Quote Rooster Booster="Rooster Booster"1. So can anyone coach Leeds? 2. Did we have the personnel when he was at London?'" No, the statement about the personnel is rubbish. We have a lot of structure in attack now and it's better than I have seen in the SL era. every attacking play we throw men at the line and dont get too consistent with the guy we pick out too. For instance look at the highlights from last Friday and our second try scored by Ben Jones-Bishop... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOot_XI ... T6XCtjPf2A Look at the depth, layers, runners and ball movement we use. Then look at the player who gets the most plaudits from his team mates. It's Kallum Watkins and he doesnt even touch the ball. He does create the space for Hardaker and BJB though. It's something we rarely have done in the past and only really started last year. A full season under this structure and we are starting to look good with it though.

Quote Rooster Booster="Rooster Booster"1. So can anyone coach Leeds? 2. Did we have the personnel when he was at London?'" No, the statement about the personnel is rubbish. We have a lot of structure in attack now and it's better than I have seen in the SL era. every attacking play we throw men at the line and dont get too consistent with the guy we pick out too. For instance look at the highlights from last Friday and our second try scored by Ben Jones-Bishop... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOot_XI ... T6XCtjPf2A Look at the depth, layers, runners and ball movement we use. Then look at the player who gets the most plaudits from his team mates. It's Kallum Watkins and he doesnt even touch the ball. He does create the space for Hardaker and BJB though. It's something we rarely have done in the past and only really started last year. A full season under this structure and we are starting to look good with it though.

I'm not saying Leeds are uncoached with the ball in hand - that would, of course, be daft. I'm saying that personnel are more important than the coaching when your personnel are Hardaker, BJB, Briscoe, Watkins, Moon, Hall, etc. - hence "that's due more to personnel than coaching".

This is very likely to be due to players being settled in structures for a long time. Everyone at Leeds knows what everyone else is going to do because they've played together for years.



Leeds's structure in attack is very vanilla. Who doesn't use dummy runners with a full-back playing as a second stand-off on plays late in the tackle count?



I am far more impressed with the Leeds defence.

When BMac came in, the player said that McLennan had left them with no game plan, no structure and attempt to play completely off-the-cuff rugby. With no pre-season and a load of injuries, Mac managed to get the players motivated to back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012.



In the last two seasons we've had several good youngsters break into the first team - Stevie Ward, Brad Singleton and Liam Sutcliffe for instance. Watkins now looks the best centre in SL by a mile, and Zak the best fullback. Both were given their chance in the team by BMac.



I was worried early doors 2011, but I wouldn't swap him for anyone now.



That said, his biggest challenge is ahead. Between now & the end of 2016 he'll likely have to replace McGuire, Burrow, Leuluai, Peacock, Jones-Buchanan, Sinfield and Kirke.

Thinking of having a mad half hour and placing a bet on Broncos to win

I can get 66-1 for a win within 1 to 12 points and 500-1 for 13+ points

























Wasn't going t be that mad just a pound I found on the floor.......

Yes, our defense is very good so far, but if you think our attack is how you described it then you are sorely mistaken. We have dummy runners, movement off the ball, layers in attack, different options on the line. This seems to be more about the fact that McDermott didn't deliver that with London and you seem to have a hard time grasping he has made us look better with the ball than ever before. I know a lot of fans didn't like him down here but just as young players improve and mature, so do coaches.

I think some may have forgotten that Mac went to Leeds as an assistant in the first instance. I'll give him the credit that he deserves for what he has achieved at Leeds but his stock as a coach was pretty low after his spell in London, hence why he took an assistant's post( albeit at a bigger club). At the time the anger of some Leeds fans at his appointment as first team coach, based on his spell in the capital was pretty understandable.

Back on topic of this game, I am expecting the worse, but as long as the team look like they are trying, I won't be peed off with a young, inexperienced side that has been thrown together at the last minute.



The Broncos "performance" that still rankles me, is the 0-60 hammering by Leeds in 2006 (on Sky too, iirc). What a shambles and in our first year as QRL too.



Amazing that Leeds still have 5 players who played that day (we have none).





Anyhoo, COYB!

That was a bad one alright, I seem to remember Keith Senior running through his opposite number ( ? Tim Hartley)that night as if he wasn't there. Probably wasn't as bad as the farce of a performance against Wigan last season but it was pretty grim

If you look at Leeds Rhinos since Mac went there, you'll see that only two of players numbered 1-18 have been signed by him. He has been able to promote from within in the main although he has made two or three top signings in getting on board the Briscoe brothers, Joel Moon and the PNG Hooker Aiton.



Reminiscent of his spell for us almost all of his other signings have been forwards such as Hauaraki, Amor, Griffin, Richard Moore and A'Church and I don't think any have regularly displaced the Stalwarts and not many are still there if you look at it. Basically his proven internationals are doing the business and his "spots" have not.



His failing at Quins was that he was incompetent at signing talent and his generosity in long deals for old players whilst failing to retain the younger talent. He seems to be better now at Leeds than he was here but you can't help feel Leeds golden generation of players won't last forever and he's not really replaced more than Senior so far plus one or two of the older imports.



He's had two great play-off runs and he's maintained the success the club had prior to him joining with repeated grand final wins but no success in the cups and a 4th or 5th place in the league has been the case since he went there. If he can get the club to finish in the top three you can start to argue he has been an improvement on what was there before. I still remain doubtful he can spot talent however.



If he was still here I bet Orr, Randall, Temata etc would still be in the squad.



I have had a few punts on tonights game - us to cover the 22 point HT handicap and to lose by 40 or less FT - plus I have had Moore first try scorer for us and the new Tongan Vea to score at any time. Also Matt Cook man of the match and finally us to win by 1-10 points, but beer money only on the last one.



I think we will make a bigger effort tonight than recently because the players won't want to embarrass themselves on Sky TV and I think we will play a basic, conservative game and handle the ball a bit better than last week. I'm reckoning we will get about a try in each half and maybe one bonus one and if we can keep the Rhinos below 50 then it will not be pleasing (under 34 would be very pleasing) but might win a few quid.



Cookie did the business for me as 12/1 last week any time but alas he's now 6/1 which is very tight.



Rammo

McDermott doesn't make the signings or deal with the contracts at Leeds.

That explains a lot!