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FORUMS > Leeds Rhinos > RD 21 | Wigan Warriors H |
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International Board Member | 13622 | No Team Selected |
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Nov 2002 | 22 years | |
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| Quote: Exeter Rhino "I agree with this. It's not like Smith was plucked from utter obscurity. To an extent he rode his luck getting us to the GF, but there was plenty more that could have gone for us that didn't (e.g. not losing Sezer to concussion protocols before the GF, losing Martin to the disciplinary every other week, etc).
Smith had success elsewhere, and for whatever reason, his approach didn't fit Leeds or SL. There's only so much a coach can control. Ultimately IMO Smith's failing was not adapting quickly enough after the 2022 GF run approach stopped bearing fruit. There were mitigating factors in 2023, but doubling down in 2024 was not the right way to go. Arthur is a breath of fresh air, but let's not forget even he had gone stale at Parramatta and didn't have a win-loss record much better than Smith at Leeds.
2023 was a real disappointment. Smith didn't have much cap space to use, but he managed to clear a lot of dead wood - I see no-one is clamouring for Briscoe, Sutcliffe and Dwyer to come back. It's a shame we didn't retain Hardaker for another season, but on the face of it McDonnell, Macdonald, and maybe Lisone were decent signings. Olpherts, Roberts and Hooley were obviously gambles given what little room was left on the cap.
Of the current squad assembled by Smith, I see a lot of people referring to it not being good enough, but which players exactly are letting us down?
IMO, Croft, Miller, McDonnell, and Ackers have been for the most part good signings. Miller has had a few howlers but his game has stabilised under Arthur.
Frawley and Momirovski haven't endeared themselves to everyone, but Frawley's been great under Arthur, and Momirovski looks like he will be a good winger's centre given time and a full pre-season.
Lisone and Bentley (Smith re-signing) have been disappointing for their persistent indiscipline/errors, but they are about the only properly aggressive forwards we have. Upgrades would be good, especially on Lisone.
Fusitu'a and Gannon are potentially first choice players, but perennial injuries have kept them out. The decision to re-sign Fusitu'a looked terrible after the surgery lay-off at the start of the season, and he still can't string many 80 minute performances together.
On the flip-side, Jarrod O'Connor has been a revelation under Smith, even if he's not an out and out hooker. Handley and Martin have been consistently good under Smith too.
Is it the other Leeds boys letting us down? Oledski makes a lot of metres every week, and Cam Smith is (?still) the top tackler in SL. But Oledski is not a pack leader, and Smith has question marks over his role as a ball-playing 13. And then there's the 'superstar' Harry Newman, allegedly on marquee money, who has produced little since signing his last contract - I rarely get the sense that Harry is willing to put his body (and ego) on the line for the team. Smith defended Newman when his discipline was questioned by Sky pundits but Newman still seems more likely to have an on-field argument with a team mate than anyone. Holroyd is another one - feted as the next big thing in the pack but just not at the races when he last played. Is this about attitude, and/or bad luck with injuries?
Maybe a pre-season with Arthur, plus a couple of shrewd additions to the pack, and this team won't be too far off? Or am I seeing this all wrong, and we need another clear-out?'"
I think that's pretty much spot on. IMO we don't need another clear out, we have some very talented players, we just need some additions and they will be key and they all need to be in the pack.
I think its just a natural fans reaction when not playing well that they all the players need to be cleared out, when in reality its just good players underperforming for a multitude of reasons.
Keep Arthur add some grit and power in the forwards and we will go well next year, we have some great youngsters coming through (who apparently R Smith has helped a lot) there's absolutely no need for the overused 'rebuild'.
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Club Captain | 5956 | |
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Mar 2017 | 8 years | |
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| A quality coach with a sprinkling of talent on the field can make a huge difference. The coach needs the players buy in and Arthur would weed out any chancers pretty quickly given a good offseason and some time.
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International Chairman | 9576 | |
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Feb 2002 | 23 years | |
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| We don't have that many players that are not SL standard, but we do have a terrible lack of balance within the squad and in specific areas of it. These two things can both be true at the same time. It's well documented that our pack is underpowered, particularly the Front Row, but also in the variety of options we have in the back row positions. We have too many players that are "the same" and not enough size or variety of skill set.
If we look at the backs, there have been a number of gambles taken, Miller, Fusitua, Momirovski all signed at great expense, and all have so far flatterer to deceive. Miller looks the most likely to come good, but at 30 this week, time is not exactly on his side given his lack of experience. Fusitua will leave at the end of the season and the jury is still out on Momirovski.
We need to change the balance of the squad, with more grunt and size in the forwards, and more speed in the backs. The halves will feed off the platform that the forwards can maintain, so they will both look better with a better pack and more structure in the approach. As an example, because of playing structure, Luke Gale looked like a Golden Boot candidate in 2017 at Cas, and was barely adequate at Leeds only 3 years later.
We don't need to rip up the squad and start again, but we shouldn't be extending anyone coming out of contract, and also looking to move a few others on who are just not what we need.
