They have to win the final, nothing less will compensate for throwing first place in the league away.
Which village has lost it's idiot?

If we lose next weekend it's going to be carnage on here.

I think some of it is justified. Beat 2 relegated teams and we go into the final in top spot. Instead we go into the final with the season in danger of collapsing.

Fair play. Rest peacock and leuluai, they're old stagers. Mcguire too. But sinfield has just had a few weeks off with suspension and burrow had a lay off earlier in the season. Do they really need resting? Play those 2 and we win the game.

Oh we don't want a key player to get injured, in that case you might as well select none of the starting 13 you want for wembley.

ffs.

Not sure you read my post correctly Ant 1

Burrow (groin) and Sinfield (heel) had injury concerns. The only players rested that I didn't hear about an injury concern with were McGuire and JJB.

Might be just "interview talk" by McDermott but he said 4 or 5 of those missing were concerns for the final......but probably just saying that, should all play I imagine. Would however raise questions about how many of the 3 league games between Wembley and the Playoffs they'll play in.

i doubt any were injured it just fits in with his agenda

Come on.

Oh well in that case, woe betide our dreadful luck, key players dropping with niggly injuries just at the crucial moment.

At least it will get you in the record books as the only team to lose to london this season,be a good quiz question for the future,so try and remember the answer.

Quite a lot of teams have lost to London over the years .

Which team lost to London ?

Errmmm ... Loads .

Ah well I suppose you know their injury status better than the coaching team.....how silly of me



Nice to know McDermott has an "agenda" too.

I too doubt any were 'injured' enough not to be able to play a game of rugby today. But more than likely had knocks which could have been aggravated (even if they didn't they could've picked up one). Seem to remember JJB taking a bad knee injury into a make or break playoff game last year and it being criticised and now people want players with knocks playing against London just before Wembley.

You couldn't make up the knee jerking hypocrisy lol.

It is annoying and I am more annoyed this time round than after the Bradford result

Well probably because on paper the games we have left are more challenging than the last two against the two relegated teams. Common sense would tell you that the games you would have been most sure of winning were the ones against Bradford and London - both were lost. By a similar adage, it gives little reason to think that they will win at Wigan or beat Saints, who are amongst the teams they have in their remaining games.

Pretty simple really.

Ive corrected it to make you feel better.

Well we have canned in the league, so get them all out there for the final and have them on the treatment table until the playoffs...

I think it probably is 'just talk' to justify them not playing today. 92% sure they will play on Sat. He can't exactly come out and say "yeah, none of them are playing cos London are rubbish and we have the final next week and we are the mighty Leeds so can beat anyone, regardless of who we put out - so everyone, chill your boots because London are so rubbish that we will win regardless of having a team with about 26 appearances between them all. Oh, and with Bailey and Kirke and Clarkson involved, obviously."

It is easier just to say "oh, they have knocks" and to quantify (and 'justify it') "knocks that make them doubtful for the final". Really? What are these 'knocks' then that are so precise that you know might keep them out a fortnight, but so imprecise that you can't say what they actually are...?

Except the teams to play Saints & Wigan will contain

Joel Moon
Danny McGuire
Rob Burrow
Kylie Leuluai
Jamie Peacock
Jamie Jones-Buchanan
Carl Ablett
Kevin Sinfield
Brett Delaney

Some might say, 9 of our 13 best players.

Well yes, but then you can also say that the Wigan and Saints teams 1-13 will be better than London were / are. Better to have played more starters and taken them off when comfortably ahead (or had a couple on the bench to bring on when they lost their way). Faced with the two weakest teams across the season, Leeds have got 0 points - both playing those '9 of the best 13 players' and not playing them. Everyone bangs on about how important it is getting top 2, so I don't understand why the manager wouldn't give himself the best chance to do so - ie. playing the likes of Burrow and Sinners today, who are fresh as have not played much. Then, as I say, take them off when you are comfortable and / or bring them on to give a bit more spine when it starts going wrong.

Noticeable absence of sound bites on the site from McD so far.

He has said

Burrow (groin)
Sinfield (heel)
Peacock (back)
Ablett (thumb)
Delaney (hamstring, plus others)
Hardaker (back although he played today)
Moon (knee)
Leuluai (didn't hear nothing but he looked to take a knock to the ribs vs Wire)
McGuire and JJB (nothing I've heard so they could've just been wrapped in cotton wool)

He actually did come out pre-Bradford and simply stated Watkins and Hall were being rested and weren't injured so that kinda shoots down your theory.

The season ain't over just yet .

Potentially I am equating it too much to football where managers generally say 'x is out injured with a pulled hamstring for 6 weeks' or 'y has broken his thumb and will be out for around a month' and as a fan you know what is up with the players and how long they are out. It is rare on here that I see people referring to specific injuries or diagnoses of expected time out - rather on a week-by-week basis it is more 'Sinfield heel' or something like that. Maybe someone can direct me towards where B McD specifcally gives such information as I evidently have not been looking in the right places as a fan.

It seems to be just a body part that is given with little quantifying information as to what is up with said body part and how long it might be an issue. Admittedly I am equating part of this to what is said on here - maybe a lot of you see 'Ablett thumb' and know that means 'Ablett has a thumb sprain and is out for a fortnight' and I am just not as clued up and therefore take it at face value - that Ablett has something unspecified up with his thumb.

As I say, if anyone can provide me with where I can go to find out more in the future, it will stop me showing myself up to be incorrect so obviously in the future.

Quite easily found on the Rhinos site midweek in a pre match interview with McDermott, or in articles on the YEP website or like today on Radio Leeds about 15 mins prior to kickoff yet another McDermott interview.

Do the injury get described in detail? No, but what good would come of that to know X,Y and Z has this issue? If it would only be to satisfy the keyboard coaches then is it really worth it? I remember pre 2011 GF when Ablett missed the first 2 playoff games with what was described as concussion. Yet post GF after he'd returned it was actually revealed he'd fractured his cheekbone which in hindsight was a very smart thing not to reveal as it would've been a target for the opposition (he even wore a scrum cap to sell the idea of concussion.)

Whilst the Leeds fans might want to read the details of a players injury.....you must remember that the opposition can read that too.

I didn’t go today, got about as wet as an individual could get while wearing clothes climbing the 3 peaks but for those Leeds fans that did… fair play.

Last week was the semi in St Helens, next week we’re back in London, so for those who made the effort today, you have not only my admiration but also my sympathies. You will have got up at the crack of dawn and travelled to the capital at some expense only to be treated to that!

Most of you will have arranged this trip long before today’s team was announced and you will have had the expectation of seeing the worst team in SL history capitulate to one of the title contenders. Instead you were treated to a second string Rhinos side that didn’t bother showing up for the second half.

You should get a refund under the Sale of Goods act.

I actually went down yesterday, and stayed in hotel as well. Waste of money. Although that said, had we got the result at 60 minute mark, I wouldn't have been so dissatisfied, as there was actually some good rugby. It was the bad attitudes for the last 20 that ruined the day.

Cas will rip you to pieces. They may only be a town, but they are the better team. Forget the history, finances and blah blah blah.in the words of Ivan dragon 'you will lose!'

Who's Ivan Dragon? Sounds Welsh.

Ivan Dragon

Is he a relative of Puff the Magic