see you in a few years under a new name, again..

It says a hell of a lot about the others because Leeds should never have won the title from 5th place or even on the basis of the improved form they've showed in recent weeks. It was improved form but hardly fantastic or great form... just a damn sight better than what they'd been producing for most of the season. Nobody is more surprised than me that Leeds have won the title, but yes... questions need to be asked about the teams who finished in the Top Four and why they failed so miserably when it really counted?

[uWarrington[/u - Overrated throughout. I was never convinced by them at any stage and never thought they'd win the SL title. They were winning too many games way too easy, and by huge margins. Strolls in the park, low-intensity fixtures. They weren't being tested and I did wonder how they'd react if they were placed under any pressure in a closely contested game. Typical Tony Smith outfit - Flat Track Bullies for the most part. A 47-0 cakewalk in the park followed by a week off. Then they were finally tested, didn't enjoy the experience, looked lost under pressure, looked lost in the headlights, played with fear and ended up losing everything to a team who had nothing to lose on the night who were up for the challenge to prove all their doubters wrong.

[uWigan[/u - with hindsight, I think the tough draw they had in the CC broke their backs and they simply ran out of steam afterwards. Should have retained their SL title and I believe they would have but for the CC. Clearly not strong enough to do the double which I thought they were capable of. Leeds had an easy draw by comparison and took a lot of positives and confidence out of the CC Final.

[uSt Helens[/u - I think they overachieved this season. Good effort to reach another GF with that squad of young players and the injuries they've endured. One has to admire their consistency at reaching GF's but they just don't possess the X-Factor to crack it at Old Trafford these days. I also think that psychologically, this team don't believe they can win a Grand Final having lost in them so many times in recent years. They capitulated yesterday leading 16-8 with 15 minutes to go and the tries they conceded in that period to Leeds were all soft.

[uHuddersfield[/u - they were completely wasted several months ago and that's when their season ended in reality. Fortunate to hang on to 4th place on the ladder due to the inconsistency of those teams immediately below them. Hugely disappointing.

[uLeeds[/u - got their act together at the business-end after performing so poorly practically all season... improved discipline, completed sets, less errors, more structured defence. Finishing 5th turned out to be a blessing with comfortable fixtures against Hull and Huddersfield. Limited expectations, nothing to lose, pressure off. Two solid performances required to win the title was all that was required. Seemed implausible given their results against the top sides throughout the year. Nothing spectacular, nothing great... just a couple of solid performances back-to-back from Leeds is all it took to achieve that.

One has to admire the fact Leeds have become SL champions again from the dire position they've been in for most of the season. It's an incredible achievement. But looking at the bigger picture, I'm of the opinion that the playing standards in SL have fallen another notch this year. There hasn't been a single game of Super League all season which contained both ingredients of quality and intensity in any discernible shape or form.

wigan we're absolutely gone come the play off's,surely they should have been capable of either beating saints at home or away should they not?
i would have loved us to have played wigan yesterday as we would have absolutely walloped them and by a very big margin too

i agree regarding warrington not being fully tested and on a regular basis,but surely they should have been good enough to beat the lowest finishing,written off as passed it,an old man team that is over the hill,rhinos side surely

i just hope that you didn't lose too much money on your guaranteed wigan sl gf victory keith, after all its nice when a sl whipping boy rabble side does the job,shame for you that the one on the other hemisphere couldn't do it also

I'm always appreciative of threads specifically named after me, and your contribution... albeit erroneous on so many levels... is still appreciated nonetheless

Overall a very good analysis.

Although I don't think you give us quite enough credit. We had to battle through alot of adversity in both those games against saints and wire. Even you must admire the never say die spirit and desire within the team.

For me though, warrington well and truly blew it. This was their year. They'd beaten all the top teams home and away, wigan were spent from the CC, leeds were 5th, hudds were gone, and saints were saints - old trafford chockers.

I don't think they'll get a better shot at the title.

I think they'll be alot of people who question leeds' validity as champions next season having won from 5th, which will provide us with extra motivation to finish in the top 2 and win it from there again.