Another exile here.

I remember Widnes nilling us in the Regal Trophy final at a foggy Central Park. That was the closest we got to a trophy in my early days as a supporter. To transform the fortunes of this club from that shambles to one of the best in our game's history is nothing short of miraculous.

Went to my first game 1980 with my dad supported them since then. Seen some Barron years (not as many as some have like my dad been going since 30's)
Was quite a nice experience watching last night with me my dad and the little one!!

My wife only started watching in 2006 (fed up with me disappearing off and decided to join me, really caught the bug)
My dad said to me last night that we are very privileged to watch this team play. We probably won't get to see another period in our clubs history like this. A good time to be a rhino

Like others posters above... Have seen the highs and lows of watching the team since the age of 3 (since 196icon_cool.gif ... I'm just sorry my dad isn't still alive to see this remarkable team, led by a remarkable captain..

That remains the darkest day for me. Widnes destroyed that team in a final which had seemed destined to be ours after the run leading up to it. The drive back over the '62 that night was awful - suddenly I realised that my heroes were a bunch of underachieving losers. I don't think I've ever really gotten over that childhood betrayal.

It's nothing to do with the current team, of course, but having been there on that dark day, and the same place 14 months later, it casts into relief the last eight years - comparing that Leeds team with this Leeds team shows up everything that used to be wrong with our club.

Fantastic post.

I want to mention the highlighted section because the contrast between these players and the players that wore the shirt in the eighties through to mid nineties couldn't be more stark. Yet still some fans crave those big name signings.

to be fair G the likes of webb, buderus and peacock have been big name signings. nothing wrong with signing big names as long as they fit in to the ethos of the club

Fair comment.

I can associate with so much of this... My timing was superb - I started watching Leeds in the early 80s thereby missing the back to back cup success in the late '70s, and embarked on a decade and a half of "nearly's"... The 24-24 draw with Hull K R in the cup semi, the painful replay, the one point defeat to Saints in the final of the John Player Trophy having knocked Wigan out in the semi, the humilitaing nilling by Widnes in the final mentioned above by others, and a similarly painful hammering, again by Widnes, in a Challenge cup semi - both games I genuinely thought we were going to win... Wembley in '94, when I didn't think we were going to win, but started to believe during the 2nd half comeback and enjoyed my first trip to Wembley too much to be too disheartened when we eventually ran out of steam, then the rematch a year later when I genuinely thought we were going to win, and all we got was yet another throwback to the dark days, until finally the pain ended (well, temporarily...) in 1999. Not a right lot in between on the positive front, bar the '88 Yorkshire Cup run - the Paul Medley inspired comeback from 21-8 to 24-21 against Bradford, the late Sam Backo winner against Hull, and the two interceptions from Schofield and Gibson in the hammering of Cas in the final (for some reason I can't remember anything about the '84 John Player Trophy win). I did win a signed ball once by collecting all the player cards from the policemen outside the ground - think I got presented the ball by John Basnett if I remember rightly - I suppose that was a highlight



But the past 9 years, and in particular the past 6? Way more payback than I could ever have imagined for all the pain, suffering, quashed expectation and hopes that the 80s and 90s brought. Very few fans get to be as lucky as we have been to enjoy such success, and every single moment of it will be treasured always. Every Grand Final win has been special, and I will never, ever grow tired of nights like that. For some reason though, last night seemed like the most special of them all... What these players have achieved against all the odds over the past couple of years has been astonishing, and what makes me more happy than anything else is the pride they all clearly have in the shirt... pride I assumed my boyhood heroes had also had, only to have my eyes opened painfully by various revelations since. There are no show pony "superstars" in this team, simply a group of normal blokes whose performances time after time after time are anything but normal. For 15 of the 17 last night to be British (and the vast majority of those Yorkshire born) is especially pleasing, as is the fact that the two imports in the team have blended seemlessly over the past few years into the club mentality, a far cry from some of the highly paid under performing "mercenaries" of the 80s and 90s. It certainly seems like money means very little, if anything at all, to any of those players - it's all about the club, the shirt, and each other. For that, we are the luckiest fans in sport right now.

I think there is something to be said for homegrown players. It means something to them to pull on the shirt and when they play together from a young age and grow up together

I got my first season ticket in 2003, having gone to my first game in 2002. The first year brought the CC final disappointment and the bridesmaid tag lived on. We all know what happened in 2004...

Then came the 3 in a row and players breaking records on what felt like a weekly basis.

Fast forward to mid way through 2011 and I thought maybe this was the end of the success and I was going to experience a spell of re-building with key players getting on a bit and being replaced with people who would take a year or two to bed in. Can't say I'm too bothered about admitting I was wrong!

