Read it [url=http://leeds.rlfans.com/readarticle.php?article_id=1269here[/url and enjoy....

Just checked the records and it seems we're the ONLY team to win 3 championships in a row EVER! (Widnes and Wigan won 3 and 4 Premierships in a row respectively, but they don't count as championships).

First of all thanks for your brilliant contribution all year round. Must be hard not to get involved in some of the conversations on here sometimes with the love of rugby league in your veins that clearly show in your match reports.

Yourself and Gary have done a fantastic job running the forum. Many thanks to Tad and Oldham for been pundits as well. Also to Frosties for doing his competition.

You’re a fantastic team and I’m grateful that you didn’t ban me when I tried turning this into a Leeds United forum whilst the main mod was away.

Fantastic report and enjoyed reading it!

Damo

Ditto.

That must be 3 championship finals, because wigan won 3 and more titles on the trot in the early 90's.

Good Post Damo

I hope you mean in Championship/Grand Final sense. Don't forget the Goons were crowned Champions via first past the post on more than three occasions consecutively.

Yes, in the Championship / Grand Final eras (which dates back to 1907), no team has sucessfully defended three on the bounce.

Of course, you could argue about Wigan's record, but that was under the first-past-the-post league system.

Is there an echo in here

Could be ..... It's those pesky sound waves bouncing off all that silverware

I do wonder in my lifetime if I’ll ever get to see Leeds surpass Wigan in the history stakes. The baton is over to you Oldham if you still keep in touch with all the academy stuff with the Leeds rugby!

I must admit I went in to tonight's game with some trepidation ....

As expected, like many teams big or small, Saints attempted to get on top during the first 20 minutes and they gave it a pretty good go.

The first turning point for me was the rotation of the forwards about 20 - 25 minutes in ... It was shortly after this that we scored to reduce the pressure somewhat. The forwards Saints brought on were not able to sustain the pressure and ball retention that had gone on before.

Whilst the Leeds kicking game was generally good, it soon became clear where the general weaknesses were at the back for Saints .... Smelli is susceptable to mistakes under the high ball, Wellens is old / past it so that anything that goes to him, he runs out for 15 yards and then looks to off-load and Gardner is only a threat with the ball in hand and a gap in front of him, not getting the ball from his bootstraps near his own line.

Leeds also employed the tactic of shutting down Leon Pryce ... 20 minutes in to the game, he did is usual 'invisable man' impression and wasn't seen again.

The other vital score came just before half-time and levelled the game ... It could be argued that Saints on balance had been the better side for most of the first half, but it must hurt psychologically to be busting a gut and still find the opposition level pegging after all that effort.

The next mistake came at the second half restart and letting the ball go dead ... Leeds made Saints pay in the best possible way, even by just coming away with a drop goal (a tatical ploy that isn't used enough in the modern game). Regardless of the pre-match hype, having to chase a third final must have gnawed at them, especially as the second half dragged on.

Graham was tackled out of the game as an effective stike weapon, in just the same way that the Aussies and Kiwis remove him from the gameplan in Tests.

Even 10-9 down, Saints were living off the oxygen of Ganson's penalties.

Sooner or later Saints were going to tire and Leeds broken field running came to the fore ... Look at the number of breaks we got in the last third of the match ?

Regardless of the whinge about the validity of the Smith try, ask yourself were Saints in a position (with sustained pressure on the try line) to even attempt something similar during the latter half of the game ?

The other great part of the Smith try was the James Graham Goal Post Impression.

The only minor point after the Burrow drop goal (and it was good to see Leeds using this ploy to extend the lead and potenially regain the ball from the restart) was the lapse in concentration at the restart.

In terms of Saints, I thought Eastmond was their best player and it will be interesting to see how he goes next year with the departure of several of their big name players. He certainly won't be afforded the same amount of open field running latitude when he takes Sideshow Bob's role.

As for Saints in general, they have some big problems .... Cunningham is no longer the force he was and indeed is virtually no threat from dummy half any more. Wellens, as already mentioned, does not have the legs to use pace to get him out of problems at full back. Saints pack next year is going to be bolstered by a pair of 34 year old fresh legs in Fozzard, a player that was releaseable 12 months ago. Gidley, whilst still a threat, is 32 and not getting any younger. Plenty for their management to think about.

Saints are like a turkey.

Their wings are f'n useless, and they get stuffed once a year.

Maybe it's Captain Nostalgia whispering in my ear, but wasn't there a whiff of the 78 Cup Final in the timing of that drop goal soon after the break (albeit at that time Leeds were still behind rather than level).

So, it wasn't just me thinking that ....