Good to see some positivity on here for a change.

Arthur is making lots of encouraging comments, but he's also made it clear we can't expect miracles. Anyway, let's see how he goes after 10 games - and where he goes next.

Part of Smith's problem was the raised expectations many of us had of him. The guy did do some impressive stuff here. We did not make the GF by being 'soft'. Beating Wigan away was no easy job, and that team absorbed tons of pressure and physical attrition from Wigan and still found a way to win.

Just before our current season imploded, the way we played in that first game against Saints had lots of people on this forum excited, and many agreed it was the best rugby we had produced in years. I don't think I've seen Newman run as hard and look as dangerous ever since (not to mention several others). I suspect that psychologically the players put so much into that game that to not come away with anything dealt crippling blows to a lot of confidences. Ultimately we weren't able to play at that tempo with high skill as Smith wanted, and the experiment failed...

Genuinely curious to see what Arthur can get out of the forwards (who are now missing three middles) on Saturday and for the rest of the year. Worth remembering that we were getting beaten in the pack for a long, long time before Smith's arrival, and his inititially successful approach was born out the need to work around that weakness. Just hoping there is the same level of positivity around the coach at five on Saturday, because I think we're really up against it.

Donaldson is back Arthur so thats 14 stone middle compensating for the loss of Goudamand who is also a very small middle!

I think if we don't win this game, we can probably kiss goodbye to the play-offs this year barring a catastrophic drop in form from a team above us.

We raised for Leigh but I don't think we actually played technically great, where the result mattered most. Since then we've been very poor and the errors and lack of discipline have flooded back in.

I do think BA can make some immediate difference, but he's not going to stop instances like Martin or Fus coughing the ball up in first/second possession coming out of our red zone.

Wire away was a really good game for Arthur to see because it was an honest view of this Leeds team. Game enough, with some skill in patches, but lacking quality, size and pace and way too prone to errors and disorganisation.

Correct about the Leigh game - our defence was too passive, and our attack was a mess. We won but our structural problems were there throughout the game. I don't think getting into the play offs matters as much as seeing performances fundamentally improve.

Just on the Origin, its a bit daft to compare to SL. The NRL is a long way ahead, but Origin is almost played under different rules to normal NRL games. Its much higher intensity, and if players tried to play that way every week they'd be injured or suspended for long periods. Watch a mid-table NR game for comparison to Leeds vs KR. There is a gap, but its not light years. What we don't have is many genuine superstars. Even assuming we could get players motivated to play as hard as Origin they just aren't as good.

Would everyone be happy if Arthur did sign on for next year from what we've seen, or do we need to see a little bit of his influence on team performances first?

I’d be happy with either. His track record demonstrates his ability to coach. To turn around perennial failures into perennial play off participants and even a GF in the NRL shows what he can do.

I could understand some people wanting to wait a little longer, but I would be happy to go ahead now. I think the delay is on his side not “Blaster’s”…

Personally, I would like to see how we perform the next four weeks before determining. I like everything he has said so far, but need to see if it translates to improved performances.

I'd agree with the above posts.

It sounds like hes open to the job and came across very well in this weeks presser. I'd cautiously keep my powder dry as hes been upfront about wanting an NRL job again and dependant on how our squad perform / whats delivered he may not want it after x10 games.

I’m cautious about him signing up. I think he’ll go to the NRL first decent job that comes up. We need a 3 year commitment from him minimum

Agree.
This is one thing I dislike about the deal where it appears we have to wait until the end of the season his decision if thats the case.This will leave us scratching around for a new coach for the start of next season if nobody else is lined up.
We need a decision before the end of the season his intentions.

2005 West Tigers - retro feel!!

He has been brutally honest - he want to coach in the NRL but will take this on to keep himself occupied. I like that honesty.

The club have to convince him that they will invest sufficient for him to win the comp and keep him here.

If I were him I'd want assurances that I could improve the squad if I was going to stay. If Martin does re-sign, and fair enough he is a solid performer, that only leaves us 1 quota spot assuming Fus goes. Not enough, in my opinion.

We would have to act to cut Frawley off sooner, or maybe even Mom, in order to free up enough quota to bring in the 2 new forwards / possibly a new 7 that we're going to need to be in a position to win SL.

With Hall incoming, and with the young lads pushing through now, our backline isn't terrible but we have to get the platform and the link right next year.