Great post.

Couldn't have put it better myself. During the Hull game myself and those around me ended up talking about everything else but what was happening on the pitch, it was dire. It was certainly unlike me, but if the 'die-hards' are doing it, what must the new season ticket holders be thinking?

McManus had to act, and he was left in a pretty impossible position. Keeping/losing those new fans is the difference between a stable future and a bleak one, he delivered his side of the deal and he needed to make an example to show them that what is currently happening is unacceptable.

I feel bad for Royce, but something had to happen and other than firing half the squad which would be ridiculous, McManus has taken the only other realistic option.

All of which is just a tad worrying...if you're a Rhinos fan. I'm just hoping you save the backlash for Wire and Wigan.

I'm actually now feeling more than a little sorry for Simmons.

I wonder how many of the players could look him in the eye for any serious length of time after the match?

Very few I should imagine.

Rush put it well in his post match interview. He said the shock of losing their coach had been the difference. Too right. Great pity Royce and Purtill had to be the sacrificial lambs.

The problem with this paradigm is it excludes the chairman from all culpability insofar as results are concerned. Not an issue if the signings he makes are up to the aspirations of the fans. But if they are not there are only so many coaches to can before the problem itself becomes self-fuelling.

You are being very naive over this you know. They may say nice things in the press about Royce, but that's because he's a nice man and so are they. The truth is that there must have been more going on behind the scenes that we don't know about. The fact that Rush and Cunningham made so many changes show they didn't agree with Royce's team selection. The back on the bench policy has itself been benched and the players played far, far better tonight. If they were in any way sympathetic with Royce's plight, they would have been feeling sorry for themselves today, but they weren't.

If they were feeling sorry for Royce they would have played like that 1,2,3 weeks ago. There was much more than just a reaction to a sacked coach.

TP was running far wider than he has all season and was devastating. We had set plays from scrums, they did not come off but there were plays. We had tactics rather than 5 drives and then see how far Gaskell can get us down field. We had dummy runners, 13 offloads in the first half. I would not be surprised if we did not have 13 offloads, in the whole of the season till today. Lance was in at first receiver alot, directing the play, something we have lacked in spades. There was no back on the bench, so after our 20 blitz, we had players to soak up the pressure from Leeds when they had the ball and then we could bring back on TP to plough more holes. Even Meli on the wing was a nightmare for the opposition to handle and Wheeler looked very comfy inside of him.

We have not become contenders overnight but that team would never have played under Royce as that team would never have been picked, which could have contributed to the problems. Although there was more to it than just that.

You're right. Don't expect her to pay any attention to that though.

No they wouldn't. They got away with it as the coach ultimately always gets the blame. Why would they be feeling sorry for themselves? They did that last week. I agree that they may have had an issue with Royce, which may be why they didn't play previously, but the fact remains that James Roby returned (we hadn't had him playing for three weeks), the senior players stood up and the errors were gone, but then again, so were the two players who caused them.

They won and that was good. The players did what was expected of them for a change and that too was good. I'm not getting carried away yet though. Being shamed into action is one thing; keeping it going week after week is another entirely. We are still in ninth.