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.

Most teams would struggle at centre with their two first choice centres out!
I just think pace and defensive security are very important from fullback. Myler has done a great job standing in, and adapting to what the team required. He’s still very useful to have around to contest nearly all the spine positions, but just think we should be aiming bit higher for first choice fullback. Admittedly we may never see a Webb or Hardaker again…!

Totally disagree. The truth is that at a time when our other options at fullback were very limited he proved himself better for us in that position than he was in the halves - where he was so poor that he was in his way to Toronto. He's had some very good games for us at the back and he will again, but he is nowhere near the best in the league, which is what we should be aiming for. Can anybody really suggest he is a better fullback than: Field, French, Welsby, Tomkins, Connor, Coote, Dufty, and Hardaker? I haven't seen Hoy play for Hull yet but I suspect he will be excellent at SL level. I guess my point is that he's not bad, but not great, and we should be aiming higher.

I can remember people saying the same about Brent Webb in his last season with Leeds.

We need to have options. That's what wins silverware.

Myler's strengths and weaknesses are obvious at full back. But to say he hasn't been very good for us at times like the end of last year is a bit much. He was absolutely key to our attack. That doesn't mean he's great under the high ball or running back kicks, but he's by far the best option we've got in terms of linking between halfbacks and threequarters. In that particular regard he's light years better than Hardaker for example.

I'm not saying he's the bestest ever, and we definitely need to get a better replacement at some stage. Smith obviously thinks Hooley has potential. Lets see him play before writing him off as well.

That's a fair analysis; we should be aiming higher. Personally, I'd rate him more highly than Connor and Hardaker but your main point still stands. At the same time, out of all our first choice spine players I reckon Myler is head and shoulders above the rest. In other words he's not our biggest problem (unless Friday night's level of performance becomes the norm of course).

Sezer and Leeming are the bigger issue right now. Sezer is just too passive drifting in and out of games and for all Leemings talk of wc disappointment motivating him, he carried on where he left off last season with O'connor out shining him.

I think smith is self reflective enough to recognise and change what didn't work, ie centre choices. Abd for me that should be the last time Tetevano starts ahead of Smith at 13, its always been a fallacy that he can play that 3rd prop role against a big pack, it brought back nightmares of Agar past. C Smith can be our point of difference against it.

We've obviously had a big turnover of players this off season but next is the most significant with both halves and Tetevano probably moving on.