Re: RD 26 | Catalans Dragons (A) : Sun Sep 17, 2023 10:34 am  

Not really sure what people were expecting yesterday. People are calling out senior players, which ones? They've all left or are injured. Walters was suspended but still isn't a senior player.
The squad is the issue and needs resolving. The sooner the season is over with no more injuries the better.
The players out there I think gave their all for both of the last 2 games. That's a big difference to McDermott's final games.

Re: RD 26 | Catalans Dragons (A) : Sun Sep 17, 2023 10:42 am  

RS has a big challenge for next week.

Do we rein it right in and try to avoid another beating? Or do we play at them and take some risks?

Just not sure we have the squad or confidence for plan B. We will see.

Re: RD 26 | Catalans Dragons (A) : Sun Sep 17, 2023 11:10 am  

I'm amazed people think a coach who has been so inept and out of his depth is going to transform the team next season

Re: RD 26 | Catalans Dragons (A) : Sun Sep 17, 2023 11:22 am  

HucknallLoiner wrote:

Not really sure what people were expecting yesterday. People are calling out senior players, which ones? They've all left or are injured. Walters was suspended but still isn't a senior player.
The squad is the issue and needs resolving. The sooner the season is over with no more injuries the better.
The players out there I think gave their all for both of the last 2 games. That's a big difference to McDermott's final games.

I have to say I dont think some did give their all for the full 80 mins. I can think of occasions where Smith, Holroyd, Oledski and Newman all stood off tackle just sticking an arm out. McMeeken just seemed to stand up in every tackle almost laughing at them.

Re: RD 26 | Catalans Dragons (A) : Sun Sep 17, 2023 11:31 am  

tad rhino wrote:

I'm amazed people think a coach who has been so inept and out of his depth is going to transform the team next season

Totally agree with you regarding Smith, several weeks ago I would have said give him another season . I have changed my opinion he should go the sooner the better. We are at rock bottom no decent signings on the horizon, it’s quite bizarre that after losing 15 games he is still in his post.
Let’s not forget we were extremely lucky to beat Warrington that would have made our position even worse. The two poorest teams in the league cas and Wakefield have both defeated us. Obviously the rest of the league will be having a good laugh at our expense and why not. However a weak Leeds team will be a disaster for super league. It will mean years of Wigan/Saints domination not an ideal scenario for the neutral observer.
Sadly this situation is not an overnight fix we are that bad , ironic we are the best supported team in the league. What an absolute shambles.

Re: RD 26 | Catalans Dragons (A) : Sun Sep 17, 2023 12:22 pm  

tad rhino wrote:

I'm amazed people think a coach who has been so inept and out of his depth is going to transform the team next season

Well, he transformed the team once. Admittedly it is going to be a much bigger ask next season, but he has time. All we can do is wait and see who we sign, and how the team go early next season. If Smith continues to disappoint I'm sure it won't be long before he's shown the door.

I have no idea how the changes Smith is supposedly leading behind the scenes at the club are going. If he's making a really positive change there it should start to bear more fruit for the first team at some point, but if it is more spin from the likes of GH and JJB then no doubt we'll start hearing more stories about things not working.

Re: RD 26 | Catalans Dragons (A) : Sun Sep 17, 2023 12:22 pm  

RS has got rid of a huge amount of dead wood (Sutcliffe, Dwyer etc) and is trying to bring in a better quality roster.

Miller looks okay although my worry is his D; Frawley has been playing finals first grade in the NRL. Goudemand no idea.

McDonnell has been a really good find.

The big signings are still to come with the 7 and 4. There are a couple of options out there so let’s see what we come up with.

Gone are the days where Leeds can just sign a Peacock or Buderus or Harris to spur us on. We need to accept that.

However we do desperately need a couple of under-radar signings like Leuluai and Donald and maybe Garbutt.

The only really way Leeds are gonna compete again sustainably is through the youth development and we simply haven’t produced enough quality there for a decade.

Re: RD 26 | Catalans Dragons (A) : Sun Sep 17, 2023 12:32 pm  

Terl wrote:

I have to say I dont think some did give their all for the full 80 mins. I can think of occasions where Smith, Holroyd, Oledski and Newman all stood off tackle just sticking an arm out. McMeeken just seemed to stand up in every tackle almost laughing at them.

Smith, Holroyd and Oledski must be knackered. Newman doesn't seem settled but not sure what he can do with no real pack and no half backs. It's certainly a mess.

Re: RD 26 | Catalans Dragons (A) : Sun Sep 17, 2023 12:44 pm  

HucknallLoiner wrote:

Smith, Holroyd and Oledski must be knackered. Newman doesn't seem settled but not sure what he can do with no real pack and no half backs. It's certainly a mess.

I think Newman is playing injured. He picked up a knock at Hull and given his lack of speed and commitment on the intercept yesterday I’d say he isn’t 100%.

He wasn’t great in D a couple of times but then he often isn’t.

Is he really a team player or is he a show boater who causes disruption? Answers on a post card.

Re: RD 26 | Catalans Dragons (A) : Sun Sep 17, 2023 12:56 pm  

HucknallLoiner wrote:

Not really sure what people were expecting yesterday. People are calling out senior players, which ones? They've all left or are injured. Walters was suspended but still isn't a senior player.
The squad is the issue and needs resolving. The sooner the season is over with no more injuries the better.
The players out there I think gave their all for both of the last 2 games. That's a big difference to McDermott's final games.

Have a look on this thread to see what people expected/hoped for, for starters it wasn't a win or even coming close.