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Club Coach | 24452 | |
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Dec 2004 | 20 years | |
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| I'm not an expert by any means but from what i know just because newman is marquee doesn't make him highly paid. he is club trained so it's just manipulating the salary cap. if I'm mistaken someone will put me right
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International Star | 1440 | No Team Selected |
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Jul 2011 | 13 years | |
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| Quote: Exeter Rhino "
Frawley and Momirovski haven't endeared themselves to everyone, but Frawley's been great under Arthur, and Momirovski looks like he will be a good winger's centre given time and a full pre-season.
'"
I think using words like great to describe Frawley’s performances under Arthur is a bit over the top. We’ve won 2 out of five and Frawley has improved for sure….but great ? As for Momorovski, I don’t think a full pre season will make him any faster or suddenly see him busting through defenders, and if he’s making poor attempts at tackles when he’s 28 I don’t see him suddenly improving at 29. He’s been the most disappointing signing for me, on the basis I wasn’t expecting anything from Frawley anyway. Like everyone else I’m hoping they continue to improve under Arthur , but I think we will need more stardust alongside them because for me they’re both pretty average at best. Frawley’s kicking game has improved but don’t expect to see a 40/20 from him before he retires, and he’s still kicking the ball straight down defenders throats most times. Roll on The Wire and let’s hope these two put back to back decent performances together.
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Fringe Player | 1255 | No Team Selected |
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Dec 2021 | 3 years | |
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| Agree re the balance not being right. A huge wedge of cap space (and quota spots) has been used on the backs, but while our front row is weak we don't look particularly great in the backs as a set either. We do have some kids with potential though, who ought to get a chance if the bigger names don't perform, and hopefully with a more structured gameplan and pack that holds its own our backs will look better as well.
If we can get a couple of quality props, then our pack will depend on how well the likes of Holroyd, Gannon and Littlewood perform. Maybe Hudson, Warren and Ruan too. In the case of both Gannon and Holroyd it seems like next season will be make or break - will either avoid concussions, and if they do, will they kick on? We cannot wait around forever for either of them.
We should have a lot of young forwards trying to force their way into the 17 every week. We need to be in a position where the likes of Sangare, Goudemand and Donaldson are way down the pecking order. Those three for a start should not be renewed.
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Rank | Posts | Team |
International Star | 1906 | No Team Selected |
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Aug 2011 | 13 years | |
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Oct 2024 | Sep 2024 | LINK |
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| Rohan Smith was an abject failure, how have I arrived at this remarkable conclusion. By simply looking at the facts, we are out of the playoffs unlikely to participate in the playoffs (big loss of revenue) Dumped out of the challenge cup, (big loss of revenue). Several players not fit for purpose, several players mid table quality, which is what the team is at the moment. Arthur’s appointment was smart, the wonderful win against Wigan had his fingerprints all over it. Let’s face it this coaching scenario is far from ideal, at the moment we can’t undertake any planning for next season because we won’t know if he will be the coach. If Arthur chooses to return home we will be scrambling to appoint a new coach, not many decent coaches available. Mainly because if they are any good they are working.
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Mens Betfred Super League XXVIII ROUND : 1 | | PLD | F | A | DIFF | PTS |
Wigan |
29 |
768 |
338 |
430 |
48 |
This is an inplay table and live positions can change.
Hull KR |
29 |
731 |
344 |
387 |
44 |
Warrington |
29 |
769 |
351 |
418 |
42 |
Leigh |
29 |
580 |
442 |
138 |
33 |
Salford |
28 |
556 |
561 |
-5 |
32 |
St.Helens |
28 |
618 |
411 |
207 |
30 |
|
Catalans |
27 |
475 |
427 |
48 |
30 |
Leeds |
27 |
530 |
488 |
42 |
28 |
Huddersfield |
27 |
468 |
658 |
-190 |
20 |
Castleford |
27 |
425 |
735 |
-310 |
15 |
Hull FC |
27 |
328 |
894 |
-566 |
6 |
LondonB |
27 |
317 |
916 |
-599 |
6 |
Betfred Championship 2024 ROUND : 1 | | PLD | F | A | DIFF | PTS |
Wakefield |
27 |
1032 |
275 |
757 |
52 |
This is an inplay table and live positions can change.
Toulouse |
26 |
765 |
388 |
377 |
37 |
Bradford |
28 |
723 |
420 |
303 |
36 |
York |
29 |
695 |
501 |
194 |
32 |
Widnes |
27 |
561 |
502 |
59 |
29 |
Featherstone |
27 |
634 |
525 |
109 |
28 |
|
Sheffield |
26 |
626 |
526 |
100 |
28 |
Doncaster |
26 |
498 |
619 |
-121 |
25 |
Halifax |
26 |
509 |
650 |
-141 |
22 |
Batley |
26 |
422 |
591 |
-169 |
22 |
Swinton |
28 |
484 |
676 |
-192 |
20 |
Barrow |
25 |
442 |
720 |
-278 |
19 |
Whitehaven |
25 |
437 |
826 |
-389 |
18 |
Dewsbury |
27 |
348 |
879 |
-531 |
4 |
Hunslet |
1 |
6 |
10 |
-4 |
0 |
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