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.

Anyone know what's going on with Kerian Hudson? He doesn't seem to be mentioned much?

Think his win ratio in SL against Wigan is 3 from 4 isn't it?
Catalans and Warrington pretty similar

It's Saints where we seems to struggle, although last year all our games against Saints were very competitive and close.

Can't seem to buy a win against Hull KR though! think that's 1 from 4 or 5?

He was working his fitness up but then got a knock on his sternum I think followed by a hamstring injury, which has been keeping him out.

He's quite a big lad he might be another one of these whose bodies just isn't up to RL, we'll see. I actually quite like him from what I've seen, he has good whack in D, decent pace, decent hands. Earliest I think you'll see him in first grade might be towards the end of the year IMO.

His head to head with the other top coaches/teams (I'll throw Wire into that too) was pretty impressive and one of the main reasons why I thought he was worth another go this year. The worrying thing is - that now seems to be going down the tubes too. Some of those early wins were achieved with notable absentees in the spine, which made them even more impressive, but we can't really say that this season, can we? To me it does look like we are being left behind. I'd love to see him turn it round. It would be a great story, but my eyes tell me that even looking beyond the current rash of injuries, we lack the organisation and cohesion to be competitive for 80 mins with the top teams.

Fwiw I could see us beating saints (who haven’t really been that impressive bar walloping the bottom teams) in the next game, it would be a very Leeds thing to do that then lose to Hull

Interesting if you read Redvee forum it’s like a carbon copy of this site with the nsmes Wellens and Smith swapped.