The NRL is very different because if you're below your best during the regular rounds, you're in big danger of missing the semi-finals.

Canterbury played the Roosters in the 2004 GF, yet it was a few years before either made the top eight again. That would never happen here.

Leeds and Saints are guaranteed to make the eight, or even the top five, every year, unless something big changes.

Thoughts? Yet again I cant remember it, even if it is a few hours ago.

The truth is they won't take a season full of lousy performances and results. Did we celebrate the Grand Final win even though we came 5th? Of course, just like any set of fans from any team would do. But don't let your Leeds hatred realise that. If the vast majority don't care about performance and results in the regular season then why (as many like yourself like to keep reminding us) did so many want Brian McD out and sweeping changes to the team made based on the showings we were putting up for the first 2 thirds of last year? Any Leeds fan would prefer to finish 1st AND win the Grand Final, we didn't we finished 5th and because some fans like to use the line 'we can finish 5th and still beat you' to annoy opposition fans, some people like to believe this indicates we will be happy with finishing that low again. What last season really proved is just how unintelligent some people are about Rugby League that one playoff campaign can lead them to believing that a team from 5th - 8th is going to stroll up at the end of the most seasons now and 'nick it'. These are usually people like yourself who like to protray themselves as extremely knowledgable rugby followers.
And if anybody doesn't care about rugby league on this forum its you, who likes to bash everything about it and should really leave you with very little room to criticise others who do care.

I used to get upset about defeats like this. Then we won SL from nowhere.

Felt nothing about the Wigan game and nothing about tonight other than I can see This being Lee Smiths last season in the first team at Leeds. He's gone backwards.

Having said that though maybe not the best game to judge him in. Thought Moore did ok.

I'm a Leeds fan who also like Saints, so i have no axe to grind.
Saints were great and Leeds got overrun.
fair play to saints.
BUT .. I am a believer in the psychology of winning and Leeds, bless them for their charitable intentions, did themselves no favours with the red hair.
Look like clowns, get treated like clowns.
PS Smith was god-awful. He used to be something special.

If i was a Leeds fan then yes i would be dissapointed by the result but sooner or later Saints were going to click and be dangerous.Its a long season and as you found out last year anything can happen.

Ugghh! Oh well ! Seems McDermott was right about Burrow all along: dummy half runner or sub for sure on tonight's performance. McShane still has his turnstyle defence. Shocking. McDermott right again. Smith sadly looks finished: what happened ?? Nothing left in the tank. Terrible to see. Forwards constantly back pedaling.....Hall being out jumped by Gardner. Delaney blocking early ball to Watkins.....

If anybody doubted the importance of Webb linking from FB or McGuire's creativity at scrum half then watch this match again.

Back down to earth with a substantial bump methinks. Roll on next week.

Yes they will, just like they did last year if the result at the end of the year is the same - being crowned super league champions.


Because two-thirds of the way through last season, they didn't think Leeds had a prayer of being champions and had concluded that McDermott wasn't up to the job. They now know differently, they know how the playoff system rewards mediocrity and they know that the regular rounds count for very little in the grand scheme of things. No matter how rubbish Leeds might be this season during the regular rounds, they all know Leeds are guaranteed to finish in the Top 5 or Top 6 at worst.


The people who don't care about rugby league are those who only care about the fortunes of the club they happen to support. Sadly, that would include the vast majority. I reside in the small minority camp.

Have to agree tonight's result should have had a severe impact on Leeds winning another GF......but it won't. They will still qualify easily for the competition.

There really is no logical reason for buying a season ticket or paying good money to watch regular rounds.

You can continue to think Leeds fan don't care to satisfy yourself because you see several posters on here after a defeat brushing it off with 'it doesn't matter'. But don't want to realise that several people on here after a beating is quite a small percentage of the 15,000 people who turn up to Leeds home games.

Don't talk daft!
What else do you propose?

Pick and choose, make use of the freebies available

Played three, lost two

If 15,000 rhinos supporters were given a choice of either...

1. Rhinos perform well for the vast majority of the regular rounds in SL, finish 1st on the ladder but are eliminated during the playoffs.

OR

2. Rhinos perform lousy for the vast majority of the regular rounds in SL, finish 5th on the ladder win all their playoff games and are crowned SL champions.

Which do you think the vast majority would choose?

So going by that logic, even if the playoffs do change to top 5 again or we get rid of them completely, then fans of teams such as Widnes, London, Wakey, Salford etc shouldn't bother to go watch their team because if your not playing games that could potentially be title deciding then its not worth watching.

Would the Leeds that played Manly have lost against Sts, let alone get hammered? I don't think so. Sts were up for it, Leeds weren't, and I wouldn't point fingers at the likes of Watkins, Hardaker, McShane (whose defence was fine against Manly) or Ward. The responsibility for not turning up rests entirely with the senior players.

Smith's performance is more of a worry. He must realise that he needs to stand out even in a poor team showing if he's going to have any chance of being a regular again. Based on that performance I'd put BJB to fullback and play Chisholm if Webb is out again.

BTW ks - what would a fan of any NRL team choose given the options you put up? Or any other SL side? That Leeds performance does expose a real problem in SL, but you can do better than that with your questions.