They way I look at it a settled squad allowed us to retain the Lazenby Cup this year and guarantee us a second chance in the end of season play-offs. Of course the failure to recapture the Tetley's Festive Challenge was a set back, but I'm sure we can put that right next season.

The way I see it at the start of the season there are four objectives for the reigning champion team:

1) The SL Title
2) The Challenge Cup
3) The World Club Championship
4) The League Leaders Shield

In the off season the club will seek to assemble a squad (within the limits of salary cap and quotas) to achieve as many of the objectives as is humanly possible.

So far the reigning champions have recorded two fails with two targets still possibilities.

Maybe I care less about "the game" than you do then because none of thios concerns me in the slightest.

I am happy that the "lesser" teams are competetive and that the game I watch is hardly ever a foregone conclusion these days.

If you're right about the dropping of standards I don't really care to be honest. One thing I know, sport is cyclical and one day leeds will go through what the Bulls are going through, one day the Bulls will become dominant again, one day GB/England will dominate the Aussies.

I can do nothing to bring any of that about so I just enjoy my rugby and I enjoyed Saturday.

Perhaps that is a sad indictment of me. Perhaps I should demonstrate I care as much about the game as you do. How does your concern for the game manifest itself because you haven't paid to watch a match in several years? So how does this work - I don't put any money into the game at all and sit back and moan and criticise it?

I don't see either of these things happening whether I agree with the cyclical nature of sport or not.

Bradford (I think) are going to have a very difficult future.

Yes, that's it.

If you want to keep your money in your pocket your choice enjoy watching whatever it is you enjoy watching and if its rugby league then prehaps another team more exciting who spend lots of money on STARS might be your cup of tea , can I suggest Huddersfield ?

No.

Comparing Leeds against other teams with regard to the cap is pointless for the reasons already stated.

Making a point about Leeds being better for having more players if they spent to cap is not.

Is it really that difficult to understand?

So setting aside the fact that there is a finite number of players suitable for SL and that in some positions there may actually be none available at the time of spending - you're saying that you're confident that spending all of the salary budget would have benefitted Leeds whilst at the same time you're providing evidence of clubs where doing the same thing has not benefitted them ?

Do you often take all of the cake off the table and eat it ?

I'm saying that spending fully to cap compared with our current (alleged) spending would bring in more players, thereby improving our performances due to the ability to rest players, and to drop them if need be.

And I can't believe there aren't any players who would enhance our squad out there. Rugby league is a relatively small world, but it isn't that small!

I haven't said anything about any other club with regards to the cap, other than to state how pointless it is to mention them in this context. Someone mentioned Wigan, I mentioned Saints to highlight the fact.

I quite like cake, though.

There has to be cake in there somewhere, I simply can't imagine a world without cake.

Is it though?

Before full-time professionalism and before sports clubs were run as businesses, I'd agree but today, I'm not so sure.

The reality is that Leeds are in a much better position than other clubs to sustain their success to a certain degree, in the same sence that Manchester United have sustained success in Premier League football or that Leicester Tigers, on a smaller scale, have sustained their position as one of the GP's top three clubs.

Players will come and go, youth development will peak and trough but at the same time, Leeds have the infrastructure to support sustained success IMO. The club isn't built on debt like it was in the early '90s, it has a strong financial standing, wide fanbase and a strong influence in the game. It will take a lot of clubs a lot of time and money to compete with that by which time, we've probably moved on to the next big thing.

Gotta agree on this.

It's not a matter of keeping it in my pocket, it's about maximising the value of the spend, and for me that's not currently the Rhinos. Like all, I have a limited amount of disposable income and I feel like I would be "wasting" my money if I spent it in an area I didn't feel happy with.

With regard to changing clubs, I've seen worse than this in my time as a Leeds fan, so I won't be changing my colours, I just won't be wearing them as regularly.

ffs . What a set of whingers . I am a fan/supporter of the club i choose to follow . That club just happens to be the Leeds Rhinos .
I will go to watch them in what ever the weather throws down on us and at whatever the cost financially . Personal circumstances prevent me attending matches occasionally , but that ain't often , either for home or away games .
I really couldn't care much either way if we have a good or bad game as long as the result is in our favour . Obviously we all have a better day or evening out if the play is entertaining , but surely at the final hooter it is the result that matters .
I don't want to watch 'sexy football' , I want my team to win . I want them to win every game they contest . I ain't going to start slating them if they start losing games though , and will always stay to the death to clap them off the field regardless of the result .
I can't understand why people are still leaving games 5 minutes from the hooter , are we turning into wigan ? OK . We are struggling to win at the present , but we are winning . Leaving 5 mins before the hooter in recent times means you miss the winning scores . There were people outside the supporters club on Saturday night that thought we had lost ! ! ! !

Some people really need to get a grip of reality . No team can win every game , nor can they play 'sexy football' every time . Take the Crusaders' fans as an example . Lose almost every game they have played so far in SL , but they have die-hard fans that would follow them to the moon to see them lose it there was a lunar team in SL .. ( please do not suggest that to SKY ) . They are real fans .

Enjoy the game , enjoy the day out at away days , enjoy a bit of friendly banter with the opposition's fans , enjoy a few beers and an over-priced pie or two ....Most importantly of al.... Enjoy your RL experience .


Rant over for now .

Perversely, you are part of the problem.

Any business who doesn't have to try too hard to attract new customers will not try too hard to attract new customers, by the time they realise that they have to try harder its often too late.