what a joke result today, i dont give two hoots that the cc final is next week there are league positions up for grabs, today was embarassing, this is like giving no respect to our respective league, what a joke,

Same as the Bradford game, what motivation he must have been to London and Bradford when the team sheets are shown. We could have won the League Leaders Shield

Frankly, no one who matters gives 2 sh*ts about the LLS. But what does matter, is a decent position to get to the grand final. Leeds are blowing a place in the top 2. All these fanboys who perpetuate this myth that we can finish anywhere and win it are deluded. Last season showed that. Right now, leeds could beat saints and hull after the CC final and still not make the top 2.

Leeds season hinges on next week. If they lose next week they've thrown this season away.

we have the quality to do the double this year, but when we do this we dont give ourselves much chance of that, i can understand cas doing it cos warrington would have roughed them up, but we could beat london at a canter shame on u brian mc

Could and should have used it as a training session for his Wembley 17.
The man has shown his lack of management skills big time.

Totally agree mate

The problem with all you critics is ....where you advocating the same not resting key players [iprior[/i to the game?

I agree it is a real faux pas to end up losing to BOTH the bottom 2 so close to the end of the season thus tragically jeopardising the chance of finishing in the top 2....BUT I think most do not appreciate how much winning the CC must mean to these players and the club. No excuse I know but understandable if not something to be condoned. Having the CC run in coincide so much with the end of season championship run in is a stupid fault of the RL which again does the game's crediblity no good at all.

LEEDS simply MUST win the CC....and I believe they will. All then again will be forgiven and the coach again rewarded with another season in charge, but again I also pity anybody paying to watch these poor regular league games.

But if we don't win next week, these silly loses will look even worse and we will probably end up finishing fifth and winning nothing

The guy got constantly bagged for trying to play his strongest 17 the previous years? Which do people want?

Had Sinfield or Burrow or Ablett got injured today they'd have been people burning effigies of McDermott in the street this next week.

What was most disappointing today was the fact we got into the big lead. I thought that if we did slip up today it would be from a slow start and constantly trying to fight our way back into.

Perhaps the cliche some like to trot out on here of "if you're good enough you're old enough" has taken a hit today.......good is one thing, experience you can't buy.

Today means jack all in terms of what happens on Saturday vs Cas even if some what to say it "adds pressure." What it does mean is going full strength against Saints and Wigan the following weeks even though it sounds like some are struggling.

You took a team lightly and got what you deserve? HA

Theres a difference between gradually rotating your team across a season, and just resting loads of key players at once just when league positions are up for grabs. Cup final or not.

Most interesting thing of note today was an interview with McDermott pre-match.

The interviewer asked McDermott if Wembley fever had taken over the team since the win over Warrington.

He replied that Wembley fever had taken over since we beat Saints in the 5th Round way back when.

Given that we immediately got drawn against Leigh and a semi was a given (although it ended up being much harder work in reality) then it just goes to show how the focus of this team has been so badly impacted by the missing CC win, and not just this year but since 2010 I reckon it's consumed and hung over this team's regular season efforts.

McDermott's reply is IMO the greatest insight into how this team has performed over the course of a season for a number of years now.

The monkey needs to come off our backs.

There were more than enough first team players out there today to beat London.

So we went to London today with our full strength team and won by 100 points. Next week in the final we lost as peacock, kylie, sinfield were tired.

Would all you cynics than be saying oh don't worry we beat London.

The FINAL is the most important game between that and the league match. WIN our last three games in the league and the shield still could be ours.

Our guys play weekly why would they be tired? They are professional rugby league players not fat amateurs from the local boozer, they could have played 10 first teamers today won comfortably and gone on to win next week,

If you rest Sinfield, Maguire, Burrows, Moon, Peacock, Kylie, Ablett, Delaney, and JJB all of whom played in the semi final you're going to struggle as the opposition will take heart in that approach and the experience any of the above players bring helps you close out games, either with the go forward from the pack or positional kicking from the backs. At twenty points in front you'd think we'd have enough to finish the game on top but having no kicker in the side and four kids making their debut sometimes it doesn't pay off, like the Bradford game this was another one of those games. When you looked at the fixtures a few weeks ago with Leeds playing the bottom four teams you would think it would be an easy eight points.....not so three games in we've beaten Salford, lost to the Bulls and the Broncos with Hull to face at the end of the season where they'll have nothing to lose and you wouldn't rule out a Hull win.

Saturday will be a different story with both teams resting their big players it's definitely game on. Let's hope we get the same reaction from the team as we did at St Helens in the semi final.

Not so. JP himself says it takes him nearly all week to recover from a big stint during a match to be ready to put another one in next time around.

We've got Wembley followed by vital league games against Wigan and Saints - in effect three cup finals in three weeks - from which we'll be wanting big stints from all the top guys. That means we need to ensure they're at their best going into that period.

I think you massively underestimate the effect a modern rugby league game has on a players body. Apart from pre-season, most of the weeks training time is to get the players back to a position of being able to play again.

We play week in week out we win 3 or 4 on the bounce playing at the top our game, what's different? If it was super league we would be doing it so why treat it any different, we should carry momentum into the cc final,

Momentum often brings injuries, which usually causes the momentum to stall.
Going by your logic it wouldn't ever be necessary to rest a player and players wouldn't pick up injuries.

Don't blame McDermott - that side should have beaten London - take Moon out that is the 3/4 line that will play next week. 30-8 up with 30 minutes to go should have been enough. This time the players need to look in the mirror!!

The players are only playing once a week - are we seriously suggesting the players are not fit enough to play once a week?

Good job these guys don't play in the NRL - one in three games in SL are a coasting exercise - are we seriously suggesting the likes of Sinfield - who has just had two games off - needs resting, same can be said of Moon, Burrow who has had 10 weeks off?

Well we played 12 first teamers so that blows your logic out of the water.

Not sure if you have noticed this but Rugby league is a physical sport where the bodies get bashed both in attack and defense.

Who actually cares?

Its all about next week, today was just a weekend to get out of the way.

If you care about today then you don't understand our priorities as a club and thiers as a group of players.

As a relative newcomer / outsider to the game a part of me assumes / expects that a professional rugby league player should be able to play a professional game of rugby league once a week, as the professional body determines is a fair frequency to play. Similarly, professional footballers should be able to play two professional games a week, as that is their profession that they have signed up for. A professional baseball player is scheduled to play 162 games a season across 180 days and although very few play all games (if any) the outfielders and big hitters play a decent amount of them.

I understand that I have no idea what it feels like to play an 80 minute game of rugby league and that for some pros it takes them a week to recover, but then no-one has forced them to be pro rugby league players. To some degree they have signed up for it - so long as they (or their manager) are not putting them at physical risk - ie. playing someone too soon after their last game as they have not recovered from the last - is it unreasonable to expect them to play once a week?

I'm not sure what some of you do for jobs, but presumably you have contracts. Your boss doesn't pull you out of business meetings because you had a big business meeting the week before, or you don't sit out fixing a car one time as you tired from fixing the last two cars that came in - you are there to fix cars so if there are cars to be fixed you and your colleagues fix them. It is part of what you signed up to do.

Anyway, that is my rant over for now.

the 1000 people who paid hard earned money to travel for 3 hours to watch that shower capitulate?