Absolutely and intended to be so.



I've yet to see anyone explain this "transition" myth.
Donald played little footy compared to previous years, Smith and others replaced.
Eastwood has been replaced by Cross, an excellent player albeit not like for like.
Diskin was poor this year and McShane and Hood will evidently push on.
Buderus is far more effective over 80 minutes.
Effectively 2 new signings in the form of Kalum Watkins and Ben Jones Bishop - they would walk into any SL squad, period. So where is this vast transition that people swathingly mention?
Clarkson, Pitts, Amor another year of development under their belts and with a coach who evidently revels in producing and enhancing young, home born athletes.
Squad rotation happens at every single club in the salary cap era - the Rhinos player turnover is no more grave than any other year.
Webb, Senior, Hall, McGuire, Burrow, JP, Bailey, Cross, Buderus, Ali, Ablett, Kylie, JJB, Sinfield etc would stroll into any SL team.
There squad quality is a country mile ahead of ours. Would they accommdate Sibbitt, Worrincy, Platt, Halley, Wagga, Hall, Kopczak, Sykes et al? Would they feck.



The comments of a number of senior Rhinos players regarding Macca.
His faith, development and belief in the youth system at Quins and batting way above their weight given the shackles he had.
He has produced London born England internationals. Had Wayne Bennett done that at Quins, a number of regular forum posters would be constantly wiping white liquid off their keyboards.
Potter has lost the last 3 Grand Finals - hardly inspiring given his roster of quality players.

What makes you think Potter is a superior appointment to McDermott?

Well McDermott's tenure at Quins saw them finish in a lower league position each year IIRC.

The likes of Clubb and LMS came through under the watch of his predecessor. The current kids coming through seem to be less talented at the same stage. The performances of Quins seem to bear this out.

Good judges I have spoken to who watch a lot of Quins thought he lost the plot.

He'll have to manage a transition at Leeds as a number of senior players will become less influential with age and move on over the next few years. I'm thinking of the likes of Peacock, Sinfield, Senior etc. Add to that Buderus and Diskin already being gone and you have some pretty big boots to fill.

I don't see anything "evident" about McShane or Hood pushing on. McShane will most likely get more games but the jury is very firmly out on them. I'd be surprised if Leeds have a bunch of juniors coming through that will match the likes of Burrow, McGuire, Sinfield, Diskin, Bailey, etc. Generations like that don't come along often.

Notice I'm not comparing Leeds current player roster with our own. Of course Leeds have a stronger squad. I never said otherwise. However that team that one back to back titles is going to break up so maybe over the next few years the gap between the two sides will close, I'm sure it will, with the Bulls improving and Leeds falling back.

As did his budget.



And the rest of the London born batch? Less talented how? The performances reflect his lack of budget arguably, not his coaching ability, which many Rhinos senior place rate very highly. Ask JP.



What qualified them to be "good judges"? More so than a CEO who has presided over a hugely successful team?



Everybody ages, circle of life. The players you outline are outstanding and have gallons in the tank. Diskin did little this year, urban myth



How could McShane and Hood have pushed on with Diskin in situ? They now will and clearly many also agree. Nobody is expecting a next generation of the names outlined above, but Watkins, Clarkson, BJB, Pitts, Amor, McShane, Hood etc may well shock a fair few.

'"

I've no idea what McDermott's budget was. However having less money doesn't always mean that performances will deteriorate. Sure, he may not have been able to recruit who he wanted but he's not exactly brought through the new LMS or Clubb either. Just what has he done??

Is Hetherington infallible in your eyes? He's certainly done a grand job at Leeds but I remain to be convinced on this coaching appointment.

The players I listed may have a few years left in them but as they go over 30 those gallons deplete pretty rapidly, speaking from experience. Not all players are as well looked after or as lucky with injury as Steve Menzies.

McShane will obviously get a chance, Hood may do. It remains to be seen if they're good enough, they may well be, they may not. A bunch of Leeds fans saying they'll make it on RLfans doesn't make it so.

Watkins, Clarkson, BJB, Pitts, Amor, McShane, Hood - Of those I'd say they all have a few rough edges to say the least. The first three have potential. Pitts and Amor especially are nothing special and won't amount to anything much. McShane is ok and Hood hasn't played a 1st team game so can't be judged.

