Interesting point.

Done, finito

Another season down the drain. Cannot see being any better next year unless we can offload half the side and most of the pack

Best chance we have is replacing Fus and Martin with real high quality NRL forwards, working like hell with our young players over the next 5 months and keeping Arthur in post.

Under those conditions we could do better, and then we should have more cap and possibly quota for 2026. It does look like most of the signings made under RS, whoever has been responsible for the names and the budget, have failed to take us forward.

Blease has a bigger job on maybe than he realised.

Well while Smith's style was a big problem, clearly so is the squad. Its not top 6 quality, which given we're at the cap is quite astonishing. We've invested heavily in the backs but have very little punch there, and our forwards as a group are among the worst in the league.

We'll keep talking about not giving up, plenty of games etc, but this season is done. The focus should now be on working out who we want to keep, and giving some time to younger players to show what they can do.

Smith did one good thing in terms of squad. He showed its possible to shift players who are under contract. Sadly he didn't get rid of some of the players who continue to fail, and signed too many who have become part of the problem. To have a serious go at moving up next year we'll need more than one or two changes, but it looks like its going to take at least two rounds of getting recruitment decisions right before we genuinely compete.

In a way it’s good that we’ve fallen short, there can be no misunderstandings, nothing is unclear, the squad is simply miles off being good enough to compete. We have a few players out of contract this off season (Fusitua, Martin, Donaldson, Johnson, Roberts) and plenty more the year after. I think Blease needs to be telling some of those out of contract at the end of ‘25 that they are free to find another club now as they will not be renewed again. Some will take this up and move on creating more cap space and perhaps even more quota spots.

I’m struggling to think of many players who I would be heartbroken to see leave. With enough cap space and quota spots available, perhaps we can convince BA to stay and fix the project. We need to have either him, or someone with his experience and quality, otherwise we are in for another loop of poor coach and poor squad that will take another 2-3 years for someone else to fix.

I don't really understand how Smith gets praise for getting rid of substandard players when the squad is still full of substandard players. Removing poor players and then replacing them with poor players isn't a positive. It's just more of our continued cycle of never moving forward because our decision making is so poor.

Well London have just done us a massive favour!

I agree and I have posted this on another thread

Even with all the other problems, if we'd focused strongly on developing juniors over that whole period we'd be in far better shape today. Quite ironic given that the success of the 'Golden Generation' was built on homegrown players.

Couldn't agree more. Leeds have never bought a sucessful team, buying bigname players destroys morale of the academy lads and the best look elswhere.

The trouble is if you don't give the lads game time they will never improve. Jack Sinfield springs to mind as a case in point. Being kept out of the team by bang average players on a huge salary and the coach must feel obliged to pick them.

I think the loss at Salford was fatal to our Play Off chances. I think Salford and Catalans will pick up at least 6 points each from their remaining fixtures which means 5 wins out of 7 would rely on points difference. Getting 6 wins is probably the requirement but that is a very tall order. I think the plan has got to be let’s keep improving under Brad for the remainder of the season and give it a bloody good go, starting with Wigan tomorrow.

Maybe we’ve not had the required quality coming through the system ? There has been a lot of false dawns with youngsters coming through touted as heirs to the throne of the golden generation. From Baldwinson to Lilley, walker to Tindall, and even Cameron Smith if we’re being honest, they’ve just not been good enough. If they’re not good enough or tough enough it’s hard to blame the club for not nurturing them. In comparison to the quality that has come through the Saints and Wigan systems over the last 7 or 8 years it’s not hard to see why our youngsters haven’t given us a springboard to success. Those two clubs have also added top quality signings from down under to elevate them even further above us. If we’re missing Ellery Hanley’s and Jason Robinson’s on our own doorstep that’s a different kettle of fish, but I don’t think there’s been a lax attitude to youth development at Headingley. I think the poor overseas signing have excaserbated the lack of quality coming through the system.

or possibly signed potentially great players but the pathway, or more likely, poor coaches have ruined their chances.

Agree with the above comment regarding the Salford loss being fatal. Our play off chances ended right there and then unfortunately.

Win our next 4 games then we give ourselves a chance.

They are all winnable if we back up the Wigan performance.

Warrington
Catalans (4 pointer)
London
Hull

We need Wigan and Hull KR to help us out at magic