You have to credit McDermott for the plan but you have to credit the players for having the ability to carry it out. McDermott is a good coach, of that there is little doubt, however he is coaching a team of truly exceptional players. You can't blame the players when things go wrong and then praise the coach when they go well.

Seeing the players on Saturday you have to give McDermott some credit for putting the whole season on the line to enable the players to achieve the one thing that has eluded them for so long. I for one will not be so disappointed if Saturday is the high point of the season. McDermott's grasping of the importance to the players should be applauded.

Works both ways on both fronts. For Good results and bad both the players and the fishes have part of the responsiility, however, once the team is out on the pitch the influence on what happens is limited, to use of subs, observations, and reverting to a plan b.
At London it looks like we had got into a position to win, and then through it away

[ithrew[/i who's fault



Interesting you heap equal praise and blame on the fishes......i for one never thought of that.

Most major trophies of any Leeds Coach. What other stat matters?

I blame predictive text on my tablet for the typo



I'm not saying blame or credit is equal, just shared

Glad my topic from 2014 holds up well. To all you moaners, keyboard warriors and armchair coaches...... this one’s for you

So is mcdermott saying goodbye last night. It looked like it to me

What did he say? I was at the game and have not seen a re run yet but i would really like to see him sign off on that note yesterday, fantastic performance never gave Cas a look in really.

I can't quote him, but during his post match interview, he refered to the win as the final chapter of the book that was this season. I did pick up on it at the time, there has been speculation that the comment may have been Mac signing off. But I'm not sure that he meant anymore than what he said.

BTW Was that the best of our EIGHT WINS? It felt like it to me.

"That's the final chapter of the book,""For us to make the Grand Final is a great story and we've just capped off the final chapter. "I have been saying to my players all week that you don't get many chances to have moments in life that stand out where every man, jack and his dog up the country will think, 'They can't go and win the Grand Final can they? Not from where they were'. Danny McGuire with the man of the match prize "We've done it. That group of people over there have gone through every emotion going in the last 18 months, the whole club. "This isn't just a coach's win or the players' win. Everybody at Leeds Rhinos, including the fans, who stood with us when the dark times were really, really dark, this is everybody's. The whole club deserves this. "Never did I dream in my wildest dreams that we'd get to Old Trafford never mind win it. Now look at us. "It's the best win ever this one."

Thanks, will see what happens.

Yes that was as complete a GF performance i have ever seen from us.

Agreed - total domination - shame Cas got a scrappy try at the end

Yes. Would have been nice to nil them

Would've been nice to nil them but at the same time after how they've performed this year it'd be a bit of a shame for them to enter the record books as the first team to not score in a GF. At least it was a former Leeds player that got it.

And also that is the first try we've conceded in the final 20 mins of ANY of our 8 GF wins and it came with about 60 secs left when the game was already well and tricky over.

Well at least it was over by the magic sixtys

Yea funnily enough I recon he should move on, either to another club or 'upstairs' for a bit, maybe do what Bennet did at the Broncos where he left for 5-6 years and then came back to a relatively new squad.

I just think that given our uncertainty around our spine positions for next season and the adjustment it will take to get over loosing Mags and Burrow that we probably wont be able to win anything for the next few years and by then he will be 10 years at the same club, which is a very long time in RL.

We might be better giving the job to someone who is ready to take on a project with a few to winning trophies a couple of years down the line as Powell has done with Cas, either a young up an comer or possibly someone like Hasler if we could secure him for a few years.

Either way, despite his faults, even Macs biggest critics have to admit he has done pretty well for the club, and it will take some beating for another coach to surpass his trophy record

I agree I don't think it means anything more. McGuire made comment in the press conference afterwards about McDermott having to find a solution to fitting both Walker and Golding in that sounded like he'll still be here next year. Think talking about it being the final chapter of the book, it is if you think of the book starting from the start of 2016 and everything that took place. GF night 2015 was the final chapter of another book. 2018 with McGuire and Burrow departing, a new captain, a new book a new story starts I guess. For his flaws as a coach he's very good at creating a story for the team to get behind to drive them on. Everyone of his GF wins has seemingly come with a written off, impossible narrative behind it.



Does at the time but i think you get that every time. Only in time and when we've had a period of not winning it can you look back and judge properly I guess. Think when that happens it'll either be 2015 or 2004 that tops most people's choice but as Burrow said each one has had a story which made them special in themselves.

2004 - first in 32 years and 2015 first time getting the better of Wigan in any 1st grade final in their shared history, first Leeds double (Champions and Challenge Cup), first Leeds treble adding LLS. 2017 was unexpected in some quarters - Castleford had a bad week and capped it off with saving their worst performance for last. I think I said after the semis the old saying 'you have to lose one before you can win one' could come into play. Leeds know all about Grand Final night and it showed, Castleford know a bit more about it now.

That last two minutes though - McDermott OUT.

True and that could help them if/when they get there again but you'd have probably thought the same about Warrington after 2012.

Suppose it's depends when they get there again and who the opposition is. The manner of the defeat might be quite scarring though.

I think if they get there again in the near future they'll probably lose.

You need to lose one to win one is a myth.

A myth it might be - Leeds lost one in '98 and have seemingly done OK since. Castleford will have learnt from the experience, doesn't mean they will ever win one (perhaps this will be the closest they ever come) but last night will still help them towards doing so.

TBF in those first two GF's (Wigan vs Leeds '98 @ Bradford vs Saints '99) it was guaranteed one of them would lose on their first GF appearance. Since then you've only had Hull, Warrington and Cas appear and no wins.

Problem is running into teams who have been there countless times. If Cas get there next year against Hull that'll be interesting. Cas have a GF appearance under their belts now against a Hull team who don't (yes the club were there in 2006 but that's so long ago no players are left) but have some CC's under their belts.

If Cas get back its highly unlikely they'll have to deal with anything as difficult as the Hardaker debacle again though. I don't think they'd have won with him, but what a thing to have to deal with.