10 games left, not a long time to turn things around. Next 5 games need to win at least 4, and beat everyone directly above us in the table (wigan excluded) starting Saturday against Hull Kr, i personally think we can win the next 3, Wigan likely to be too much but honestly think Warrington are not that good and we have gifted then 2 wins this year so hopefully pick up a 4th win. Then its all to play for in last 5. But we really need to beat Salford Hull kr and Catalans on the run in or its just too big a hill to climb.

Thoughts?

I think it's possible.

All I've wanted all season is for us to play well and more often than not. Consistency.

If we do that ,but don't make it that's fine. The other teams deserved it more. Just domt want to flap around failing on the same issues.

If we do make it,it proves we have a better team than has been on show last 18 months or so and will make us more attractive to incoming players & coach

I reckon it`s between us and Salford who makes the top 6.
But we will need at least 7 wins to get there.
Not impossible but we`ve made it difficult for ourselves losing to teams we should be beating.

I think if we lose this weekend and the BA bubble bursts a bit, we’re going to find it difficult.

If we win and some confidence returns, and Salford lose, it’s game on.

Salford are our target; we have to get level with them and have better points diff.

I think as BA mentioned in his presser - time is limited and although he wished he'd had a preseason with the squad hes confident as long as they take in what hes saying (and lets face it, it was actual common sense truths) then we may be able to squeak it.

There IS a team at Leeds its just been taking daft shortcuts to try and get results and BA wont stand for it. Having a better attitude in reality probably wont make our lack of oomph in the forwards magically disappear or our faltering attack suddenly spring into miraculous form but if we can stay in games longer and cut out the mistakes (which are killing us) then we'll have a chance against anyone. Sometimes taking a step back, simplifying the task at hand and then moving forwards doing the basics well can be enough.

Must admit, when Brad said "We need to go looking for contact and not let them come to us" I nearly keeled over in ecstasy.

Yep totally agree with this. I think we need to be realistic with what BA has to work with.

Leeds have the potential to play better just by cutting out errors and brain farts, but if it was as easy as just "stop dropping the ball" I think we might have figured that out by now. The problem for me fundamentally is that the squad isn't good enough yet.

I think we can carry out of yardage way more effectively, I think BA can do something quickly about that. I think he can improve our kicking game too in terms of positioning and responsibility. I hope he can get our line speed and kick pressure more consistent too.

He does have a core of good quality players in the side to work with, and a few others out of form he needs to improve confidence.

Be very interested in his selections - he can only select from what he has. There are a couple of prop options from the reserves I might be tempted to try rather than just sticking Donaldson back in the middle. For me you can afford one of O'Connor, Goudemand, Bentley or Donaldson in the matchday squad but probably not two. Maybe it's time to give Hudson a run off the bench.

If we can pick up some form having a run in against the teams above us actually helps the playoff chances because we’d be taking points of them, every game is almost a 4 pointer for us. What we mustn’t do is lose to any teams below us as that will just put the nail in the coffin

Indeed. Im hopeful that a simple game plan and a bit of confidence we can string something together.
At the very least we are going to find out just who wants it and who doesn't over the next x10 games which I suspect is the real reason weve gone for BA to really run the rule over the squad and confirm his findings with Blease.

Dare I say Im actually looking forward to a game for the first time in weeks? Im not expecting miracles but im expecting an attitude shift.

That’s what i think, 6 wins might be enough but that might be over reliant on others losing and points difference.

I'm not expecting us to be night and day after BA comes in. Many of the errors/ brain farts I've seen this year are individual in nature, and Wayne Bennett wouldn't make a difference to the majority.

However if we can tighten up a percentage through better organisation and clarity, it might be enough to see us home in more games, we'll see.

We need to be realistic with what BA can bring in, with a short space of time. Said it elsewhere but I'm expecting better yardage sets and improved tactical kicking for a start, and for us to be applying more pressure to the opposition. That much should be doable. Whether we have left ourselves too much to do - we're about to find out pretty quickly!

Slimmer now. We have to win our next 2 and beat one of Warrington or Wigan

Beating anybody in the Top 6 is the first problem, let alone if it matters to them. We haven't beaten any of those sides since March. Four months. That's how bad we've been this year. Our current position is based on beating sides below us.

It took Smith a couple of games for things to click in 2022. Maye it will be the same this year, but we're running out of games and I don't think we have the squad to do much in the playoffs even if we get there.

I don't see the point in getting in the top 6 unless we are capable of winning the comp. And this team is light years from doing that.

The sooner this season is over the better for me. I’ve found it even worse than last season.We all knew we were rubbish last year, this season is even worse because raised expectations have been absolutely crushed , and not just for this season.That along with the blank weekends due to our first round Challenge Cup exit and meaningless England friendlies has left me feeling hollow. I never want to see my team beaten, but I couldn’t care less how we fare in the remaining games, they are absolutely pointless in the scheme of things.

