My initial take was mixed. Mainly I’m happy that certain doom mongers were disappointed and we get 1 week more of sunshine in our lives.

However I didn’t agree with RS that we saw a good performance there. Our attack broke down multiple times and we are garbage in yardage still. The game was what it was; a mid-table side v a relegation side (we just happen to have three relegation quality sides this season).

Another worked move off a scrum; Croft is organising Newman and Handley, all looks interesting and then the pass from the scrum is round his ankles and he gets whacked by the defence. That’s us in a nutshell.

INOUT
Like just about everybody else I agree on Smith. I was hopeful before the season began that he would play much more direct thereby creating room for our new spine and helping out our undersized props, but his ambles across the line do the exact opposite. Disagree on Momorosvki. I never expected him to be as good in the yardage carries as McDonald but I did expect him to be a wingers centre and I think he is. He really looked after Edgell well and the way he straightens his line will always provide chances for overlaps if he gets a supply of decent ball. Really don't know what to say about Newman other than that he'd do well to focus on the basics. He was making the same mistakes in the warm up that he made during the game.Enjoyed the game because my expectations were so low, pretty much anything positive was a pleasant surprise.

Handleys try was a well executed move, from the scrum. Just the type of play we have seen too little of this season.
Agree with what has been said about Cam Smith. He plays as if he is the main half back in the team. As much as i dont rate Frawley, it cant help playing second fiddle to Smith most of the game. He can be an effective forward taking the ball up but wants to play halfback too often.
An improved display but Cas are the worst team ive seen at HQ this season.

London were worse surely? I thought Cas were really poor.

Our D for their try from their number 11 was embarrassing.

In a nutshell, an abject Cas team were accordingly routed by their opponents. Long term positives, an excellent crowd ensures maximum “Fandom” points from IMG thus mitigating the threat of relegation for at least another year. Short term positives, we all go home happy with the sun on our backs laughing hysterically at just how bad Cas were. We have a couple of byes coming up soon guaranteeing us another 4 points and a game against opponents below us in the league (Leigh). We also have the bonus of the crazy “extra” games against London and Hull later in the season, another two byes and another 4 points. This season we have 16 points basically handed to us on a plate, it’s a great foundation from which to build our title challenge. In reality, yesterday was just 2 points against one of the bottom tier Superleague teams. We all know nothing can be based on games like yesterday’s. You can’t judge structure, line speed, technical improvements etc because everything is so much slower and less physical against jokers like Cas. Energy is drained, line speed becomes slower and errors occur against better quality opposition, and that’s when I’ll be judging any perceived improvement. I’m enjoying the win and feeling less stressed after yesterday, but not kidding myself one bit that it’s an indication of how we are going to perform when the going gets tough.

Just watched it and all has been said really.
Cas are really poor - game, but poor.
Should have been 50 if we'd been more clinical.

Smith was awful. He's out of form right now and just needs to focus on the basics.
Newman was poor. He really needs to stop screaming at his team mates. It's a terrible, spoilt child look. Could see us moving him on tbh.

Other than that, all reasonably positive.
Croft was excellent. A constant threat.
Martin excellent. Need to get him tied down to another deal if we can.
Loved Lisone's cameo again.
And fair play to Frawley. Had his best game for us. Some decent kicks and short passes to players hitting gaps. And his D is very strong.

Has kept the knives tucked away for at least another week....

I get what your saying regarding his basics, they are pretty solid, and compared to Newman on the other side, he looks like Matt Gidley in that regard, but im not seeing any kind of run threat from him, he dosnt break tackles, he dosnt beat players with footwork, iv yet to see him stand up his opposite man and go round him, very few clean breaks...Just all very average for me

To his credit, he does seem a fairly intelligent player, and god knows we need some of them

It was the sort of game that shows the gulfs in ability within Super League. No real conclusions can be drawn from that win. Perhaps Newman’s petulance was because he could see the glaring opportunity to get his try scoring confidence back. He was right that Smith could/should have passed to him early on.
The forwards in particular cannot be judged from that game because the opposition seemed so lightweight.
Thought Miller had one of his best games, demonstrating some solidity and less liability to do daft things, but also showed up for some creative efforts.

Give him more time, Matt. He was a good player in the NRL and he's had a few false starts at Leeds thus far. If memory serves he's played both left and right centre and wing positions for us at various times this season. I've always thought he was a right centre and I hope he gets a run there. That said, I'd always thought Newman would be better down the left but he looked a fish out if water yesterday.

Think Newman would be atrocious on either side with the attitude he had on him yesterday, but he probably does lack in certain areas skill wise, even on his good days.

I will certainly be open and hopeful in Momerovski proving my opinion wrong, he's got the size for it, just think he needs to offer more punch in his running game to become more of a threat.

I’m just seeing a side which should finish top half this year, but lacks the quality to challenge for any trophies. It doesn’t really matter where we finish outside the top 4 or so sides, we are players and possibly a new coach short.

Next year we have to be contenders. The remainder of this season, and the incoming SD is pivotal, needs to be focused on that outcome.

We will want to finish in the play offs and have a dig but I want to see us make some significant steps forward for 2025. It’s within reach at least now.

I would say reasonable evidence of progress is to win (and improve) in each of the next three games, build from that with a top six finish and start notching wins against the better sides (KR, Catalans, Wire), and then give it a proper dig in the play offs. My worry would still be - where is the improvement coming from in 25? If Rhyse stays we'll likely only have one quota spot to play with. I'd say we are at least two props and probably a second row short of having a pack that can compete with the elite. The new DR is going to have to have a few tricks up his sleeve.

I’m not too fussed whether it’s 2 props or a prop and a back row, but we need at least 2 additional forwards who are able to dominate. I think the trickle-down effect is significant - we lose 2 lower impact forwards from the squad and replace with real high quality players.

I think we need a new 7, Frawley isn’t a title winning half for me and Sinfield is still undercooked as a starting 7 for Leeds.

Even then we would need the younger players to improve over the next 8 months to put some pressure on and provide effective cover.

Ultimately the problem remains the same though. Even if we release Frawley we still need a better half. That half is coming from the NRL so bang goes our quota spot. 2023 was our big year in the recruitment cycle with 24 being more a finishing touches exercise. As it stands we are not in that position. That's why, sadly, I keep coming back to a new coach being the most likely accelerator of significant progress on the field.

When does this get announced? is it the 7th?