Not much of a comparison between the Rhinos and Arsenal...during Wenger's continued reign they managed to build a brand new stadium, stayed competitive in Europe and as the financial burden of the new stadium build eases have started winning trophies again. They have no problem selling season tickets at around £3K a pop too! Leeds on the other hand are simply treading water as we enter our next 30 year interregnum.

Soccer is a different sport but the comparison is valid - stability in coaching tropheyless cabinet for years - not really competing in the league, nobody seriously thinks they can win the PL. Arsenal have been treading water for ten years they get to the last 16 of the champions league and get knocked out, the finish 4th in the PL year after after if that is not treading water I don't know what is.

The worrying thing for GH was the decline in attendances towards the back end of the season they were well down on like for like fixtures from the previous season. He will do well to reverse that trend especially with the uncertainty around the new structure.

How important IS it for you to score points off another and feel superior in what most secure adults would consider matters of little if any importance?

So does anyone on here actually believe that their minds or opinions about next season have been changed thanks to Uncle Gary's email/press release?

Haha the person who often tells us he feels pity for those who attend games talking about feelings of superiority, good one



Also the same guy who felt he had to start a complete new thread 'Rhinos relegation form' to highlight his views even though we already had several threads running based on the same subject he talked about.

You might also want to read the last sentence of the opening post of that thread he started before criticising others for an apparent desire for superiority

Not one bit.
In fact I think it will have the opposite effect on many supporters.
I wouldn`t be surprised to see attendances fall and us get a good few beatings next year.
I do hope I am proved wrong and like we have done before with our backs to the wall we have come out fighting and end up playing some great rugby to win back the GF Trophy.
It will take something special and I do not think we have the resources to do it.
But who knows?
Logic tells you that the forwards were outplayed quite alot last year.
Our half backs apart from the start of the season and the CC run were too slow.
Watkins and Briscoe were far from the best backs in SL as we keep saying.
Hall had some cracking games as did Moon but also had some stinkers.
For me only Hardaker warrented the praise and possibly Ablett.
The rest who will be another year older looked tired and incapable of bossing the game like we used to do.
So willing to be proved wrong but I think GH has got his PR badly wrong this time.

I'm happy to be buying my season ticket on the zero per cent deal for next year to ensure that I continue to enjoy my seat in the Carnegie Stand.
I don't expect to see us winning all the trophies on offer & I fully expect to be disappointed on some occasions & to leave the ground in a good mood on others.
As has been said earlier what do people expect Hetherington to say?
Don't come to watch the Rhinos, we've got an aging squad that's well past its sell-by date?
That's really going to put bums on seats.
Being a fan means supporting your team through thick & thin it does not mean that you cannot think for yourself.

I notice you did not actually answer the question

What GH is saying is that with one new forward recruited and Jones-Bishop/Clarkson moved on, we feel we can win trophies next year..............i'm sorry but I dont share his belief.
The competition will be harder next year with London/Bulls gone and to finish in the top four will be very difficult with every game being tough. I thought our defense was good this year but can it improve ? I cant honestly believe it will.
Our attack was embarrassing at times this year with no clear structure with the ball, usually ending up with a kick for Hall to jump for on the last tackle.
When Sinfield states players could receive better wages elsewhere he's obviously talking about the young players in Hall, Hardacre, Watkins, Briscoe etc. GH has kept them by giving them long term contracts and promising them success. There's no way that any other players except probably Moon, Ablett would secure higher wages elsewhere, most are too old nowadays.
I'm most worried about the next generation coming through...Sutcliffe is a long way from being a commanding stand off, Ward having played over 50 games isn't big enough for the forwards and certainly isnt a half back. I was impressed by Walters and Mulhearn in their few appearances this year. I cant for the life of me see what we've kept Bailey and Kirke for so long, all I can think of is that their very cheap. My main concern is how can Peacock, Leuluai, JJB, Delaney, Bailey, Kirke improve enough to allow us to compete at the top level week in and week out knowing also our half backs are not getting and quicker
and Aiton has been a big dissapointment.

