to turn the squad around provided the quality of player is available and wants to come to Leeds. How long have Myler, Briscoe, Singleton, Handley, Ferres, Tui etc got let on their contracts you can't ship players like this out before the end of their contract unless somebody else wants them.

Furner is an experienced coach - he is far from a rookie

Furner won't be sacked, like him or loath him he won't be sacked, he may walk if he doesn't get his own way but he won't be sacked because if he is sacked then Sinfield has to go. Apart from the two top signings other signings and the handing out of contracts has been shocking at best. (Christopher) I have nothing against Sinfield, he was truly a great player and leader on the park, but he is nothing short of being an apprentice in the role he has now. The decision to offer Ablett and JJB contracts was nothing short of a disgrace, jobs for the boys, Luck Briscoe a 3 year contract a shambles, we seem to be funding the Fev team plus other teams because we cannot get rid of them .
On a salary cap sport it is everything in this sport when buying players and giving out contracts that we get it right and this being the case we have failed miserably. Once a contract is handed out and signed that's it, for the player with a mortgage he is not going to walk away, so we are where we are its going to be a long job and looking back the worse thing that happened to us was winning the grand final in 2017. For whatever reason we thought we was top dogs again .
We need the salary cap removed to be able to compete in the transfer market or at the very least to be increased by 50%, then we can bring in better players while leaving the low quality players on the side lines. It brutal but it's needed.

"The worst thing that happened to Leeds was winning the Grand Final in 2017" how many times does that rubbish pop up on these forums? Everybody just stop and read the line again. Believe me winning the Grand Finsl wasnt the worst thing. It really wasnt.

I'm afraid the club have constantly told the fans there needs to be rebuild and it will take time. That means everytime we lose were not going sack every man and his dog in a total meltdown cos the rebuild has taken longer than a week.

Weve a group of excellent kids coming through, look at Owen Trout's performance last week as an example and we need to develop them and it takes time. I know fans think Leeds plonked Sir Kev and co in the team and we instantly won everything but it just wasnt the case.

The club are been totally transparent and open with the fans asking for patience. It couldn't be more honest with us and I respect that.

If we lose on Sunday it's not the end of Furner, Sinfield or GH so stop saying it is. Its merely a team that at the moment isn't good enough as the club are admitting.

Weve had a period of unbelievable success over an incredibly long period of time in a salary cap sport. It will never be equalled. Weve got to rebuild the team with the next group and go again but it took time last time and will again.

A load of Bo**acks
Totally agree with about GH, a major shareholder and CEO he is bullet proof, he in effect both owns the club with Caddick and runs the club, but please don't underestimate the concerns and the comments of people on here, winning the GF in 2017 was brilliant for the supporters but it did paper over the cracks, the team was slowly going downhill and the quality players were being replaced with mediocre players not of the same quality and it was expected that they would deliver both long and short term. You can say what you want but these are facts, recruiting has been terrible, the handing out of contracts has been poor , try and defend players on long term deals who are now playing at other clubs, we are not helping ourselves in terms of rebuilding the club and some comments on here are said behind blue and amber glasses.
Regards Quality kids, they don't come through in their teen years, most quality kids get to age 23 / 24 before they can really hold their own in SL, and how many of these kids are really going to make it. Playing against their own age is one thing, but playing against seasoned professionals is another, not a one off game performance but over a full season.

But you are judging Sinfield (and Furner) before they've even done a year in what has repeatedly been stated is a long term project, what do you want ? Them both sacked?

I am sick of saying that we as Rhinos fans will have to be patient in what is a long term rebuilding project.

JJB was given a years contract and it was stated this was to help some of the younger players develop, how do you inow that this isn’t working? We don’t know what goes on at training and within the squad.

Ablett has been really unlucky with injuries maybe judge him when he gets on the park

The only thing that really shows whether things are working is what happens on the pitch - I haven't seen anything that suggests improvements are taking place - that suggests the JJB working with younger players is not having any positive impact.


I think the club need to be more transperent if they want to get the fans onside and supporting the much discussed long-term rebuilding. Why did the club give Luke Briscoe a 3-year contract only to not play him, Golding 5-years not to play him etc.

How was winning the grand final the worst thing that could happen? Jesus, I had the trip of a lifetime to Australia, and a dream since been a kid was watching Leeds over there.

More transparent how? Do you really expect the club to come out and say we want rid of x, y & z players in a statement to fans?

I agree with you it’s odd to give a player like Golding a 5 year contract and then clearly be looking to offload him now. Luke Briscoe I understand. He’s going to play most of his games at Feb but provides cover.

I think we have seen improvements from last season. Our attack is significantly better though still needs work from a proper playmaker.
Our defence is the issue. That takes time because it’s not an ability thing, it’s an attitude. And we’ve lost our inspirational players like Peacock and Sinfield who engendered that attitude and inspired it on the pitch. FWIW I think Merrin could be one of those players that the rest of the team draws strength and resolve from.

Three years for a player to play in the championship makes no sense a year at a time yes but three years why? Lilley why 5 years and then offload him? They explained the reason for JJB and Ablett.

If the club want to keep the fans on board then more understanding of the decisions that are taken would be helpful - why was Tui brought it - what did they see in him etc.