Hey - I never said it was useful.

I've never met him, but get the sense of a bloke with a strong moral code - same as Sinfield and Peacock - which I presume is why they have such mutual respect. I think that synergy is very important for the team.

His coaching methods are unusual and (I'm guessing) draw heavily on his military background. Although not perfect (what is?), I prefer this to the textbook Australian approach. I think there's a resilience in this team which none of its peers can emulate.

Sport generally is full of s. I like the ethos of the Rhinos at present and I'm happy for my sons to support the club.

He doesn't have to be the most technically gifted coach.

This team has had its success by something special within the camp. Sure they've bags of ability as have Wigan, Warrington and Hudds, but Leeds have something extra within the group. Brian McDermott is not the best coach out there, but he seems to fit into the group and is now part of the special bond and culture at the Rhinos.

You can pick the best coach on the planet and he may not fit into the Rhinos mould, so when the going gets tough and the squad needs to come together e.g. playoff rugby, that spirit may no longer be there. So for that reason Brain McDermott deserves to be right along side every single one of this special group.

If you want someone that rants and raves and gets consistency out of his team e.g. Shaun Wane, go for it, but you won't get that special team spirit that annually comes together.

I was at the Leeds Rugby Foundation dinner in July 2011, a time when Leeds really did have the backs against the wall. McDermott was doing a Q&A on stage, I thought this is going to be interesting! Boy, can McDermott talk! Every word you believed the guy, he was such a brilliant speaker and had such a presence and aura about him, I can see why Leeds get a lot of belief in the big matches.

I've been McDermotts biggest and worse fan over the last couple of years, but that is how I think he works.

Tony Smith had to build a team around a core of exciting youngsters and did so, but went two years without winning anything (unless you count the WCC against a half-strength Dogs side).

Brian McLennan came in, took on the team that Smith built and pretty much just kept it pointing in the same direction before his laissez-faire culture caught up with him and the players.

McDermott came in and had to correct the course that the team was heading in under McLennan and has done so. Two titles in two years speaks for itself. His job is to win trophies, and he's done so.

I'd put him somewhere below Smith but above McLennan if I were ranking them. As with any coach though, the test of their time at a club is often revealed by what they leave behind (see the mess Noble left Bradford and Wigan's youth structures in, for example).

Firstly, If I bedded Katie Perry would it be the greatest achievement of my life? Maybe, but lets discuss it when it happens.

As for McDermott, Leeds' success under him deserves respect and recognition. I believe that although good players / teams win games, you will struggle to win competitions with someone poor running the show.

Many of McDermott's decisions are strange, but come grand final night, those games where we left 2 subs unused, may have helped condition the rest of the players to deal with the adversity of playing with low numbers. Who knows how it works, and maybe it is fluke, but to fluke it 2 years on the bounce, something that has only been done by 1 coach before him is unlikely, even if it was with a similar core of players. I guess the key question is could the same coach do it with a differnet group of players? Who knows? Smith hasn't as yet been able to win a title with an arguably much more talented group of players at Wire, and he's been there 4 years

Seems like a my way or the highway style of coaching, but proof is in the pudding and 2 league titles in 2 years is just that. Week in week out performance has probably been at its most inconsistent the last two seasons so not the best for the fans. Disappointed with the CC effort this year, really need to win that comp again!

Has his coaching style benefitted the club in general or has it alienated some players?

IMO I think if he gets us to the GF hen he'll be here next year too. Overall you can't knock the final result of the last two years in a results based business!

Silverware he has been successful , it will be extremely interesting to see how he performs now we are at the business end of the season . On balance the team is probably not as strong as recent years, in our favour is the other top teams seem some way off the pace.
I don't see anything at the moment that we can't overcome , like several other posters I would prefer to visit the giants we must be due a win against them.
I would think that how the team performs will have a big influence on who goes and who stays next season.
Also whether we bring in some new players.

Only jesting Gareth - I think they have a good a chance of winning it this year as they had the previous two. No team really stands out for me.

In years to come, all that will be remembered will be the trophies. Therefore Brian Mc will leave behind an outstanding legacy.

I agree with Gareth: The real legacy comes from GH. The last three coaches have all been very different, but all right for their time. I doubt they would have been as effective in a different order.
In fact, change that last three to last four, because Powell created a lot of the foundations for this.

The legacy comes from Powell as well IMO. Had he not started it, we would never have had all this, he built it to start. But then again, without Hetherington, he wouldn't have been in the job and wouldn't have had the tools to do it.

So Hetherington has been the most influential man at Leeds during the period of success? I don't think you can argue with that. Coaches have come and gone, so have players.

When you consider the mess Leeds were in when he arrived he should be revered a lot more than he is.

Believe in the sleeve.

I believe McDermott rates as good as any coach we have had. He took over after a very unchampion looking side had mostly played boring one up rugby in McLennan's last year. True he inherited a champion pedigree squad but we should remember the stars of the side were showing distinct signs of being past their best. He also took over with 2 of our best players out with long term injuries and his season started with a spate of injuries which at one stage left him with only 1 prop. The key players struggled with form for much of the season and it is to his great credit that he kept faith with these same players and motivated them to a Wembley final and a super run in to win the GF from a record making 5th place. To repeat this in his second year is no coincidence and should have convinced those doubters he has something special.

Many of his critics forget his important contribution as assistant coach to Smith (who he had previously helped in gaining Hudderfield promotion)

Rugby more than most sports relies on team spirit and working for each other. Players understand this which is why most of the squad rate him highly as he remains loyal to his choices.

Ok some of his selections and interchange decisions can raise eyebrows but it is his call and he knows which players can best achieve his game plans.

He is presiding over a tricky transitional period with tough choices that none of his predecessors had to face and he is also having to do it without the comfort that they had of recruiting a slot-in Aussie signing when the need arises. Therefore it would be reasonable to expect a couple of years without silverware...but I am sure this is not in Big Mac's script.

Yes, but if it is difficult to assess the contribution of a coach to success, it is even harder to assess the contribution of an assistant.

Many Bulls fans reckon McNamara was a major reason Bradford won the GF in 2005, yet he went on to accomplish very little in his career as senior coach (the Bulls still had most of their top players in 2005, including Peacock, Vainikolo, Hape, Fielden, Pryce + Morley etc). Similarly, some blamed the assistant coaches for the failure of McNamara's teams from 2007 onwards. McDermott's coaching at London was not successful, and the team finished progressively lower with him as coach.

What is the evidence that Brian Mac was a major contributing factor to previous success at Leeds when he was assistant? As opposed to the likes of other assistants like Poching, Cummins, Lowes?

I don't have a particular axe to grind here by the way.