I don't think squad unrest is an issue, we were just undercooked and beaten by a much better side on the night - it happens, I think we can tend to overthink the reasons for a loss sometimes

It might actually be the reality check/kick up the backside we needed, Leeds rhinos have a history of starting slow, nothing is won in February. This is not me saying Im OK with the performance because it was dire but it is only round one.

Anyone know who the 18th man was?

Walters I think

Misconception.

04, 07, 08, 09, 11, 12, 15 all won the first game. The only time we won the grand final after losing first game was 17. Of course there were plenty of dips mid-season but in general we always had some kind of platform at the start of the season. We had some of our “sh*t” together. Very rarely will a team lose their first few games and WIN the grand final. 05 bulls is the only example that comes to mind.

A kick up the backside is when you’ve been cruising for weeks winning, standards slip, and you get pumped by 50. That’s a kick up the backside. You shouldn’t be getting one in Round bloody one. It doesn’t exist in round one. Players have been slogging their guts out for months to hit the ground running and show they mean business.

They’re just crap.

This season will be a carbon copy of last season except without the low percentage run to the gf.

Great.

Tindall according to sky

I said last season that RS likes to have a fairly passive defense when it comes to line speed, which I think was the tactic last night. The problem is that this approach didn't work against saints last year who had a better pack, and the halves to capitalise on it.

That's exactly what Wire were able to do last night. Forwards who dominated, bent the line, and then the halves and nines took full advantage.

As useless as Sezer, Austin, Myler and the three-quaters were, you simply can't play well behind a beaten and dominated pack.

Tetevano offers nothing, he's not a back row, but also seems to get dominated by bigger props in the middle. Needs to be dropped.Holroyd struggled, but will get better, and Walters has earned an opportunity to be in the 17. Donaldson should be 18th man most weeks.

On the positives, I thought Gannons tackling was superb. Olpherts (aside from dropping the ball on the line) looked really good going forward, and scored his try well. I also thought Sangare did the job that he's been brought in for.

Lots to fix, but also lots of rounds to go.

I said starting slow, not just the first game.

Anyway it’s clear you’ve written them off even before the first game.

He is a Saints fan in one of his many disguises

Dufty is one of the best players in the league, genuine X factor quality.

Ashton and Thewlis are fantastic young talents with pace to burn.

Ma’tautia and Ratchford offer lots of experience and leadership.

I actually thought we started well and our first couple of drives made good ground. Then we gave up a soft penalty ore set restart and Warrington got on the front foot and burst through the line to score.

At that point the heads seemed to go down and the rest is history.

Not the best night - hopefully a wake up to the squad and most importantly the coach who seemed to treat the game as some kind of trial game.

The defense down the middle was woeful and the go forward none existent. Yes they had key players missing in Oldeski Bentley and Newman but they had a strong enough team out to be more competitive than they were. Sangare apart the props were very poor.

I think the spine is very weak - Myler had a mare, Sezer and Austin are not good enough, the same can be said of Leeming. What has happened to Johnson - he looked a real talent.

On a positive - Gannon, Roberts and Sangare were good.

It is not the end of the season by any stretch of the imagination but its not the start the club would have wanted. Hopefully the embarrassment they should feel after a performance of that nature will spur them on to better things

Why are we comparing to the GF winning sides?
That's not the realistic expectation this year.
We're way behind Saints, Wigan and now Warrington.
Our realistic aim should be to compete with Hudds, Cats, Hull and Salford for top 6.

Clearly 1, 6, 7 and 9 are a problem for us.
We need to give Rohan a couple of years to sort those spine positions out before we can really judge.

Worst possible result for us heading to you guys next friday.
i fear a backlash.

That is very true they have been recruiting so called top players for years and not been successful at the big dance however, in no way can they be compared to Chelsea. Leeds, as a big city club, should also be pushing for top spot every season. Managing the salary cap, recruiting wisely, and having luck with injuries is crucial less so, the quality of junior recruitment and progression through the academies - that needs to change. For what it is worth, my view is that Wire will come up short yet again. They are aiming for a quick fix again and if it doesn’t work they will be back to square one.