Totally agree. Wouldn’t sack smith now unless there’s a serious chance of bringing in a much better option, however smith’s recruitment of players has been more miss than hit and I do worry about his ability to squad build to get us to the required level. We were expecting a top 5 top 4 finish no doubt, as I think was GH.

Off the top of my head Sangare, Frawley, Mom, Goudamond, Olpherts, retention of Fusi and Bentley have been really poor business. Croft Ackers good business. He’s not improving many of the current players either, oldeszki has gone backwards imo.

We’re 11 games into a 27 game season we could still be top 4/5 by the end.

There’s still a lot to happen this season and tgat could include a decent run of form.

I think Momorosvki will come good and Goudemand has been pretty solid for a player who I didn’t expect to start every week. Thing is, it seems like the players are making it up for themselves and - shock horror - in the heat of the battle they make big mistakes. A firmer hand and a coherent structure would improve a lot of these lads overnight. Miller is a great example. Obvious athletic ability but it needs harnessing. Instead he seems to back himself even more with each passing game and we get clanger after clanger. The coach is paid to address this.

On Miller, it should be noted that these issues never really came out in the NRL. That was simply because nobody would trust a tyro new to the game to take important kicks. As soon as it became clear he was as likely to make a bad error as not at Leeds, he shouldn't have ever been given the ball again. To me that's the coach, but also the senior players. Croft and Frawley can both kick and are far more experienced. They should be demanding the ball off him, not watching as he makes another bad effort.

These sorts of things are symptomatic of lack of attention to detail and accountability. Some of our work on absolute basics is terrible, and nothing at all to do with not having star players in every position. What's the point of even signing a couple of big props if we keep giving away possession cheaply? That needs to be fixed regardless of who is in the 17, and like it or not that is ultimately the coach's responsibility.

Mathematically possible Chris.
But do you really believe we can finish top 4 given the teams above us??

Yes, I believe we can, do I think it will happen, no, I think we’ll finish 5th.

The league is ridiculously tight at this point, can’t see past wigan and saints for top 2 but the rest is up for grabs IMO.

We've got a fairly favourable run of games coming up and we need to be taking advantage of that. The Challenge Cup can also take it’s toll on the teams left in it. Which could help.

We need to get some troops back though and they will need to stay fit for us to do anything.

Yes it should be possible to finish in the top 6.
In fact there is no excuse not to as 5 of the remainhg fixtures are are against the bottom 3.
IIf we dont win all of those then heads definitely need to roll.

Its our form that's the biggest worry. If we were looking like a real threat in attack, or fixing up the glaring issues with performance we have, then there'd be less to worry about. Instead we seem to be going backwards in terms of form and look less and less likely to trouble better sides.Last year it was first we were just a few points off the top, then third, then fourth, then we still have a mathematical chance of the play offs, then we were gone. There of course is a chance to turn things round, but wins against Cas, Hull and London have to be backed up by wins against other teams.

Nothing about how we play shows we can finish above HKR which we'd need to do to finish 5th. I think we will be 7th or 8th.

At the end under Agar we were giving away a lot of 6 agains and getting penalised a lot as well. Smith’s passive defence tactic improved both of these and although it seemed counterintuitive it worked to get us to the GF.

Since What appeared to be a laid back pre-season in 2023, teams have worked out the ploy and if they make few errors, we get hemmed in our half and the odds are against us . This happened a lot last year and is happening again but the tactic remains and I think this more than anything is leading to fan discontent.

When TV pundits are saying our tactics cannot work at top level it’s mystifying that Smith does not change tack, maybe he thinks our pack can’t do it.

Could scramble into 6th place but that is not what Leeds should be about. Its also about how you play and are competitive in games 5th or 6th with progression in the way we play and a few close defeats and a suggestion we can challenge next year is acceptable but the same finish by playing the same brand of rugby as the last 18 months and beating the poor teams but comprehensively losing in the big games means nothing will change in 2025 other than our young players with potential will be a year older but the first team environment remain the same and that risks their development. RS is not the man for me but hes only part of the problem.

When were we third then 4th last year?

Maybe the second round?

We have a stack of injuries who are due to start coming back, that will make a difference.

Who knows we might crash and burn, but our ‘form’ in 11 games suggests we win more than we lose, last year 16 wins from 27 got Hull KR 4th spot. That win ratio is achievable by us this year, of course it depends what other teams do, but other teams will get injuries and lose players aswell.

But it’s pointless playing mystic meg at this point a lot can happen, especially when the league is so tight.

I can’t see us finishing above Wigan, Saints , cats , Wire or HKR, so 6th if we go better than Hudds, Salford and Leigh who have ground to make up but are now playing better.

After saints we play the bottom 4 in a row, IF we win all 4 we will be up there, but then we have a really tough run to the end of the season and my concern is with a few injuries to key players, the wheels could really come off from July onwards.

Last year it was not beating the teams below us that cost us a playoff spot.

We beat Wigan, Saints, Catalan, lost to Cas, Wakefield, Hull FC, Huddersfield…

This is often forgotten. Given the overall record against all teams under Smith the record against the real top ones is pretty good.