I guess us non-Leeds fans will have to look forward to the time in 20 years when you are only the fourth or fifth most successful club of that era yet harp on in a bitter & twisted in-bred way about how great you used to be, appoint an ape for a coach & bleat on about how the world is against you. Can't wait.

This has been a great year to be a Rhinos fan and it is hard to see it being topped, not least because this was a special year due to the departing legends. It was great to see players Rhinos fans hold in the highest regard leave at the very top. We should all be so lucky. But I think most of us know that taking the long view, the good times come and they go. We hope the next season will be a good or even a great one, but we don't know how it will end. For those of us that try to live in the now, that makes every game we win, every final we get to and every trophy we see the lads lift special. At the end of the day it could all go Pete Tong and we could win nothing, but then there will always be next season and the one after that. So I'm already looking forward to next season, not in expectation but in hope, the same as most fans of most teams.

We call that the 90's.

Will we be also blaming it on our inability to spend far more than anyone else? Will our players from this era be recruiting for RU as well?

Thanks for the concern but you don't need to worry about me, I will be fine thanks.

I've been very lucky to see my team be successful in the last 11 years, never once has winning a trophy been less enjoyable than any that came before it, if you think it should then you are doing it wrong.

I was trying to get into the psyche of being a supporter of a hugely successful team, & thanks to a number of posters, I now realise that witnessing numerous trophy successes doesn’t take the gloss of future triumphs.

As for doing something wrong, what do you suggest I do, how can I envision it, if I've never experienced it?

Should I turn my back on the team I have supported for forty odd years & maybe follow Leeds for instance?

Nah, I think I’ll just carry on dreaming that maybe one day I will be lucky enough to see my club pick up a major trophy. I’ll be dammed if I join a fair percentage of Southstander’s who have forsaken their original club, or even sport, to ride the trophy gravy train.

My retort was regarding the insinuation I’m doing something wrong.

I don’t deny Leeds have been the best supported club in the area for time immemorial, but as you appear to like a flutter, I would wager that Leeds has the greatest percentage of supporters who originally followed other clubs (who incidentally bring along their wives & kids) in the whole of Yorkshire.





Once again, my failure!

If by refusing to jump ship & nail my colours to another mast is clouding my judgement, then I’m doing things wrong & a failure to boot .

Anyhow, back to my original point, my sympathies go out to a number of Leeds fans, that due to the injuries to the squad they just failed to put the cherry on that extremely large cake.

I'd be surprised if that was the case. Where would these fans have come from? Highly unlikely that you're going to get Wakey/Cas/Fev fans dumping their local club to go watch Leeds, for example.

Don't forget that once you leave the centre of Leeds there isn't another pro club for 20 miles to the north (York) and probably 60 miles of you if you head dead east (the Hull clubs). There's a huge catchment area for Leeds to tap into of people who don't have other RL clubs in the vicinity to follow.

Contrast that with Bradford at the height of Bullmania for example, who were ridiculed for poaching fans from the likes of Huddersfield, Halifax and Keighley. How many of those at Bradford have stuck around in leaner times I couldn't tell you, but I'd bet the proportion of "moved" fans at Odsal was higher than at Headingley.

Not sure about Wakefield but Cas & Fev fans would consider it sacrilege to follow Leeds.




Yes but, there’s still the likes of Batley & Hunslet where years of misery would send a fair few to the dark side. Also the border lands of Morley, Garforth etc.



For sure, Bradford were the kings before their decline, it would be interesting to see how Leeds fared if a similar scenario were to occur – we can all live in hope .

Not sure you understand the history and transient populations within Leeds / Yorkshire. Wakey fans would never jump ship to Leeds, you're deluded beyond belief. As for the Hunslet issue, the old traditional area of Hunslet was demolished way back and it's inhabitants scattered amongst the new outlying sink estates of East Leeds and elsewhere. Hunslet died as a club when the Hunslet area was effectively levelled and it's inhabitants rehoused all across Leeds. You talk mostly rubbish regarding people jumping ship, the only small morsel of sense comes with mention of outlying areas like Garforth becoming more aligned to Leeds. Stop guessing and start living a bit more.

Agreed, Garforth is more Rhinos than Cas, Kippax has more Rhinos than you would think. Micki is defo more Cas.

Slightly off topic I have got to know the son of Kevin Beardmore. He's a barber in Manly, a great lad and isn't a Cas fan as you would think. He prefers the Rhinos.

So initially you label me a failure due to my steadfast resolve to carry on supporting a car crash of a club, but now I’m also delusional.

You go ahead, however I know a number of individuals who have decided to support Leeds after initially supporting Wakefield, including my own nephew whose Father & Grandfather are / were dyed in the wool Trinity supporters.

His reasons for his defection were simple, he was sick of watching cannon fodder year after year, winding up orders & the like, so now he drives the few extra miles to see more annual success than I’ve witnessed in a lifetime.

I’ve had it explained to me that no matter how many previous successes Leeds fans have witnessed, the joy of the next one is just as sweet, I don’t need to digress into some turgid debate about how fickle supporters can be.