Had a thought the other day, if the club put on a re-union event to mark 10 years since the first SL championsip win then it will probably all be set up next year. That means we'll be planning to mark a decade since that win at the same time as being reigning champions with the same core of players. That just sums up how good this last few years have been for IMO.

Fortunate to have come to the game when I did, watching this group of players has been an unbelievable experience and a great pleasure.

To all involved making these few years happen, I think we owe you a thank you!

Started watching Leeds in the early 80's and remember when beating Cas in the Yorkshire cup final was the highlight of the season.It's been a privilege to watch this team grow together and give us fans some great memories.

One of the uprights on one of the goal posts had blown down in a Central Park gale the night before and they had to go with what was left of it. David Creasser knocked a few over it - no disputing they were all legit.

Mark Laurie was the Man Of the Match and John Holmes finished off a great team try for one, Kevin Dick for the other with some Widnes roughion trying to rip his face off. Maurice Bamford's arrival coincided with Dean Bell's Leeds debut and both enjoyed a dream start as Leeds went on an 18 match unbeaten run - which surrounded that 1983/84 JP Trophy win.

Bonus point for the name of the sacked Leeds coach that preceded Bamford?

Robin Dewhurst unless this is a trick question. It's a trick question, isn't it?

Robin Dewhirst? I seem to remember him having done a couple of years or so in between Hynes and Bamford.

Beat me to it

No trickery intended and yes it was the ex Leeds full-back Robin Dewhurst.

Carl Ablett reminds me of David Stephenson.....similar size, [ipace[/i and great ability to release his winger into space.

I'd have to check but it's possible there was a short period inbetween Dewhurst and Bamford - a matter of a couple of weeks at the most - with perhaps David Ward and Alan Smith left in temporary charge.

Certain Leeds players almost coming to blows after they had scraped a highly fortunate 12-9 win at Blackpool (yes, fecking Blackpool) was hardly an auspicious start to the comp but things turned around with Bamford starting with a highly improbable scalp in the next round. Hull KR had finished runner-up to Hull on the table the previous year and would go on to become Champions at the end of that same season. Were Leeds fancied to turn them over ? Were they chuff. P[iisse[/id it down all game as well - marvellous - GF weather.

This is the best post i have read on here for ages, I dont post very often but this basically sums up my time of watching Leeds since the late 80's. I think we should all take stock and immense pride and satisfaction in watching what we have seen in the last decade as to do this in a salary cap era is quite remarkable. In my opinion a great amount of credit must go to GH.

Hi there. This is my first post on this forum, been reading for a while but after Saturday's win and all the recent negative rubbish that's been spouted on the other boards (particularly by Wigan fans) i felt compelled to say something.

Been watching Leeds since i was 9 years old ('83) so like many on here i remember all too well the years of being 'nearly men' and the many hidings the team took in big matches (especially a certain Premiership final against Wigan at OT i think that we lost something like 69-10?). Needless to say i'm delighted to be a Leeds fan in the current era but also, and perhaps more importantly i am delighted to be a rugby league fan. I just cannot understand all these comments from other fans about how Super League is a shambles, the play offs a joke and RL is in a general state of decline. Do they not remember how incredibly tedious it was watching Wigan win everything throughout the late 80's/early 90's (granted Wigan fans probably didn't find it tedious)? Do they seriously want a return to days when the season was over for the majority of clubs come late August, as Wigan were way ahead on points and teams below 3rd had absolutely nothing to play for? And they say the weekly rounds mean nothing now?? Even though Leeds are now the dominant force in terms of SL championships won we at least have Saints, Bradford and Wigan having won the title over the past 12 years not to mention the dominance of Wire in the Challenge Cup as well.

While the current play off system may not be perfect, having a top 8 play off position up for grabs as an incentive for clubs in the lower half of the table means that at least there is something to play for come season end. Not only that but the Grand Final is fast becoming a 'must see' event on the sporting calendar, not just for RL fans but for sports fans in general. I suppose what i'm trying to say in a roundabout way is that Rugby League is a fantastic product, Leeds Rhinos are a fantastic team, and the playoffs/Grand Final is a fantastic and compelling spectacle. I feel it is petty and churlish of those who fail to acknowledge these positives. I love this game and i love this team, it would do some people a lot of good to remember just how bleak RL was in the not too distant past.

That's why I thought it might be a trick question, because I have a vague (very vague) memory of that being the case, and David Ward would, thanks to later events, fit into the "which sacked Leeds coach" formula...

I agree with a lot of that. The GF got a lot of exposure on the BBC on Saturday morning, and again on Sunday. It provides a real showcase event to show RL at its best.

