We are not a "top side" at the moment, and the earliest we might be is next year IMO.

We're highly unlikely to get anything out of this season, except experience for the young lads and some time for the seniors to show what they can do or be shipped on.

I didn't expect anything different this year once those injuries really kicked in, I'm honestly not sure which yardstick some of you are using. We have some brilliant talent at the club, but it takes time. We totally took our eye off the ball there for years (or the talent just wasn't there, or both). Now we have a real strong production line of talent but even the likes of Mik aren't fully in their prime yet. We just need to accept it's going to be a number of years still before the full potential of our youth is winning things again. When the young lads are in their prime AND we have some high quality seniors amongst them, we'll be fine.

As for senior recruitment I've made some criticisms in the past. I can also see a club desperate to avoid the drop, struggling for finances in places and struggling to compete with clubs in better position/form than us. We've made some mistakes but some good signings too amongst them.

Thing is to step forward we are going to have to concentrate resources on better quality than we have now, which means difficult conversations and some big decisions.

I actually quite enjoyed the game against Hull. Massively frustrating that we couldn't pierce the line in good ball but great to see an atmosphere back, dare I say a bit off biff and patches of good play given the conditions.

I still maintain we are not as far off as some seem to think. It's a bit like when we played Wigan: Hastings is on our side, we win that game. Against Hull, Jake Connor is in a Leeds shirt and we win that game. You keep winning games like those and suddenly you're in amongst it again. Field position was a massive issue when Furner came in, now we're getting forward quite nicely. What we lack now is skill and execution in the back line, mostly. Fix one link and then on to the next.

Having said the above, to be clear I don't think the club can put out valid excuses not to be competitive next season. They have the chance to change what needs to be changed. I'm not suggesting we'll do the treble in 2022 but we certainly should be winning some of the games we're currently losing, and starting to build a side which others respect again.

Quite some stat (relegation battle years) that isn’t it.. absolutely disgraceful for a club like Leeds. This is why alot are so p*seed with it at the moment. We’re all fed up with the tripe being served up. It’s got to change very quickly.

with roundball across the city seeing success too surely Gary knows he needs to put on a show to keep fans at HQ

Please get Connor ??? Why would he want to come ?

Agreed. People used to want to join us to win things. Hes more chance of silverware at FC at the moment.

Apparently Broadbent wasn't injured. Seems a strange decision to play Briscoe at centre in front of him.

Not based on last night’s performance, having rewatched the game they were very lucky our attack didn’t click but they were no great shakes at all.

I do think they’ve bagged a decent coach though, but to say they had their first choice spine out on the pitch they weren’t much better than us with attacking options

Maybe hes not perfected the Tom Briscoe roll.

Why didn’t he just put the ball down - he does that we win that game IMO

Just watched highlights.
1) we can't carry Koni defensively beyond this season
2) some marginal no try calls there, we could have won.
3) the Briscoe roll was not as easy as people are saying. His strength got him through the tackle and momentum against simple put down. Think ball was down at one point. Only disallowed by the on field guess work rule.
4) Dwyer is a spark despite criticism he gets
5) Glad I only watched highlights....!

Think plenty of it has been said but I’ll try and not just repeat it all.

Thought Myler had a very good game in terrible conditions.

Plenty of people saying how good our pack is, I don’t buy that for the whole pack. 8 and 10 have been very good. 13 is a very good player. However, we had 8-13 starting on Sunday. 9 was not very good,11 was OK and I thought 12 at times was hiding and never once carried the ball in with the wallop that either FC second row did, who are also much bigger than our 2.

Near the end we opened them up a bit when Dwyer’s effort started to take effect and we mixed our game a small amount, prior doing a run around with Gale. Prior switching the point of attack. Hope we see more of this because until then our attack is like painting by numbers.

Prior was behind a fair part of it and is a very smart player. After Briscoe scored he was telling Gale where he would run from the kick off and that he was going to try and get over 1 defender to get a penalty. Did not work but he is always pushing the game.

Someone said about Cuthbo playing stand off in a dream, think we really miss him on attack.

I would think about playing Prior at stand off v cas or at least give him a roaming loose forward role to try and mix our game up. Put Tetevano at prop and let him go head to head with watts.

