What was the answer to that question this time last year, and in early October last year?

Today we had a side who didn't want to get injured before the playoffs, and knew that, no matter what the result, they were finishing 5th, a point brutally brought home by the injury to Kirke. JP was the best forward on the park by a mile, but without Kirke & Delaney, the workload on Kylie, Ablett, JJB & Griffin increased a lot. This wasn't helped by a dismal defensive performance down the right by Watkins and, most of all, Ben-Jones Bishop. His defence, in-goal for George's try, or in play for the many Huddersfield breaks down their left, was appalling.

There are players (e.g. Scott Taylor) available who could make a big difference, and the signing of Mitch Achurch is a real positive for us. However, it's become clear that Moore (seemingly frozen out) and Hauraki (clearly not good enough) need to move to pastures new. Additionally, it's clear that some of the ickle kidies (Hood) aren't ready, and need to spend time playing regular open-age rugby. The rumoured loan of Hood, Briscoe, Olds & Keinhorst to Hunslet would, IMO, be beneficial for all parties.

That's the thing with time, you can't stop it. Our backs seem relatively young.

Good enough to compete on a regular basis against the better teams. Wigan scored 50 odd against us, Wire scored 30 odd against us in the league and C.C. Final, St Helens scored 40 odd against us, Catalans scored 30 odd against us and Huddersfield have now scored 40 odd against us. We are 5th for a reason, we have been consistently poor. Yes if we reproduce last seasons miracle I'll be eating some humble pie like everyone else, but watching my team this year has not been good for my health. Good enough to compete on a regular basis against the top teams is the short answer.

GH does have to accept some of the responsibility for consistent inconsistency in that he is responsible for bringing and retaining the right players and coaching staff to the club. That said, he gets much more right than he gets wrong, and given the success we have enjoyed under his stewardship, he deserves to get cut a lot of slack IMO. He does need to make sure that the next few decisions he makes are the right ones, or we are in danger of slipping back into the pack of 4-6th place where our league positions have us, but without the capability to rise to the occasion when it really matters which pretty much sums up where we are at the moment.

I think a lot of our current problems come from the coaching team. I honestly think the players don't know what's expected of them. They don't know who will be defending next to them from one tackle to the next, and we have no structure to our attacking play other than "chuck or kick it for Hally". We look like a poorly coached team when compared to Wigan and Warrington.

We have some very talented younger players at the club, who don't get a look in, and some elder statesmen who are flogged to death every week. We have even left subs on the bench for a full game a few times in the last couple of years. This is all down to the coaching team.

BMD might well be a "good bloke" and have "the lads behind him" but I'm yet to be convinced he can coach his way out of a paper bag. At a time of transition any club needs to be in the safest possible hands, and I really can't say that about Leeds at the moment.

It will be interesting to see what happens next week. We will either raise our game and in doing so prove that we only play when it really matters meaning that many of the league games throughout the season are little more than opposed training sessions to a fully paying public, or we will wither and die to end the season on a whimper.

Either way it will be very telling to see what GH does in respect of his comments about this team having run its course earlier in the season.

Just hang of for the bit that really matters.
Could be worse, you could have seen the team go from dominating the league to almost out of business or at least SL (and that doesn't just refer to Bradford)

Completely agree. I've been fairly vocal about how we look poorly structured. However, you have to remember that under BMD we have only twice lost knockout games. In the end, as long as you win those games, nothing else matters.

So why should fans bother with the regular season games then?

Why do any fans go to any sport?

Fair point. But a lot of fans feel,rightly, short changed. Hetheringtons attitude may change if season ticket sales plummet

Just to get some more view on this, I don't really care so much about winning, I grew up watching Leeds teams get beaten frequently so it's nothing new and disappointing.

The thing I would like us to do is to perform to our potential, and we do that less and less frequently these days. The coach's job is to get the players to perform, and well he just hasn't done it enough for me. Seems a strange thing to say when we have made every final since he took charge, but it's wider than that for me, although I accept it's very simplistic for some others.

For me its a bit of both however I think the coach is more responsible some of his tactics have been shocking with regards use of subs or not as the case may be and the insistance of playing the same flogged players week in week out when we have sum undoubtedly talented youngsters at the club chomping at the bit for invaluable game time its baffling at times

And as i said on another thread today I dont think the players take much notice of the current coaching regime we were down to 2 subs after losing Kirke and Delaney and Hood was stood on the side line 3 times trying to get on and whoever he was to replace just refused to give way I personally seen Ablett refuse to come off when Chris Plume told him too as they were stood behind the sticks waitin for Brough to add another 2 points to the thirty odd they already had at that point so for me Mcdermotts at fault as I dont think he demands the respect needed to be Head Coach of any team

to leeds owl you forgot Wakie they even put 40 past us this season I know we beat them but only by 4 points and that was at HQ

Is it also fair to suggest they've only played to their fullish potential in three or four games in two years under McDermott?

The knock out stat is interesting in that a favoured draw might allow a run deep in a competition without achieving a tropy at the end of it and that's all that really matters.

McDermott's Leeds record against the better clubs is the major concern for me. These are the clubs that will be difficult to avoid for silverwear and the record is getting worse under this coach. V St Helens it's 1 from 5, V Wigan it's 1 + a draw from 6, V Warrington it's 2 from 6.

Even though Huddersfield aren't in that group it's now 2 from 5 for them as well and Catalans despite never winning a game at Headingley are breaking even from the four fixtures over the last two seasons.

Totally unexpected performances in last season's Qualifying Semi-Final, Grand Final and this year's Challenge Cup Semi-Final aside it's been a pretty ordinary looking squad making pretty ordinary looking performances for the most part of the last 69 fixtures.

Well, there's the question. What matters? The most part, or the key part?