I started writing this trying to defend BM, but it didn't end up like that!

Selections - I think a few of the bizarre selection issues are possibly for disciplinary reasons. But if the club just came out and said it like other clubs do (Wigan, Cas, Hull KR and Crusaders recently) then at least the fans would understand instead of jumping to conclusions. Could this be why Burrow was dropped to the bench, Pitts doesn't get much of a look in any more, Clarkson and McShane were dropped for a match or two? Seems to be the reason why Burgess and Cross went, based on comments made in the press after they'd gone (sorry can't find the link right now). Could also be the reason why players like Kirke and Haraki seem undroppable (not that I'm questioning their ability

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New signings - I don't think we'll see any till August (or whenever the deadline is for being able to speak to players from other clubs) so there is time yet for a few big name signings. That doesn't mean to say I'm expecting any though, and this deadline doesn't include signing NRL players. Which kind of leads into...

Inherited the Current Squad - Which included Matt Diskin who was let go while he was in charge, along with Cross and Burgess. There have been players available mid season (the free for all at Wakefield, Jordon Tansey, Martin Gleeson) but with the juniors available then if the first team is really that bad as to blame the current squad (which BM is currently re signing!) then there are alternatives there.

Injury Crisis - I can't think of a game we have lost where you can blame the ability of the 17 put out for losing. We managed to win the cup game (against Crusaders I think), where we lost three players due to injury and only had 1 player on the interchange for 30 mins. The team that drew with Wigan were good enough to win and the team that lost to Bradford weren't injured they just didn't know how to stop giving penalties away.

Pre season - I'm not sure when the events of pre season are arranged, but I would have thought BM had time to re arrange things if he wanted to. He had time to cancel the warm weather training so the team could stay and train in the worst winter we have seen for years (and then moan about not being able to do any outdoor training

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The thing that is killing us most than can easily be sorted in the discipline. And who can sort that out Brian?

There is no case here, it's nonsense. This paragraph highlights how bull$h!t this article is:

"[iAfter three years of success, Rhinos have struggled to know how to cope when things go wrong – and almost everything that could go wrong has done so.[/i"

So we didn't know how to deal with losing every second row forward in the club in 2008? We didn't have to get Anselme on loan and we didn't have to play Cas with practically the entire first team missing. We also didn't know how to cope with the dissapointments of 2005 and the poor 2006 season.
It's rubbish, this team has had to scrap for everything and taken nothing for granted without being punished.

IMO he is way out of his depth.

The longer his tenure, the more cracks and holes are appearing.

The players and their poor performances have to be noted as well. But Mac doesn't rectify or punish their faults. mac always moans about discipline, yet he displays none of his own as he can't shake this out of them.

Coaches are people of action. Mac isn't a coach. We've got 2 steaming number 2's.

Good post Mr. Heron, sir.

That is it in a nutshell

Can't imagine why any Loiner would even contemplate getting rid of Agents Ma.... sorry, of Mac and Lowes...

I was willing to give this joker an entire season to prove himself but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that he could brought the club to such lows in such a very little amount of time.

It took McBanana a full 3 seasons to screw Bradford over, McMuppet seems to be doing it in 1!

That last thing I want to read is the sycophantic mouthpieces at the YEP suggesting that we should give him a break - I'd like to give him a break too right ...

The case to keep him is five letters long. Money.

Who do you think is Agent Mac and Agent Lowes' handler, and taught them everything they know...?

You pays for what yous get.

The expression that contains the words "monkeys" and "peanuts" jumps to mind.

After the hugely successful work undertaken by Agent Harris, it was inevitable Bradford would retaliate at some point.

This is beyond the pale though. Using Agents McDermott & Lowes is the equivalent of chemical warfare.

There is no case to be made as far as I can see.

There are no reasons to keep him and the longer him and his idiot mate are here we will be going backwards.

That is hardly fair or reasonable.

There is the potential yet for it to be equivilent of at least a medium-yield atomic bomb...

I wonder if he ever wakes up on a morning thinking "maybe they are right and I'm shoite after all?". If he did, that would be the first thing he has got right in a long time...

There is no case to keep him!!

At the end of the day yeah he can't be blamed for the errors the players are making, e.g webb and bedsy both knocking on at TPB againt catalans.
What he can be blamed for is our complete lack of scruture in either attack or defense something that has been evident all season.
releasing biff, and cross, and keeping ambler and amor out on loan tells me that he and GH have written this season off. I fully believe that you give brown, robinson, simmons, mcguire, smith, our squad we would be performing a damn site better on a regular basis instead of the odd good performance every weeks or so.

Hopefully one good thing can come out of this season and mc wont be head coach next season

The argument to keep him consists of who is out there, willing to come in for 7 games, or is someone we want to put our long term trust in.

I'm pretty sure that there's going to be quite a lot of "McDermott Out" chants come friday evening.

And i might just join in!!

Peter Smith also claimed in that article that his namesake Lee is 'fast'.......

The problem with what he's saying is that he's ignoring what everyone sees on the field when we play badly - i.e. that we are playing badly. The very fact that the team can give Wigan a run for their money (missing players in both cases) and yet turn up the next week and play like a pub team ought to be evidence enough that there is some quality left in the side, and that it is simply dreadfully underperfoming far too frequently.

I'm also a bit worried about the talk of an Aussie threequarter at the end of the piece - all the high profile players will have already signed up by now. We may be in for a pleasant surprise, but TBH I expect at best we'll recruit someone of the Delaney calibre (albeit one who might actually want to play in the centres).

Pretty well all that lot could be posted about the Bulls on RAB with virtually no changes.

Leeds - the new Bradford?

All joking aside and as sh#* as it is to see kirke ,Hauraki and co retained i'd lie to think we are a long way off 3yr deals for the likes of Platt signing Raynor ,Sykes and Herbert etc etc.

I
I might start it!!!

Remember we have several years on you, so it'll be around 2014 when you get to the same stage. Remember to look us up then, so we can pass on our experience of how bear (or, more truthfully, endure) the pain, and deal with all the smart sods elsewhere on the forum who delight in the misfortunes of others...



Those you named :Sykes and Platt - bit hard to put much positive spun on those, other than to hope they did not come at much cost. No been a lot wrong with Raynor, to be honest, that getting some ball for a change would not resolve, for a year or so maybe albeit no more. He must think he is still on a Union park, given how little he sees of the bloody football. Herbert may yet (maybe...possibly...conceivably...) prove his detractors wrong - but no way can he shine while the forwards make such a dog's breakfast of what they are being paid to do.

No ... After a rubbish season, floating around 10th, you lot attempted to 'flatter to decieve' by trying to win the last game of the season to qualify ... Which you promptly lost.

On the other hand, no matter how bad we've been, we've still been no worse than 8th and given Hull KR's somewhat staccacto form, along with a run-in against the like of Salford, Wakey and Cas, then we 'should' be OK for a first round exit from the play-offs.

Having said that, GH wouldn't mind an early finish to the season so he can get the bulldozers in as soon as possible ....

I would have thought an admiral would have known enough about fishing not to bite...