Whilst i do agree with most of your post, this is nonsense.Aiton had a promising start to the year and fitted in well.He missed a large chunk of the middle part of the year through illness which coincided with the teams spell of poor league form but he contributed well on his return in the cup final.

I would say he was a good addition on the whole although it is looking like he may not be with us next year if a ban comes his way.

Likewise, not sure how you would class him as a big disappointment.

Offers a different threat from dummy half to Burrow, in that he looks to engage defenders then move the ball on rather than just scooting for himself. Leeds being Leeds however, that often leads to him going sideways looking for runners who can't be bothered to offer themselves (see also Delaney on occasion, who crabs looking for someone to hit a line off him while his team-mates stand and watch).

He's also been asked to play as a ball-carrying back rower at times this season, and has put his hands up for carries in difficult parts of the field while others have gone into hiding.

Don't let the facts get in the way of your defence of him.

He missed 10 SL games in a row of which the team lost four - narrowly to Saints, Wigan and Giants, plus at Warrington.

But he was back for the glorious end of season finale as Leeds won 2 of their final 10 SL and play-off games.

Can't recall if he was involved in the throwaway defeats to Bulls and London,can't say i really care, and the games after the cup including the play off disapointment the whole team were below par.

My defence of him is in response to a poster claiming he was disapointing.My view is when he was used correctly like the first half of the year when we played some good stuff as a team he fitted in well.And played a good part in the cup final victory.would you not agree?

Aiton is, and always was average at best. He was a place holder, a Shane Millard. He shouldnt be a disappointment because you can't expect too much of him to start with.

Indeed soccer is a different sport thereby making your use of it for comparison purposes largely irrelevant. In your irrelevant comparison you missed the bit where Arsenal built a new stadium and the bit where they stated to win trophies again. You may be right about them not competing for the Premiership you may also not be...we'll see.

They've also got to 2 CL finals despite not spending anywhere near the amount of money other teams have.

I haven't heard Wakefield fans ever saying 'i wish we still had aiton'

enough said

I am not optimistic for next season, as a team we struggled in the latter part of the season. So to ask virtually the same team with another year on its shoulders, to win silverware is a big ask.
I said at the start of the season I would be happy to win the challenge cup, even to the extent of not winning the grand final.
What I did not expect was us bowing out in the first round, also watching some of the dire play off games has caused me to revisit my early season wish of winning the challeng cup without the grand final.
Beating the wire and cas in the cc seemed to be the only time we raised our game in the latter part of the season.
The team as a whole after the challenge cup looked jaded, maybe a longer close season than normal will refresh some of the squad.

I would tend to agree.I jusy don't think he has been disapointing.Lets be fair, he was never going to be Danny Buderus re incarnated but maybe that is what some did.He has brought what was expected imo.

Would i be disappointed if he left? No, i think there are several hookers around that could do the same job to a similar standard or better.Infact if he does end up leaving i wouldn't be against giving young Ward the job of being understudy to Burrow because game time will be probably be at a premium anyway.

It pees me off how he is used off the bench. He's not a bench hooker and from what we have it should be burrow off the bench if he's going to play at hooker.

Just dumb.

Again, i would agree.I've said many times, and i am not alone on here saying it, that Burrow is at his best running at tired defenders when he comes on in the last 10 -15 minutes of halves and rest of time we should have a proper dummy half who the rest of the side can play to structure off of.

Robbie is a fine player, but he is not and never will be a 'proper' 9 and the only way he becomes truly dangerous playing there is as impact from the bench.Just my opinion of course.

Ref Aiton.
I suppose the crux of the matter is how much we paid for him, also what wages is he receiving .
If his package is in the region of the money Lunt was asking then its a bad deal.
If his money is in the bargain basement bracket then it's a good deal.

Wouldn't argue with that though I would question whether bargain basements are where top clubs usually find their hookers.

Aiton was signed to rotate with Burrow, not be an 80 minute hooker. Aiton is a pretty reliable dummy half, which should be priority 1 for any hooker.

The idea of continuing to use Burrow as a part-time hooker worries me more than how good Aiton is, because IMO its a bit of a lazy tactic (throw Burrow on and hope he makes a break), and likely to become increasingly ineffective as Burrow slows down.