2010 ..... 2011?

Has he turned around Warrington's fortunes or not?

How many years had Leeds gone without a championship before 2004?

How many years had Warrington gone without a Challenge Cup before 2009?

You are being disingenuous by stating that HE has only just freshened them up.
He took over at Warrington when in his 1st season and they finished where in SL?
Would you say that the players I have listed in my previous post have fundamentally strenghtend the squad beyond the recognition from the one he took over, YES of NO? All or some of them at Leeds would not make a difference to our squad would they! YES or NO!

Finally you mention the overall decline of the squad. On paper last year we had arguably the best team on paper that Leeds have ever had in the clubs history. G1 wasn’t willing to give them praise until the end of the season unlike most of us on here. He was right!

Damo,
05 Compare 05's squad list to last year's and assess their relative strengths. Which one do you think under achieved ?
06 Absolute rubbish!
07 Some of the games in that season were dire and only at the end of the season did we show what we were capable of.
08 & 09 Bluey is successful over 2 seasons. More trophies than Smith and back to back.
It could be argued that TS under achieved with the squad he had at his disposal compared to Bluey and Brian Mc.

I thought Bluey and Tony Smith won the same amount of trophies?

Just that Bluey did it in less time.

As I said I’m convinced that during 2006 the lads weren’t up for it because of Bradford’s cheating the previous year. I’ve also said that most of the games were dire in (or something along those lines) in 2007 bar the games against St Helens. The lads turned it around for Tony Smith in 2007 and there’s no doubt that 2007 got replicated during the three in a row years.

I think that Bluey was the right appointment to keep Tony Smiths legacy going. But that faded away badly in 2010. He left and now we’ve got Brian McDermott who isn’t doing us all that good!

1972 V St Helens at Swinton (I was there), so that would be 32 years.



1973/74 at Wembley (I was there again), so that would be 35 years.



Coach Smith replaced Coach Lowes in time for the Round 4 fixture V Leeds

They finished the season in 10th place
Played 27, Won 12, Drawn 0, Lost 15, Pts For 649, Pts Agst, 705, Points 24

Anymore questions will have to wait, I'm off to Wickes for a few bits and pieces and I should have been there already.

One thing about Smith he is no fool he has an eye for an opportunity.

Huddersfield - could only go one way - they won a league in which they were the only full time team

Leeds - had the potential for something special given the crop of quality young players that had all emerged at the same time

Warrington - had the money to make something happen

Yes Smith has had to make it happen - he is, along with McGuire the best coach in SL, but it helps if you can be in the right place at the right time.

This begs the question - why the hell did he take the England job!!!

I didn't realise he'd taken it, bit of a sidestep if you ask me, and I'm not quite sure he's fully qualified for the role, or how he'll find the time but that said... surely anybody is better than Fabio Capello so lets give Tony a shot! Bring on Wales!!

Had we not changed from GB to England when Smith took the job?

I suggested a similar analogy in regards to Wayne Bennett’s Coaching career. Especially when he shipped over from the Australian coach to Kiwi coach after the 2005 Tri Nations. He knew who were going to win the world cup and it wasn’t the Australians he was coaching!

Yes we had! There was nothing wrong with your post. I wasn't mocking you.

I was just attempting to be funny, and failing. I'm in a pretty good mood today.

Has Amor been omitted from the Wakefield team for this Sunday?

Doubt it!! My mood is the equivalent to that though! That or Smith deciding he wants to give RU another shot.

Excellent article Damo. Although I don't agree with all your points it made an interesting read.

To get away from Leeds IMHO! 2007 wasn't a stand out year and as I remember it I don't think many people expected us to get to the grand final, let alone win it.

I can't remember at what point in the season he announced he was off, but I remember the loss at home to wakey (I think it was) when the team got booed off the pitch. There were quite a few games that season when we lost matches everyone expected us to win and I think most people couldn't wait for him to go and get a new coach in. Then he went and won the grand final and everyone suddenly saw him as the best coach in super league!

From the GF winning team in 04 to 07 Smith rebuilt half the side - McKenna, Furner, Poching, Calderwood, Mathers, Walker, Bai, Ward and McDermott had all gone. Of the starting 1-5 in 04 only Senior remained. The 2007 side that Smith built then went on to win two more GFs under Bluey with only a couple of changes.

Absolute cr*p - yet again - that Leeds would have won the GF in 2004 under Daryl Powell. There was and still is absolutely no evidence to back that up apart from some bizarre desire to big up DP's achievements as coach.

