Ranking of Leeds coaches during the SL Era

SL Regular Rounds only
7 - Dean Bell (44.00%)

All other 1st Grade Fixtures
2 - Dean Lance (72.73%)
3 - Brian McClennan (66.67%)
4 - Tony Smith (65.22%)
5 - Graham Murray (58.33%)
=6 - Daryl Powell (57.14%)
=6 - Dean Bell (57.14%)

Wigan should be fine as they have a healthy lead at the top and have no CC final whereas closest challengers warrington are in the CC final.

They've enough time to emerge from their current funk and hit form again for the playoffs. They're certanties to contest the grand final.

Nobody mentioned not trying or not bothered. Its easing through training and games saving energy for the final third.

Agree tad its the not "competeing" and its happend far too often to be just dismissed as not worth mentioning or getting all kinds of labels for questioning performances ,selections and tactics etc etc.

Professional sports men are a competitive breed and it is not something you can switch on and off or contemplate deciding to sometimes deliberately not compete. You either have the will to win or not. Equally professional rugbyplayers know that if you try "easing" through training and games you will increase the chances of picking up injuries or getting dropped.

Why is it that some folk prefer to believe in conspiracy theories rather than except the fact than as human beings we sometimes fail to produce our best performance. If the coaches were part of this theoretical game plan they would be running a very high risk of getting sacked as word would have got out to the management and fans.

Because we managed to turn around our form and make a historic Championship winning finish last year does not mean any sane coach would consider taking such a risk and deliberately go to that dark place again. Would any coach really believe that he had a magic formula to achieve success by repeating the events of last season?....

Our season lasts around eight months, with the internationals often having a nine month season. It isn't possible to "peak" for that long. Teams always used to target games. In the days of relegation, coaches would occasionally even be open about investing their gameplanning and prep time for the relegation rivals, and almost writing off the games against the top teams.
I don't have any doubt that our strength, fitness and training intensity has been cycled to peak at particular points in the season, and that's been happening for more than the last two years. It's just perhaps gone further lately.

You are quite right Richie but targeting to peak in key games is a normal positive plan and never included a deliberate negative element of regularly not trying or competing in other games, as is being suggested, which is a whole lot different. If indeed the coaches had such a negative plan we would have seen much more of the squad rotation that these same 'theorists' have been calling for.

egboth deliberately not competing and not resting/rotating the squad is somewhat illogical in my view.

Woah there. Who is suggesting deliberately not trying? A change of intensity in training cycles and other such mechanisms are far more likely ways of recognising that an ageing squad cannot be at it's highest level of performance all year.

I would imagine that nobody would be too pleased at how the balance has worked this year and the idea would have been to be a little closer to "peak" at a few points.

Spot on. Juan is trying to put in things that aren't there. Warrington have done the same as leeds albiet better. For me a 12 team league and 5 team play offs would mean more intensity and less games. Leeds know a top 5 finish is more or less guaranteed before the season starts. They want to hit the play offs in form and with energy. Therefore there will be stages that training has to ease off and performances suffer. As sir kev said, the table doesn't matter, its winning when it counts that does

It's perhaps a little early to say that yet.

Going by league position/points at this moment

By your own estimation, thats the wrong thing to go by surely? You won't know whether they've done it better until October.

No thats true but obviously the higher you finish the better chance you stand

Tony Smith has rested several of his key men on occasions throughout the season in a return to his early Headingley 'tinkerman' days. Presumably he intends to have his key men fit and firing on all cylinders at the business end. If that results in the giving up of a few fairly meaningless league points along the way to a first GF appearance for his club I imagine it will be viewed as a price worth paying.

Not sure that is what Brian McDermott has been doing with Leeds.

Also other than Salford and maybe us for an hour his teams no matter what selection process have competed whilst he's utilised his squad.