Each to their own but I don't entirely get the total contempt for the '96 shirt. It has few happy memories for sure (save for Workington and Paris away perhaps), but as a design its focus on the three stars from the city coat of arms and the club logo was a nifty conceit.

Just think - they could have gone big on the hanging fleece instead. Now that would have been as symbolic as the direction in which pointed the horrific V of a decade later.

Interesting question.

1996 was a pretty grim time to be a Leeds fan whereas 1997 felt like a time of re-building and optimism.

I regard the 1996 kit as hideous but 1997 doesn't leap out like that, yet you're right it was pretty rank - especially the cream away kit. Guessing that means how much we like the kit is in part governed by how well the team played in it.

To underline that I'd have ranked 2006 as my next worst kit and that felt a hugely dissapointing year in terms of performance.

I think we're thinking on similar lines

For 1996 I didn't like the stars but I think my main dislike was the airtex style material.

which then could lead on to 2003, that was awful

I didnt think 2003 was too bad. A close challenge cup final , league leaders runners up and defeat to a Carney inspired Wigan in the final eliminator actually felt ok to me. Ultimately dissapointing but I didn't regard it anywhere like 1996 or 2006.

Agree Ian Scott.
For me at the end of 03 you could see the huge potential the team had and that we weren't far off becoming trophy winners which of course we now know has become a legacy.

Whilst i agree to some extent, its easy to look back now and pin point that year as the spring board for our great success.Although at the time it was that same old gut wrenching feeling of years gone by to that point.Almost there but bottled it when it counted.

Lets not forget we only had the 99 cup final win to show of any note in over 20 years and that year we came so close to getting our hands on both trophys but blew it.

Thankfully them young lads didn't settle for the bridesmaids dress for long and got the job done the following year and the rest is history

back on topic.

I liked the 2003 home kit.

3 best home kits in my years of supporting Leeds

1 - 2005 (wins based on having white shorts)
2 - 1999
3 - 2009 (something different yet still felt like a Leeds top. Shorts and socks let it down a bit though)

3 worst home kits
1 - 2006
2 - 2002
3 - 2004 (doesn't seem to get mentioned as its associated with our first SL success, but never liked it personally)

Thanks for the one-off shirt pic. Steps back in amazement as Eddie Large used to say. Tho would it be worse than Wigan's pink-ish effort of 2011?

The 90s shirt with Rhinos written on the front - very Gridiron but no no no!

A horrible away kit but a donation of sales to charity - that's a good idea, maybe something local to Leeds?

I liked the 2004 shirt and still wear it now and then - very different but simple.

The quarters are Victorian and probably survived the change in 1895. Not sure when the hoop first arrived as there aren't many Rhinos histories out there. Ask in the club shop and they probably think Leeds RLFC heritage started in 2004.

The classic kit tho has to be the 70s hoops made by Bukta - see the many pics of John Holmes. Even in the barren 80s the kit didn't change much.

I have seen some fans wearing TOFFs style 68 shirts. Surely there's a market for retro rugby league? Or do people see the game pre-1995 as one for the old folk - nowt wrong with your heritage though.

Hated both the 1997 (I think that was the year?) kits with "Rhinos" splashed over the front. Both were bad, but the ghoulish plae yellow of the away one was really bad. Wasn't mad on the stars or the quarters.

I bought the pink one this year. I wear a lot of pink. To be fair, I now live somewhere where you don't see any other RL shirts, so I'm more likely to wear them not to games. I also have a 2010 away shirt that I like.

Home should be some variant on blue and amber irregular hoops. Only so many ways to vary it though, I like this year's darker blue.

I'd probably buy the lime green charity one if I bought another shirt this year (which I won't) and also if something similar was the away shirt next year.

the 'rhinos' one was 98 i thought. i bought the yellow one

Could well have beem, couldn't remember.

Come to think of it, I think we did wear it in the '98 GF didn't we?

Didn't we keep both kits for the 97 + 98 seasons?

geek BB.

We kept the home shirt for both seasons but the away one only lasted for 97. 1998 saw the curious white with red away shirt, complete with red rendition of the club logo.