We were in the east stand and FC were hardly down our end the whole of the second half. They made a load of errors but still looked fairly comfortable.

Final point on the warm up. I never get there that early but as had to be in for 6.30 for Covid I saw it all. FC came out way before us, Sneyd practiced kicks before 7. Reynolds walking around with Connor talking to him. They looked a real group. We came much later, looked like same routine from 10 years ago. 7.20 Martin starts goal kicking as rest of team goes to tackle bags. Rest of team runs off, Martin runs to tunnel and walker grabs a bag and he does 3 hits and goes in.

Reminded me of the 80’s.

Sometimes I think Leeds do too much to accommodate average senior players who are unable to play the position/role they were orginally signed for.

For example...

Myler signed as a half, failed in that position, and is now accommodated at full-back. However good he is in this position it is not a long-term solution, and it is also questionable whether Myler has the physical attributes to be one of the top full backs in SL.

L. Sutcliffe, brought into the team as a half-back, yet despite failing to nail this position down since Sinfield retired we are still persisting with him in the halves. The club want him to play centre but he's light years behind the top SL centres in this position. Why not let him move on?

Dwyer - a McDermott project signing capable of moments of spark but hasn't got good enough distribution to play the full 80. We lose valuable forward interchanges every game to bring him in but it has been a long time since he has actually changed the game.

T. Briscoe signed as a world class winger during the glory era, but has been rewarded with a new contract despite being out of top form for years and having lost his pace. Now we are experimenting with playing him at centre, which is either blocking youngsters or stopping Sutcliffe play there. Again, which top sides would have given him a new contract?

No doubt I could go on, but you can see why we are falling behind our competitors with too many silly decisions like this.None of these players are Sinfields, Peacocks or Burrows, whom at least were worthy of accommodating in this way.

I agree with you, we were lucky your attack didn’t click, and with us being at say 40% in the 2nd half, and handing the ball back to you continuously to have another go, there was confidence that our defensive structure could hold you, and increasingly, attack wise you appeared to be without ideas.

The weather didn’t help you but it was appalling in the first half too, and we got enough tries to win the game during that time. I know we got them because of a weak link on your right side, but he plays in blue and gold and he was picked as good enough to play.

The the thing with Rich Agar is, he’s a nice guy and he talks a good game, but we know from ever so bitter experience what his lack of inspiring or winning rugby can do to the soul of a club on the pitch and on on the terraces. It’s a tough gig your watching now, and it won’t get any better. You will win again of course and like us you will almost have wanted a loss !! To bring about a change of some sort. But you win and he stays longer. And the pain and the demise continues.

You can’t blame Long, everyone knows he has a brilliant attacking brain, but he’s having to work players with all inventiveness knocked out of them. And anyway so much of his brilliance was off the cuff, and you can’t coach that part.

Hetherington has to be culpable he’s the guy who puts people in the frame to do the job, you won a cup out of it but that could set you back 2 seasons maybe more if Leigh finish above you. The big ship is going in the wrong direction and it’s Captain Hetherington who decides the course it’s on.

There are some on here who are saying “Get Connor” that will fix it ? It’s not so much the arrogance of that statement that surprises readers from outside the Leeds bubble, it’s more the ignorance, that whichever playmaker you bring in will still be on a course to nowhere, with a 2nd in command in RA who hasn’t quite got the idea of steering with a rudder. You get the feeling of going in circles. It’s not a nice place to be.
Until you get that right, you could bring in the Full Saints squad never mind Jake Connor, and slowly but surely RH will have them playing his way. You brought in Gale who was tearing it up at Cas, but slowly he too is waining The cup win was a poisoned chalice for LRLFC.
Saints went a bit that way when Cunningham was given the reigns, great a player as he was, he just couldn’t coach. Your man at the top has voted for a below average achiever to coach your team and that what you got. It’s not rocket science.

What does that say about Hetherington ?? Everything.

Back then there'd just be Andy Mason stretching his hamstrings on the advertising hoardings. The rest of the team warmed up by touching their toes a couple of times

Yes, what an unmitigated failure GH has been. Apart from saving the club from bankruptcy and rebuilding an old stadium, he's left the clubs trophy room cluttered with league tiles, challenge cups and world club challenges. Disgraceful! What we need is a classy operator like Pearson.