Like a limpet sticking to the hull of a pirate ship.

Great he has got his finger out, I maintain it’s time he went or started bringing through a replacement but credit where it’s due this is the best recruitment drive for a long time and hopefully Croft can be a key catalyst in a revival next year.

Stage One - Pre-season optimism - ✅
Stage Two - Sobering opening game defeat - Pending ⏳

That’s the spirit

It's making me smile how insistent some people are on not putting 2+2 together.

For me there are two obvious, fundamental differences with our recruitment cycle here, compared to any other time since the Goldens (way too long between drinks).

1) commercially, the new sponsorship is huge - it is no coincidence.
2) Rohan Smith is calling the shots with the players he wants, and putting together his vision of the Leeds side.

GH has pulled the deals together really well, but this has Rohan Smith's fingerprints all over it, as much as many on here are so blinkered in their dislike of the bloke they will find any other reason for our sudden improvement in recruitment.

In reality I'm sure it's a team effort from everyone behind the scenes, and agreements reached on who we should target, but we never looked like recruiting this way before RS - this is a co-ordinated attempt to make the team look a certain way, it's not knee-jerk stuff and it's not recruitment based only on reputation. I think GH has backed his coach and will sack him on the other side if the side doesn't perform.

Agreed

We are definitely turning a corner this season.

The fans have asked the questions, and the club are starting to give the right answers.

I think we will all look back at this moment and see it as a pivotal time for Leeds Rugby League.

I agree Jim.

Let's just hope Rohan can now show the coaching skills that are required to prepare HIS team to win matches.
He's been fully backed by GH and the club.
He now needs to repay that faith.

The fact still remains that the first 10-12 games are critical to his future at Leeds.
But it's certainly looking more promising than it did 6 weeks ago.

I agree about the first 10-12 games, I think we need to give some leeway in the first few rounds, it is s whole new squad so it might take a few games to get going but Im hoping we see a big improvement even if we don’t fire on all cylinders.

I like RS and really want it to work out but let’s say it doesn’t the good thing is whoever comes in will actually have s very good squad of players to work with, not inheriting a shambles like RS did.

I am excited for the new season. I think the first 10 games will show whether Rohan is up to the challenge.

And also the players

I like RS and I think GH does too. 12 games is a fair time to judge, and I think he'll come good. However, GH isn't the doddery old man some have portrayed and the signings of Croft and Ackers not only strengthens our team, but also seriously compromises Paul Rowley's position at Salford. If things do go wrong next season he would be very short odds to get the job.

Agree with all the above. Rowley would be my choice if RS fails next year but goodness me lets hope it doesn't come to that. I think we've all had enough of it... my gut instinct tells me next season will be much much better but we certainly can't mess around if after 12 games it's not good.

These self proclaimed optimists with a shovel in one hand lining up Paul Rowley just in case. Hang your heads in shame

I don't think any true supporter of the club would want Rohan to fail. I don't think he will.

As I've said before i do really like him, i just hope he's learned and refined his approach from last year, the tools are there and the pressure is on for a significant improvement.

I seem to remember he got the (rock bottom) side he inherited to the Grand Final and we weren’t a million miles off StHelens that day either. Add to that Rohan had a very specific brief which was effectively to clear out and reset the playing roster whilst staying competitive. He clearly has done that and has been pretty ruthless in the process. In terms of staying competitive well he couldn’t manage to pull that part of the deal off. We all saw that the wheels fell off spectacularly at the back end of last season for lots of reasons spoken about ad nauseam here and elsewhere.

No doubt in my mind he will be successful and that the elements required to deliver more long term success are still being lined up

Oh there’s definitely a small subset of our support who seem to love it when were not doing well and would want RS to fail to be proved right.

RS made some mistakes last year (don’t we all) but I got the feeling he was as frustrated as the supporters with some of the dumb stuff we dished out last year.

Hes done one part of his remit extremely well and that’s clearing out the squad, I think there were s few players who let him (and their teammates) down last year, thankfully they’ve gone.

The new squad has s lot more Rugby intelligence in it and I think that will suit his coaching style better.

I think He tried some different stuff last year because he knew the squad just wasn’t up to it, skill wise and mentally

It does kind of shed another angle on what RS was dealing with behind the scenes as players seemingly downed tools, completely checked out, went AWOL or just buggered off entirely. Looking back with hindsight and a peek behind the curtain we did as well as could be expected with the squad we had at the end of the season as cobbled together as it was.

It still doesn't let folk completely off the hook but you cant have it both ways, clearing out players and remaining ultra competitive (in our situation anyway) there were bound to be casualties but, and its a big but at least its done.

Not sure if this is aimed at me Jim but FWIW which is not much I’m sure the new sponsorship deal has made a big impact to ongoing finances.

I also have no personal dislike of GH or Rohan Smith. I just think not making top 4 in 7 of last 8 years is a consistent level of poor performance which would have resulted in GH losing his job at any other top club. I may be wrong he may still be the best CEO around but our record suggests the opposite.

I hope Rohan has more success than his uncle at Leeds.i bumped into him a few weeks ago in Boston Spa and he is a nice guy. Hopefully the new signings all come off.

We look light at prop to me but as you say it’s his team now so he can play the way he wants.the 2 Frenchmen will be key.

Given he has been backed now, I hope the pre-season means we start next year better but it’s focused on having a good season and not trying too hard to get a flying start and then. Running out of gas.

The whole new spine will take time to hit their collective straps.

Where’s this 10-12 game thing coming from ? Sounds like a fan thing, who like to measure things like this. We’ve just spent a fortune and built a very hot looking squad. But needs time to gel. Would be madness sacking RS if not firing 10-12’games in.
He’s had a huge part on these signings…..

Shabs, i don’t think we should get rid after 12 games Im just thinking the board might feel the pressure if we ate in the bottom 4 after 12 games (i dint think we will be by the way)

Some of us were trying to make the point months ago about how difficult it could be managing a team where senior players know they aren't wanted.

Smith was working with a squad where he was actively looking to replace some of the most important players, and a number knew they would be gone at the end of the year. This would have made team spirit very difficult to maintain. The collateral was Walters, Austin and probably Leeming and Macdonald as well. Omelettes and eggs and all that....

I don't think that's the only thing that happened, as clearly GH realised we needed to go big in terms of recruitment. But we've seen an enormous turnover in the squad in the last year or so, and anyone who has experienced that sort of thing at work will know that managing through it was always going to be a huge challenge.

Smith lost some skin in this process too, with a lot of people calling for him to be sacked during the season, and I think we're all agreed he's now under huge pressure at the start of next year. But assuming this was always the plan, perhaps we can all give him a break for 2023 at least. Just think how often he had to front the press after games when players he didn't rate had played poorly. He never stuck the boot in, but my word he must have been tempted....

Remember the optimism when we signed Brett Mullins, Robbie Mears and Bradley Clyde? Does this preseason feel a bit like that for some?

The thought did occur to me. But then I read through the list of departed players someone posted and decided the risk of disappointment was better than definite disappointment.