Misconception.

04, 07, 08, 09, 11, 12, 15 all won the first game. The only time we won the grand final after losing first game was 17. Of course there were plenty of dips mid-season but in general we always had some kind of platform at the start of the season. We had some of our “sh*t” together. Very rarely will a team lose their first few games and WIN the grand final. 05 bulls is the only example that comes to mind.

A kick up the backside is when you’ve been cruising for weeks winning, standards slip, and you get pumped by 50. That’s a kick up the backside. You shouldn’t be getting one in Round bloody one. It doesn’t exist in round one. Players have been slogging their guts out for months to hit the ground running and show they mean business.

They’re just crap.

This season will be a carbon copy of last season except without the low percentage run to the gf.

Great.

Tindall according to sky

I said last season that RS likes to have a fairly passive defense when it comes to line speed, which I think was the tactic last night. The problem is that this approach didn't work against saints last year who had a better pack, and the halves to capitalise on it.

That's exactly what Wire were able to do last night. Forwards who dominated, bent the line, and then the halves and nines took full advantage.

As useless as Sezer, Austin, Myler and the three-quaters were, you simply can't play well behind a beaten and dominated pack.

Tetevano offers nothing, he's not a back row, but also seems to get dominated by bigger props in the middle. Needs to be dropped.Holroyd struggled, but will get better, and Walters has earned an opportunity to be in the 17. Donaldson should be 18th man most weeks.

On the positives, I thought Gannons tackling was superb. Olpherts (aside from dropping the ball on the line) looked really good going forward, and scored his try well. I also thought Sangare did the job that he's been brought in for.

Lots to fix, but also lots of rounds to go.

I said starting slow, not just the first game.

Anyway it’s clear you’ve written them off even before the first game.

He is a Saints fan in one of his many disguises

Dufty is one of the best players in the league, genuine X factor quality.

Ashton and Thewlis are fantastic young talents with pace to burn.

Ma’tautia and Ratchford offer lots of experience and leadership.

I actually thought we started well and our first couple of drives made good ground. Then we gave up a soft penalty ore set restart and Warrington got on the front foot and burst through the line to score.

At that point the heads seemed to go down and the rest is history.

Not the best night - hopefully a wake up to the squad and most importantly the coach who seemed to treat the game as some kind of trial game.

The defense down the middle was woeful and the go forward none existent. Yes they had key players missing in Oldeski Bentley and Newman but they had a strong enough team out to be more competitive than they were. Sangare apart the props were very poor.

I think the spine is very weak - Myler had a mare, Sezer and Austin are not good enough, the same can be said of Leeming. What has happened to Johnson - he looked a real talent.

On a positive - Gannon, Roberts and Sangare were good.

It is not the end of the season by any stretch of the imagination but its not the start the club would have wanted. Hopefully the embarrassment they should feel after a performance of that nature will spur them on to better things

Why are we comparing to the GF winning sides?
That's not the realistic expectation this year.
We're way behind Saints, Wigan and now Warrington.
Our realistic aim should be to compete with Hudds, Cats, Hull and Salford for top 6.

Clearly 1, 6, 7 and 9 are a problem for us.
We need to give Rohan a couple of years to sort those spine positions out before we can really judge.

Worst possible result for us heading to you guys next friday.
i fear a backlash.

That is very true they have been recruiting so called top players for years and not been successful at the big dance however, in no way can they be compared to Chelsea. Leeds, as a big city club, should also be pushing for top spot every season. Managing the salary cap, recruiting wisely, and having luck with injuries is crucial less so, the quality of junior recruitment and progression through the academies - that needs to change. For what it is worth, my view is that Wire will come up short yet again. They are aiming for a quick fix again and if it doesn’t work they will be back to square one.

Less time spent on gimmicks might be a good start as well as getting the basics down cold.

Good to see you've been giving your crystal balls an enthusiastic rub again. Now you've told us we can all just give up.

Iv’e seen reserve squads selected who have played with more passion and commitment than that Leeds team did in the first half, it simply wasn’t good enough. Some players need to take a long hard look in the mirror. They made Wire look good.

You are correct, the competition is not decided in the first round. What I found worrying, as an independent observer, was Leeds lack of intensity and teamwork.

That’s an interesting view personally, I think your three quarters will be your downfall. Time will tell.

We got battered, thats what teams that get battered look like.

It will happen to every SL team this year, maybe even saints and they will all look like they lack intensity and teamwork when it happens.

The issue is we should be up for the first game. Everyone should be hyped and ready to go. The only things that are excusably lacking in the first couple of games is execution in attack and maybe a bit of confusion in defence with new players.

I'm not saying the season is done at all, but that really was a bad way to start the year. I'm sure Smith didn't want or expect that either.

We have space in the cap for a new left centre, Wardle was supposed to be it but he's gone to Wigan, I believe Gildart was targeted but he decided to stay in Aus. There doesn't seem to be many options knocking about for us, with our quota spots already filled, it seems slim pickings - I agree we are lacking a little there.

Nail on head and my thoughts exactly. Its not the defeat, its the manner of it that was the biggest concern and on the back of some woeful pre season performances. Fingers crossed it was a one off.

Ill be a bit concerned if there’s no reaction next week.

As for last night it will all be forgotten if we actually start to play next week and beyond

We also have Connor Wrench back at some point, who is, arguably, our best centre and who, if he can come back from his serious injury without too much deterioration of his basic abilities, will be one of the best centres in the league (not a particularly high bar admittedly).

Rohan explained a few weeks back, CJ had a back op end of last season, he’s a few weeks behind in fitness but is in full training. Expect to see him in the first reserves game, all being well

Terrible last night, but still think we’ve got a better squad than last season. My only position of some real concern is at FB. A really solid FB means Wire probably score 20 less last night…..

Let's not suddenly pretend Myler isn't a good full back. He has been outstanding for us in that position overall. He has had one off bad games in the past and then turned in man of the match performances in subsequent weeks and I'm sure he will again.

Thinking full back is the problem with how we're looking at centre right now is a little odd.