Will Leeds finish higher than the Bulls over the next three years? I'd say they probably will for the first 2 at least and are an excellent bet for the third.

However I would stick my neck out and say that Leeds won't win the SL title in the next 3 years. They glory days are passing and the likes of Wigan are looking the side to beat now.

Sire???

tbh I dont doubt leeds will finish above us next year. But I think we could realistically be finishing around the same point in the table as them in 2012 through a combination of them slipping backwards and us improving. Sports cyclical no team stays at the top forever (as we've demonstrated perfectly over last few years). Think wigan and wire will be at top for next coupl of years with saints and leeds dropping back into pack a little and hopefully ourselves steadily rising back up toward the upper level over same period.

If my Auntie had balls she'd be my Uncle.

People overly complicate simple matters.

Rhinos are irrelevant to us. Brian Mac will lead his team to above us in the table, I've no doubt. GH's record explains itself more than I have any desire to. Mick Potters similarly. What has Potter achieved; other than consecutive failure. Take away the Aussie accent and the landscape may be different.

The age gap is guff. Each player on his merits. There is no set standard for retirement as we saw with Menzies.

They have faith in their youngsters. We are pis$sing about signing 32 year old printer lovers at the expense of our competent younger players. Yes the Rhinos youngsters will have rough edges, how many young players don't? How many of those wouldn't we take, especially given the grandstanding about the highly over hyped Burgess bros? I'm not sure I see your point especially given the rough edges of Ben Jones Bishop who made the international squad.

I'm tired of hearing about "sport cycles". What the typist actually means is "thank feck for that" rather than reality which is, actually, it could be any amount of time.

Gurus Beard, whilst I can see where you are coming from with alot of your points, it seems as though you're trying to put a negative spin on the Bulls and a positive one on the Rhinos.

I don't think McDermott will be a disastrous appointment as some would like to think, I don't think he'll be a brilliant one either.

Whilst he may have introduced plenty of young players, he's also finished in a lower position each year, made their best young talent (LMS) go backwards and completely lost the fiath of most of the Quins fans (okay there isn't many, and he has a bloody hard job)

If you were Mr Hood, would you have chosen Potter or McDermott? Fair enough, Potter has lost in a number of big finals, but you have to be a good coach to get your team there in the first place (especially with Catalans). Would McDermott have got Saints to the GF without either of their half backs? I doubt it. Saints have had plenty of injuries this season, and Potter managed to steer them to 2nd, i'm much happier having him take over than if McDermott had. Obviously all IMO, but I think you're giving McDermott far too much credit and Potter far too little.

The "spin" is irrelevant, I have no desire to the Rhinos do well. I am however objectively assessing how I feel both teams will progress.

What has Potter achieved? At Catalans, good budget, ex NRL players. No brainer. Lets not fluff up the obvious.

If I was Hood I would have employed Brian. No question.

This myth around LMS going backwards is just that, a myth. The views of the Quins fans likely don't factor in the limitations Mac had to deal with.

Nobody has explained why Rhinos players rate him so highly yet there view and a few Quins fans supposedly usurps it.

Perhaps I should repeat this for the cataract ridden amongst us, what has Potter achieved at Saints given his playing roster?

With the injuries he had this year he managed to get them to 2nd and a GF, it is only in my opinion of course but I think that takes a very good coach.

Injuries? That every team had, including Rhinos who probably had the worst of any.

A playing roster of Wellens, Meli, Gidley, Eastmond, Graham, Roby, Cunningham, Peletua, Flannery, Soliola et al isn't too shabby.

I repeat, what has Potter done?

Took them to consecutive Grand Finals. Do you not agree that getting to a final is an achievement in itself?


What has McDermott done?

With that playing roster, no.




I've made that clear. As have the Rhinos senior players.

Took Quins to consecutive 12th place on the ladder and produced outstanding young talent like Lamont Bryant and Will Sharp

You could have a team full of superstars and they'd still need a decent coach to get them to a final. The fact that they did it without Pryce or Eastmond means it took an even better one.

Do you have something against Potter? Or do you still have a soft spot for McDermott?

What has McClennan done this term? Lost the dressing room. Gameplan was looked at by the players, if they didn't like it, they'd do their own thing and get away with it as McClennan didn't want to interrupt the team atmosphere.