Finally people are coming around to what I've been saying about Watkins for quite a while now......it isn't just his teammates fault when he doesn't play well and he doesn't look to try and get himself involved enough.

Have said elsewhere...he is another one (Clarkson, Stevie Ward) that appears to have gone backwards under the present stewardship


Let's hope it all improves next season: as I have also already stated this season is as good as over.

....and before any of the myopic faithful start up again....let me again add I am satisfied that the CC is enough for me for this season.

Well heard something last night from a friend (yes I know a "my friend heard this" story always sounds dubious but he isn't the type to come out with this if not true)

Basically, he bumped into Ryan Hall a couple of weeks ago and had a little chat with him and the general jist of the story was from Hall was this season was pretty much "Challenge Cup, Challenge Cup, Challenge Cup"......it seemingly was what was dominating their every rugby related thought in 2014.

With that hurdle overcome (and Sinfield retiring from internationals which I think could be a big boost) it will be very interesting to see how we go next year during the regular season.

Well it fits with how our season has played out. Off to a good start to build a platform in the league, second half of the season and league form goes west as CC reaches the latter stages.

Like I mentioned before. McDermott when asked before the London game if the squad has been gripped by Wembley fever, he replied that the team has had Wembley fever ever since they got past Saints back in April.

Sinfield mentioned after the whistle that it wasn't a crusade to win that particular trophy.....I think it was in reality, and it's not just been this season.

I can't recall any previous occasion where a loss to Wigan was treated by Leeds fans with such indifference and a collective shrug of the shoulders.

It is to be hoped it's not too late for next season's structural changes to rescue this sport from near oblivion.

Maybe some fans are content with a CC win at the expense of table position in the Super Dooper league.

Similar to what Delaney said to me at the start of the season.
Winning the CC was their main priority and we will see how we go in the League.
He said the same just before we were drawn against Saints.

Meh. We've won the Cup. It's a smidge disappointing that we haven't finished higher up the table but as mentioned there have been plenty of very close losses that could've gone either way and it's a very close and competitive top 6.
But that disappointment is more than made up for by the Cup win.

Isn't it funny that when Leeds weren't winning the CC it was no more than a "mickey mouse cup" for second raters.......and winning the GF was what [ireally[/i mattered

It still is the Inferior cup, and poor from Leeds fans that their ambitions lie with that. Even looking at next years WCC and the third ranked team ignores the cup, and places importance on the league.

The cup was a bonus, and great if as well as league, but should never be "it's ok as we won it". The league should be the priority of any team, the only cup with bragging rights.

Don't think the CC is a Mickey Mouse cup but it certainly is inferior to grand final. You can tell that when you attend. CC is more party atmosphere, GF has a more serious feel to it.

The only Mickey Mouse trophy really is the hub cap for me

Had the circumstances been different and this group of pays won the cup before you're right, but for the parts to not have acup winners medal has made it a big thing so rightly have focused on it. It'san iinferior competition and though we had a tough run to win it the prestige is not there.

This group of players needed it and I'm happy to come away from any season with a lump of silver in the cabinet

Lay season Leeds we pretty beat up by this time. We went to Wigan in the late round and won, then lost tamely a couple of weeks later.

This season The squad has been managed much better, and we are fresher.

Games that ultimately don't matter have been lost but let's have been kept fresh.

Leeds were well below par on Friday but still competed well.

Leeds have shown in recent weeks in the CC that they can raise their game to another level. The defence week get meaner. Hopefully the attack will improve, and we will see a didn't team come playoffs.

Wigan are the only team I fear. All the others I think we can beat home or away.

The league is what the fans pay the majority of their monies to the club. If the players have a half ar$ed view about winning it its pretty poor position in my view. Winning the CC was fantastic but it doesn't compare to winning the GF

If a team is just prepared to accept defeat as norm then surely it must be difficult to engage a different mentality when it really matters. If the CC was all Leeds were focussing on then not even getting to OT would appear to be a fair trade for the day at Wembley - do the players really have that mentality - surely not?

This is why the league structure had to change. It's now not just Leeds that take this approach to the league games, Wigan and wire do also. That I think it's why we will see our weakest top two in quite a while. Luckily this should change next season, because otherwise it wood have had a detrimental affect on crowds and the game as a whole

It's nothing to do with the league structure or leeds not giving a damn, we have lost some very close games and with the CC final so stupidly close to the end of the season we had to make a few sacrifices pre final with losses to Bradford & London.

Ok we were a Little flat against Wigan but it was our third massive game in a row with key players missing.

I know why he was laughing, I assumed it wasn't the witty banter from the studio he was listening to.
Can you imagine Jamie Peacock laughing with 2 minutes to go when losing a vital game? Can you imagine Sinfield laughing? JJB laughing? McGuire laughing? Watkins' mental weakness will be his downfall.

Peacock was laughing when he got saddled with the late drop goal attempt against your good selves in the game we drew.

Watkins seems distracted to me and has done for a while. If so, it may simply resolve itself without anyone being any the wiser. He wouldn't be the first player to be affected by off field issues - not that there's any evidence of this although it's just as plausible as "not wanting it enough".

He bloody caught him didn't he?

Considering the game was already lost, and there was just minutes left with fatigue setting in it was a sign of mental toughness for watkins to get back and catch him.

I bet saints fans wish they had players with that 'mental weakness' in the some of their games. Once the game is gone they don't give a sh*t.

Losing away to Wigan isn't the issue at all. That's one you can take on the chin.

The unacceptable performances have been the thrown away points against Wakefield, London and Bradford. Coupled with the number of points Leeds have thrown away in last stanza's of games.

True. They should have tried a short chip over the top.

I see the excuse-a-thon continues as Leeds lose another league game (and get run over by Wigan - again).

They tried to get the message out...Leeds really needed the little fella out there on terra firma , beep beep would have had a field day running at them tired wigan forwards.

Personally I think Burrow was the one player we didn't miss against Wigan. He would have got hammered everytime, they were up that quick on us.