Got to agree, McDermott got it wrong big time last night.

Again you have to ask why the man selected a player to sit on the bench for the whole bluddy match.... As others have said rather than revere a troop for battling on bravely (JJB).....you're not in the marines now .... use your bluddy bench players.

Ward should have been moved into the 2nd row and BJB brought in a LC. ( I cannot agree with you about moving Hardaker from the FB position ).

Or Briscoe to centre and BJB on the wing simples.

Completely agree. We were so lacking in ideas in their 20 that they were picking up our plays. How many times did we break down the left, have them stretched only for the next play to be a drop off to a forward running back into the ruck. Surely the coach coaches them to look for the gaps. We always seem to have our set plays and that's it, no off the cuff rugby.

As for his subs, how in this modern game can you use effectively a 15 man squad. Singleton got 10 minutes and obviously no Bish. He JP, Kylie and Delaney were flogged. There were a number of times they looked out on their feet but were left out there. Ward isn't a centre so why put him there.

I've never been a McDermott fan and last night illustrated why.

Credit to Saints, they took their chances and kept themselves in the game. But we should have won it comfortably. If the roles were reversed, they'd have battered us

Correct, its sport, its how it works.

Maybe the weekly critics should stop playing predictable computer games and step outside into an unpredictable world once in a while ?

Why not have Elliot Minchella as sub, I'm sure he was 18th man and warmed up with the team....

I was told last year that it was "innovative".

I'm not so sure. BJB to 1, Hardaker to 6 and Sinfield to 9 for a spell might have freshened things up.

Or we could have put Stevie Ward out of his centre misery, flicked Zak there and introduced BJB at FB.

Did you clock Kirke's pitiful number of carries? 3/4?

I think there is big problems in this squad and the easy wins are just papering over the cracks. Who have we really beaten this season? Wire were poor when we played them. Catalans were shocking. Hudds are not half the team they were last season, as the table is showing.

McDermott not playing Achurch against Hudds was a massive slap in the face to everyone involved in the club. That was a real forwards battle and the only explanation anyone can think of was that he could not have trusted him. So Leeds this season have a squad of 16 and we may play one of the other 9 'squad members' for when we play the whipping boys.
The way Fridays game was shaping up it was not a game for the Leeds 3/4 line. We were been shut down very quickly. However playing JJB injured when the simple solution of Ward to 2nd row and bringing BJB into the 3/4s was simple. Instead he played him busted and basically closed up shop at left centre.
Singleton for a 10 min spell makes it more disgusting. It just stinks. Very very poor. I wish someone would ask McDermott the question. Whats McDermott going to do when the old trusted guard retire? Will he pack up and f off out of the place as he doesn't trust anyone else? I can stand losing but not when the squad hasn't been given the chance to give it their best shot.

It was exactly the same against Hudds, 1 unused sub (Achurch), and Singleton only got about 10 mins then too.

So effectively, we played with 15 men against both teams - not sure what McDermott is thinking - maybe he thinks it's a way of batttle hardening the troops, going through adversity etc. But for mine, it stinks - we're trying to win games after tying one of our hands behind our back.

Tough close games against the better opposition is where the likes of Singleton and Achurch will gain valuable experience (win or lose) and become better players, who can ultimately be relied upon in the close, hard fought and important games. If not, you're left with the likes JP, Sinfield, Burrow etc as the ones who can be relied on in the big games, with no succession plan, or an undercooked plan b for if they get injured.

Just seems so bizarre.

Singleton made 27 tackles vs Hudds so he must've been on for a bit more than 10 minutes.