Quote Sal Paradise="Sal Paradise"How many games where Leeds ahead after 60 minutes but ended up losing - more than a few. For me that is a mental attitude about closing games out nothing to do with a couple of missing front row forwards. Early season most teams are gelling and getting match fit - it is no surprise that has teams got into their stride Leeds started losing games especially in the latter stages.
On recruitment McDermott had the luxury of Hall, Sinfield, Burrow, Peacock, McGuire, Senior, Webb, Buderus, Watkins, Hardaker already in the squad - there wasn't the need to spend that there is now - how much would you need to assemble that group of players - McDermott was very lucky in what he inherited. He managed to acquire one of the best half backs in SL for 2018 in Myler, he got a NRL player in Petereu so to say the purse strings were tight does not stand up to scrutiny. Other players that arrived from the NRL during his time include: Delanney, Cuthbertson, Moon, Garbutt, Parcell, Aiton, Galloway etc. so McDermott had plenty of money invested in the squad during his time in charge.
If the conditioning was as good as you are suggesting why have Leeds seen fit to make changes?'"
Yes we lost a few games in the final 20 mins. Games against Wigan, Saints, Warrington and Catalans spring to mind. Those teams went on to win silverware and reach finals and we were level or ahead of them late on. A few of those games we scored the same amount of tries and out scored Cas 5 to 4 in the previous aforementioned game at Elland Road and the losses came down to kicks alone. A team whose culture and fitness and overall quality is as bad as you, others and even Sinfield has claimed since he came in doesn't even compete with those teams let alone push them to end of the contest. Sinfield took us from narrowly losing out to silverware winning teams in the final minutes of games to losing to Toronto and struggling to beat other Championship teams.
Most of those players you mentioned above that he inherited had left by the end of 2015, the point being as the years went by those went replaced with similar quality. Maybe we didn't need to splash cash in 2011 (although yourself and others said different back then and every year that followed) but we did as the years past especially the last 3 and we really didn't. Are you really comparing the players recruited to the likes of the names being linked with us now. Those NRL players we brought in weren't big or even close to established players, most project players. You spent you previous posts lamenting how poor Cuthbertson and Parcell are now holding them up as comparable investment to us signing one marquee and going after another marquee signing. Also Moon and Aiton joined from other other SL clubs and do you think Peteru was a big signing?
Sinfield has seen fit to change the conditioner and I'm not saying we couldn't do better and the new guy isn't an improvement but just doing that whilst keeping his mates in their roles on the pitch and on the coaching staff is suspect if the whole culture was as bad as he claimed.
