Brilliant KR Sink the Rhinos in the Qualifiers After their big defeat at the hands of Salford in their opening Qualifiers fixture, Hull KR went to Toronto and got the win to revitalise their campaign to retain their Super League place. But today they had the biggest of tests as they visited the tournaments favourites with a trip to Headingley to take on the Leeds Rhinos. Danny McGuire was making his first playing return to the ground where he won so many honours, this time with the intention of spoiling the Rhinos party and boosting his new side chances. He was joined by a handful of ex-Rhinos against a still injury ravaged home side. It was the most appetising Qualifiers game of the weekend in a third round of great looking fixtures. READ MORE ON THIS STORY...

Brilliant KR Sink the Rhinos in the Qualifiers After their big defeat at the hands of Salford in their opening Qualifiers fixture, Hull KR went to Toronto and got the win to revitalise their campaign to retain their Super League place. But today they had the biggest of tests as they visited the tournaments favourites with a trip to Headingley to take on the Leeds Rhinos. Danny McGuire was making his first playing return to the ground where he won so many honours, this time with the intention of spoiling the Rhinos party and boosting his new side chances. He was joined by a handful of ex-Rhinos against a still injury ravaged home side. It was the most appetising Qualifiers game of the weekend in a third round of great looking fixtures. READ MORE ON THIS STORY...

Hardly one for the purist, but enjoyable non the less.

Funniest moment for me was when McGuire threw the forward pass for Halls try - the Southstand was incensed!

Jeez, he's been doing that all his career.

Look what happens when you listen to the fans. Certain sections of the Leeds support always wanting McDermott sacked and putting all success own to Sinfield coaching the team.

No way was or would the defence be shipping the points it is doing against Middle 8 teams under McDermott. Should’ve been released at the end of the season if they didn’t have anybody proper lined up but Sinfield has been eyeing up the CEO role for a decade and supporters of his at the club waited for the smell of blood to oust McDermott and start pushing GH out.

Sinfield criticising the ethos at the club when he came back and that players weren’t happy and they’re now much happier in training and things have improve. Way to slam the previous guy (which you know will go down well) but unfortunately the performances don’t back that up Kevin. Young players who’d been doing well and picked under McDermott in Oledzki and Smith haven’t been getting a look in under Sinfield and he’s shifting players around.

Under McDermott we were in a bad patch that we would’ve gotten through. But this whole coup d’état to give Sinfield his dream gig has left the club in a proper mess

Couldn't understand Leeds parting with McDermott when they did. He'd have walked the middle eights, then Leeds could have rang the changes for next season if they felt the need to start afresh. At this rate, Leeds may well sleep-walk into the MPG.

Hard to state how much of a disaster it would be for SL going into new Sky negotiations without the biggest and best-rating club.
Leeds deserve everything they get but this must be giving Elstone sleepless nights as much as Hetherington.

Hetherington did not want to ditch McDermott until the end of the season, it was McDermotts choice to leave when he did.

Wasn't it the other way round? I thought McDermott refused to resign and so was sacked?

Like I said, too many believing the hype that all the success was down to Sinfield and wanting him in and GH and McDermott out. Probably believed it himself and that he’d stroll through the Middle 8’s.

That’s not what I heard, I heard that Hetherington told him that he would be replaced at the end of the year but McDermott basically said back me or sack me.

We still might stroll through them if and its a big if, we win the last 4 games

Printer/Christopher why are you arguing with yourself?

The club decided that a change was required if the £40m investment they had made was to be protected. They needed to sell corporate packages and a lot of them >450 in the new North stand alone as well as all the boxes.

Something needed to change - it hasn't worked out as we all would have hoped but it wasn't McDermott's decision - let's face it the general standard of play under his coaching has been dull and desire for corporate clients to pay a premium for 2019 simply wasn't there - something had to be done.

We won’t beat Salford so we’ll have to win the other three. Which we could do but probably make hard work of and Toronto last game with our defence could be dicey.

Yes I agree do something, but something smart not the mess that they did.

Leave McDermott’s exit until end of the season or replace him back then with a proper new coach not this mess of a setup with Kevin “I’m not the coach” Sinfield. Sinfield hasn’t done anything to suggest he’s ready for the roles he’s taken on but people at the club have built this idea that his is because they had to find someone responsible for our success and it couldn’t be McDermott and GH because they’ve spent way too many years criticing and writing them off only to be made to look stupid. Irony now is they been made to look stupid again just in a different way to previously.

Had a little s at that one myself.

Is there any real chance Leeds could contest MPG?

Wins against Widnes (a) Halifax (a) and Toronto (h) would be enough and is doable despite our struggles. Have Salford at home but don’t fancy us to win that.

We haven’t played well at Widnes for god knows how long, and following today’s result the Vikings will be desperate. I don’t see that as an easy win at all.

Everyone’s desperate in the Middle 8’s. I don’t think it’ll be easy either but it is winnable. We lost by 2 today to a team that is much better than Widnes. Denis Betts for all the criticism he got at Widnes always could pull out a result at home and did against us a few times (a few fortunate timings pre & post World Club Challenge matches) the current Widnes team is in even worst shape than Leeds at the moment.

Leeds' game against Toronto is looking VERY tasty

As a rovers fan today’s result & display was great but I do feel for clubs that finished 9th & 10th could still go down but win more games than teams who finished 7th & 8th. But I am enjoying the middle 8s.

I don't really understand the underlined tbh.
If a team finishes outside the Top 8 before the split it's generally because they've lost more games - in this seasons case, 2 fewer wins than those above.
After the split, those in 9th and 10th are playing 4 Champ clubs and the 2 teams below them in SL. While 7th and 8th are playing the top 6 in SL, so it's hardly a like for like comparison.
You'd expect a team finishing say 9th to beat the Champ clubs and at least a couple of the SL Clubs beneath them. If a team that finishes 9th or 10th like you say goes down, they'd have to lose a fair number of games against teams they really should be beating.
Although saying that I would feel for a Club if they were to go down after finishing 9th after 23 rounds of SL and comfortably above 11th and 12th.

THey couldn't get the corporate sponsors to committ with McDermott in charge - they were asking for a big uplift and they had a lot more spaces to fill. They were getting push back everywhere - he had to go it was a commercial not a rugby decision.

I don’t understand it either it was not meant to be underlined just some button I have pushed but don’t know which one. I do like the idea of the million pound game but championship top & super league bottom should go up/down 10/11should play home & away 2/3 six game play off bottom 2 million pound game if they are determined to get 30 games in. Better still 14 team league bottom down top up 13 play 2 game for super league spot.

! up 1 down seems a whole lot simpler, either a straight swap or by a "million pound game".
The big issue for next season, if we change to 1 up 1 down, will be that the promoted side could have a very short lived SL existence as they will be favourites for the drop.

Any evidence of this or is it just another thing you’ve dreamt up in your head and are trying to push as fact?