Aye. He had his opportunity and didn't nail it. Those fools who suggest otherwise can't see that Tony Smith got that bloody monkey off our back.

Thanks for the compliments pal!

I can’t really make points that everyone agrees to anyhow. But the least I can do is offer an interesting read. Again I just want to say a big thanks to Southstander.com (aka Paul) for having faith in me and hopefully that faith has worked out like he hoped it would.

I think this is the first time I’ve managed to string together two Damo Bits that people have openly admitted is a good article. So I really appreciate it



Edit: Just remembered that the Christmas specials where well received. I've got such a bad memory

My main gripe with average australians coming over here is that i would imagine that most will be on inflated wages to get them here. and probably costs the club more.

Good article by the way

This "Aussie" thing doesn't stack up.

People always seem to quote Donald, Cross, Delaney (in recent times) and say [iJoe Bloggs[/i could do as good a job, so why sign an Aussie?!

Funny though that you rarely here people throwing Webb, Leuluai or Lauitiiti's names into the mix?

I employ over 100 people. Sometimes when you interview someone, you think they'd fit right into your organisation. You think they're exactly what you're looking for, sometimes you're right, sometimes they turn up for work and they're not what you thought.

Or sometimes you just see potential in their attitude, demeanour, and work ethic, and think even if they lack some of the skills, given time under your regime and your working environment, you can develop the talent side. And sometimes you can, sometimes you can't.

Or sometimes you're just short staffed, think "they'll do" and they turn out to be the best employee you've had in years.

Sometime your recruiting decisions work out, and sometimes they don't.

Have any of us ever had a relationship with Brett Delaney (example) that isn't as player/fan? Perhaps when GH spoke to him, he was professional, dedicated, hard working, honest, punctual, committed & driven. Perhaps GH knew he was an "average" centre, but thinks that Brett Delaney, the person, is the sort of person he needed in his organisation, and that he would put his faith in his coaching staff to make Brett Delaney, the player, work for what his organisation needs him for.

Maybe that will work out and he'll become a stand out second rower, maybe it won't and he'll go home as 'average' and a poor choice at the end of his contract.

Either way, I would suggest that the fact he's Australian has little, or nothing, to do with either outcome.

As Bloodbath would say... Closet Racism.

I personally think that professional rugby players deserve as much of a good wage as possible. However with the salary cap in place, this isn’t realistic thinking from me. Then again you’re also only assuming that average Australians are getting inflated wages – where’s the evidence to back this?

Now let’s just assume that Australians are coming here and get inflated wages. Lets assume that it’s happening right now. Who are this lot really stopping?

Most people say Young British talent. My idea of young British talent isn’t someone who gets put in the squad ahead of an average Australian merely because the British player has potential and is British. My idea of a British talent emerging is Richie Mather’s when he outplaced Gary Connolly at fullback in 2004. Gary may have not been Australian – but he was at the end of his career and putting in average performances bar that 2003 challenge cup defeat where he won man of the match. We have a few players at Leeds that are reaching the end of their careers and no young emerging talent plans to take their place anytime soon.

My conclusion is that the Sky Sports team have done their very best to make up a new definition for emerging young talent. Although I didn’t like the League freak on here (or any of his alias including his current one PHIPS), this is what he had to say about Young British talent –



It’s not that Young British Talent is been suppressed. It just that they isn’t any or it isn’t been properly developed in the junior grades.

Thanks for the compliments once again and I must go now!

Cheers RR for calling me racist! Well earned for Daring to say that I think that we pay over the odds for Aussie players. I did not mention any players as holding back British youngsters all I said was I think we probably pay over the odds for them!

I didn't call you a racist Ferdy! Sorry for the offence if you felt I did.

Was just saying, people in general seem to keep throwing this term "Average Aussie" around, when really, the fact they're Aussie has nothing (or should have nothing!) to do with it. Nobody calls Kirke "Average Pome".

Perhaps it's because it's alliterative.

Not offended, just pointing out I hadn't been having a pop at the Aussie players, just that I imagine they cost more!

AS regards to Donald I dont think it can be denied that the club got value for money from him in every way.He never had much time on the injury list 145 apps,and if he had played in the last wcc,I think he would have scored two tries in the corner and we would have won a trophy last year.
Lets face it after a wonderful period of "glorious success"we now face a period of rebuilding.I have seen two great periods this one and the 60s-70s,I am a happy lifelong supporter since 1955