I hope the Aussies hammer them.

I basically agree with your analysis of the Melbourne three quarter line. However the Melbourne forward pack is still strong, and if they can do their job, the spine will weave its magic and the three quarters will just need to catch the ball to score the tries that Billy Slater doesn't score.

Good move by Melbourne to arrive in the UK 10 days before the match. They will be over their jet lag by match day. I hope that the Leeds and other fans show up. The match deserves a full house.

Hopefully we're taking 1 step at a time.

I suppose you watch them more than I do (just Sky/BBC/Highlights and against Wigan); but seriously, how else could you possibly explain dropping 50+ points against a heavily depleted version of a team you knocked out of 2 competitions when it mattered? How do you explain the great record in CC matches, playoff matches, WCC matches; yet such a poor record when the matches don't matter.

Genuine question? If your team isn't lazy, is it just lucky?

Melbourne Storm team lands at Heathrow in less than 12 hours from now!

There is such a thing as form and physical fitness and no-one at Leeds would deny they, like every other club, focus on the end of the year. If there is a WCC then it's the start and end. It is inevitable and in fact desirable that in between times there will be a period when the players are at a lesser level. Ideally good form can carry you through that period. In the period covering mid May to mid June 2012 Leeds lost four out of five SL games. The first of those defeats (Hull away) was a brutal game and there is no doubt Leeds were 100% committed. Even if you accept the second defeat, (Saints away) as an example of the "not trying" argument (I don't), the heat the team got for that and everything associated with it I can guarantee you focussed minds at Headingley.

There was no way that the subsequent losses to Wigan and then Warrington were examples of anything other than a team in horribly bad form. Can I prove it? No. Neither side can marshal "proof". All I have is the knowledge of how miserable the club and the players were during that period. It was not planned and it was certainly not acceptable at the time. But Leeds can be as fragile mentally as any other team; things go against them, they play badly and sometimes it's difficult to pull out of that tailspin.

But form reverses, fitness peaks and with the ability to once more cling to the idea of being an underdog they pulled it round. It's not a nice way to win and the players genuinely don't want to have to do it that way again. Contrary to the view from Wigan it's just not an easy way to win a title.