I'd agree with that - it will cushion the blow if we don't win the Grand Final.

Anyway giving everyone else a head start in the play offs this year is probably part of Lord Heatherington's masterplan - he's always put the good of the sport ahead of Leeds' personal interests (eg his staunch support of the Salary Cap)

When we had this debate at the beginning of the season I said I would rather win the cup this year just because it has been so long and I think this group of players deserve it.

But that is just this year and whilst I think it's a long way from any "mickey mouse cup" I do think the GF is more prestigious now days.

How did I miss that one!

The problem with the WCC is that it's not a true competition in that it's a closed shop and to participate you already have to have won the greatest prize of all.

It's a nice to be able to participate in and great to win but to be brutally honest I'd be hard pressed to put it higher than...erm...well...dead last!!

If the Aussies would consistently take it seriously and also host it now and again I'd move it up the list (even as a Leeds fan with a soft spot for the Broncos, I though it was awesome when Wigan won it in Brisbane) .

At the start of the season if I had a choice I'd have taken another GF win simply because the history of winning 4 in a row would be quite a legacy.

That's not to say I don't want us to win the CC, I do, and, being greedy, doing both would be nice.

Just if I had to make the hypothetical choice of which I would prefer.

I'm easily pleased and would be happy with anything.

Just getting all misty eyed again, isn't it great that we can even consider winning the big trophy's, what would southstander.com be like if the interweb was alive in the 80s and early 90s.

It most certainly is. This is a very special time to be a Leeds fan and a very special group of players..............and Ian Kirke.

last year it was buzzing outside wembley. think it might just been when you went there but it was a great experience going down there outside the stadium and init. hopefully the better team wins on saturday and it's one of thebest finals ever.

No you're not and for the very simple reason that the rules before a ball is kicked at the start of the season says so.

Change those rules and we'd have a different emphasis on league games and potentially a different outcome come the end of the 27 rounds.

Completely agree mate the path to be Champions is very clear and the best way to go about it imo whilst the fixtures remain unbalanced and the play-off system remains in place.

I posted the following on the VT which sums up how I feel about the CC compared to the GF.




Exactly... 2005 for example.

I left the Cup Final feeling slightly disappointed at our last minute loss to Hull but soon got over it on the way home. Contrast this to my feeling of total devastation at the final hooter in Old Trafford against the Bulls. I felt that the Bulls had been nowhere near us all year only to snatch it off us when it really counted. I have never been as gutted after losing a game as I was that night.

Also I was at the cup final in '99 that we won and as good as the day was and as nice as it was to win ATEOTD it was just the cup to me. Again contrast this to 2004 when McGuire went over to seal the title with a few minutes left and its the only time I have ever cried at a rugby league game.

For me its the SL Title every time.

Being Champions is and always has been the bigger achievement but in the nations mind it was the Challenge Cup that got the sport noticed and an audience. The Grand Final has righted that wrong to some extent (although it's still restricted from the majority of the population by subscription) by raising the profile of becoming the Champions.

The Cup has always been secondary but it's still something every club and probably every true supporter wants to be involved in and win if at all possible.

The current timing of the comp in the modern game remains a problem for the sport though IMO as it's just much too close to the Play-Offs commencing.

But it was changed I believe at the request of the clubs because it was previously too near the start of the season.
I agree, though, that now it's too near the playoffs which can (for the successful clubs & their fans) turn into an extremely expensive few weeks.
The problem is I guess other events in the sporting calendar.

Pre SL the Challenge Cup final was in early May and the 'Premiership' play off final in late May, so there's in fact a bigger gap between the two finals now than there was in that era.

And to those posters giving many a reason as to why the GF is more importantimportant [/i- and there is absolutely no doubt that it is.

I was talking specifically about the Superleague era.
Previously the premiership was almost an afterthought, the league leadership seemed to be more important at least in my eyes.
The cup was almost on a par with that too.