I love the people saying that the 5th placed team winning SL invalidates the play-offs. If anything it re-enforces it for me. When it was 1vs2 year after year, that didn't enforce the play-offs. But now, we have a place where anything can happen. I think the top 5 are closer now than at any other stage, and all can win big games away at their rivals. PLaying best when it matters against your biggest rivals gets you the ultimate prize

Haven't posted in a while, the last 6 months have been frankly not the best and recently I haven't felt up to it (nothing to do with the rugby, but not to be discussed here).

However, the win on Saturday and (even more so) the win against Wigan actually lifted me lot. I wouldn't have been bothered if we had lost against Wigan or against Warrington, but I was surprised how much the wins cheered me up. For that I am very greatful, I know the lads didn't do it for me in person but thanks anyway. This year I just knew we would win - only in 2009 have I ever felt like that before. Of all our GF's this was the one I was most confident about - I don't know why, but I just knew we would pressure Warrington and they would make mistakes. I think Warrington top the mistake table this season and in GF's you can't make many and win.

This seemed a relevent thread to comment on as I started watching Leeds back in '82 - just in time for the crossbar semi aginst Widnes, and the tremendous years of almost pantomime fun that followed. How things have changed.

Yesterday I proudly wore my signed 2004 Mark Calderwood playing shirt I bought off Puig a few years ago while I refereed a load of 9 year olds at our festival and thoroughly enjoyed the whole day (despite the stress of having to organise most of the thing myself). When it came to our age group final our lads took on their biggest rivals, but what would normally have been 14 minutes of pure tension were a pleasure. Like with the Rhinos on Saturday, I knew we would win and the boys toughed it out and scored a simply sublime try to win 1-0. Just like the Rhinos our lads defended like demons, we made more metres without the ball than with and and took the one clear chance in the game.

To answer a question about the Challenge Cup and why can't we perform in that final? I think the answer is pretty obvious isn't it? At the moment it's momentum. The semi final for the CC is months before the final and in betwen are the regular rounds of the league. The CC is not the end of season finale it used to be and I simply don't believe that Leeds can focus on the CC. The playoffs are a different animal, it's the end of your season if you lose - that's it - over. The level of intensity over 3 or 4 games simply ramps up and up one week to the next and it's something our players are highly tuned to and extremely good at. If you look back you could say that if we hadn't lost Peacock and McGuire late season in 2010 we might realistically be sitting here on 6 straight Championships. I find it spooky the way many of those GF wins resemble each other. This year and last year are remarkable. Leeds coming from behind in the last 20-25 minutes, Ablett taking a short ball from the hooker to crash over (Buderus last year, Lunt this year), Ryan Hall finishing a fantastic try late in the game etc. Ali used to have a habit of crashing over around the 55 minute mark on the left. I guess these things don't happen by accident, the same players doing the same little things at crucial moments.

I thought mid way through last season that Brian Mac was not the man to get the best out of an ageing squad, but it may be that 5th in the table is where we are realistically at best with the players we have and having everyone fit (which we seem to have), fresh and motivated for the playoffs is really all anyone could get from these guys. BMD is also a great leader and a figurehead for the players. He sets the right example and it's obvious that the key players all respect him. You can't buy that.

Finally, thanks again boys, a good weekend after a lot of $h!t ones recently. Little things can make a difference every now and again. Good luck next year.

Sorry to hear that mate. Completely understand but I'd still like to offer my best wishes. Can't afford to lose any of the good guys.

__________



Had a look back, Ward and Smith were in temporary charge for longer than I thought. Dewhurst officially 'resigned' in the build up to a Hull game at Headingley after attending a two hour 'clear the air talk' with Harry Jepson and the first team squad after the humiliating 54 - 4 defeat at Wheldon Road.

According to Jepson as reported in the YEP: [i"The players were very forth coming. I think they realise how badly they let the club down. They are anxious to improve the situation and made some points of their own. We still have a very loyal following and they deserve better."[/i

Who knows what points the player's raised but the upshot was the coach was gone within days.

Leeds turned to captain Ward and stalwart Smith to steady the ship as they approached Frank Stanton with an invitation to come over in an advisory capacity for three or four weeks - obviously nowt ever came of that.

Steve Martin and Terry Webb were arriving that week and Gary Moorby was just about on his way in exchange for Tony Burke - smitten in Lancashire although initially it appears not that keen on St Helens.

Frank Stanton had recently gained promotion and according to Jepson his company had said 'to release him for any length of time at this stage was out of the question.' Leeds then switched their attention to Jack Gibson with Joe Warham commenting "He has commitments in Australia for the next month or so but something may develop after that ..... =#0000BFwe want the best and we are ready to go a long way to get it."

A few weeks later and the new coach was finally revealed to be non other than Maurice Bamford, =#0000BFall the way from f**king Bramley.

We've now won so many Super League titles that only Cas fans can count them on the fingers of one hand.