7 years now since our grand final win.
We are getting worse each season.
We will need 6 wins from 9 to make the top six now.
I just can't see it happening

Depends if Salford and Catalans keep their form at the current level

Yeah fully agree. Arthur needs plenty of time which we don’t have, but it’s incredible that we’re looking like missing out on the 6.. it’s been a very weary few years for most Leeds fans I’m personally feeling very fatigued with it all at the moment. I’ve confidence Blease will sort it though and we just need to get our heads down and crack on

I'm not 100% sure about Blease. Keeping a club like Salford afloat and competitive is one thing, and while he comes across as being professional, ultimately there are no guarantees.

Looking at the evidence in front of us, his two big decisions - removing Smith and appointing Arthur on a short-term contract, do not seem to have meaningfully impacted the results of the first team. Added to that there is no news on recruitment, and a lot of uncertainty surrounding the fortunes of the first team into 2025. I'm not saying he won't turn things around eventually, but assuming he will is too much like blind faith to me. We need something tangible to put faith in.

The club evidently believed that this squad is capable of doing something in the play-offs this season. Blease seemed to buy into this, but the last few games don't really bear this out, and I'm not convinced that the new style of play is going to be enough for us to make the 6.

Arthur has been here a week. Give him a chance. Blease has been here maybe six weeks. Again, give him a chance. Did you expect Blease to arrive and say the team wasn't good enough to make the six? What professional people say in front of the cameras is not always going to be a reflection of their honest opinion, they have to play the media game to an extent. I don't think we'll make the top 6 and I haven't thought we would for a couple of months. I am hopeful that Arthur will inject some discipline and method over the next few weeks, and there were initial signs that he was doing that in the KR game.

What do you want Arthur to do with only a few days on the training field to sort the mess Smith has left?

Agar arguably left us in a much worse mess than Smith, and Smith probably over-achieved in his first games in charge.

I actually thought Arthur's impact was positive, but it was worrying how Leeds fell away given the personnel available. While Arthur talks a good game and I appreciate he is coming in without much knowledge of the current playing group, I worry he is asking them to play a game they are not suited to in terms of physicality and fitness. We need a coach who will get the team to play to its strengths, not some generic philosophy about how the game should be played that appeals to RL purists (including me by the way, the Saints away play-off defeat in 2007 is one of my favourite games).

I'm not writing him off - that would be idiocy. At the same time it would be nice to see some signs on the field that we are turning a corner, as well as signs off the pitch that there is a plan to put an end to the speculation and uncertainty for next season. I was hoping for more than a bit more effort and a couple of dropped high kicks from one of our former players (Broadbent).

No doubt many will be quick to place the blame on the players Rohan recruited, and there is some logic in that. But if these players want to play for Leeds and are not bad eggs disrupting the side or not putting effort in behind the scenes, I would hope that the new coaching staff can get them to play to their strengths in the games ahead.

Think you're both right: sacking Smith has NOT seen us improve performances or results on the whole, 4 games in. In fact I would wager we might have done better in these games had he remained in charge.

Also Blease had no choice but to sack him because he'd lost the crowd so badly.

It will of course take time for any changes to be seen: there were some green shoots against KR but the bottom line is that this side isn't good enough, we are going to finish exactly where we deserve. Many have been saying "we're a better side than our performances/position" - well what evidence do you have for that?

I still think another three high quality signings in the right positions, plus a full pre-season for the likes of Newman, Holroyd, Simpson, Lumb, Gannon etc. to step up a gear hopefully... we should look better. The side needs to play differently, and again we need a full pre-season to put that into practice. We aren't a million miles away in all fairness but we also need to be realistic about some tough choices which need to be made if we're going to compete.

Based on Saturdays performance there is more chance that Liz Truss will be the next US president.

And on the subject whoever told Miller he was a full back?

One 40/20 is forgivable to a player of Lewis’s quality but twice is down right stupidity.

Also what has happened to Newman? is his sole responsibility arguing with away fans because he does nowt else

No it's not seen the uplift in performances a) because it left chev walker in charge for 3 of them who by his own admission didn't change anything and b) Brad Arthur has been here 5 minutes! It seems that the way smith had us playing has affected their conditioning to as they can't go more than 25 minutes at the level required and looked spent. He should persist though with demanding they play that way because it's what champion teams are built on, smith though he could be a smart and bypass this. As buderus said to the players the other week 'the game will always be win and lost on the gain line'. The aim should be to get in the 6 as they need that motivation but reality is if we fall short I want to see the team able to show some sustained dominance on that gain line and see what the attack looks like off the back of that. If I remember correctly our first set of the game no backs carried the ball, our forwards have been treated like a protected species with the backs flogged, this needs to change

You have to give Blease and Arthur time here... there is no way you can judge anything yet.