Again you have to ask why the man selected a player to sit on the bench for the whole bluddy match.... As others have said rather than revere a troop for battling on bravely (JJB).....you're not in the marines now .... use your bluddy bench players.

Ward should have been moved into the 2nd row and BJB brought in a LC. ( I cannot agree with you about moving Hardaker from the FB position ).

Or Briscoe to centre and BJB on the wing simples.

Completely agree. We were so lacking in ideas in their 20 that they were picking up our plays. How many times did we break down the left, have them stretched only for the next play to be a drop off to a forward running back into the ruck. Surely the coach coaches them to look for the gaps. We always seem to have our set plays and that's it, no off the cuff rugby.

As for his subs, how in this modern game can you use effectively a 15 man squad. Singleton got 10 minutes and obviously no Bish. He JP, Kylie and Delaney were flogged. There were a number of times they looked out on their feet but were left out there. Ward isn't a centre so why put him there.

I've never been a McDermott fan and last night illustrated why.

Credit to Saints, they took their chances and kept themselves in the game. But we should have won it comfortably. If the roles were reversed, they'd have battered us

Correct, its sport, its how it works.

Maybe the weekly critics should stop playing predictable computer games and step outside into an unpredictable world once in a while ?

Why not have Elliot Minchella as sub, I'm sure he was 18th man and warmed up with the team....

I was told last year that it was "innovative".

I'm not so sure. BJB to 1, Hardaker to 6 and Sinfield to 9 for a spell might have freshened things up.

Or we could have put Stevie Ward out of his centre misery, flicked Zak there and introduced BJB at FB.

Did you clock Kirke's pitiful number of carries? 3/4?

I think there is big problems in this squad and the easy wins are just papering over the cracks. Who have we really beaten this season? Wire were poor when we played them. Catalans were shocking. Hudds are not half the team they were last season, as the table is showing.

McDermott not playing Achurch against Hudds was a massive slap in the face to everyone involved in the club. That was a real forwards battle and the only explanation anyone can think of was that he could not have trusted him. So Leeds this season have a squad of 16 and we may play one of the other 9 'squad members' for when we play the whipping boys.
The way Fridays game was shaping up it was not a game for the Leeds 3/4 line. We were been shut down very quickly. However playing JJB injured when the simple solution of Ward to 2nd row and bringing BJB into the 3/4s was simple. Instead he played him busted and basically closed up shop at left centre.
Singleton for a 10 min spell makes it more disgusting. It just stinks. Very very poor. I wish someone would ask McDermott the question. Whats McDermott going to do when the old trusted guard retire? Will he pack up and f off out of the place as he doesn't trust anyone else? I can stand losing but not when the squad hasn't been given the chance to give it their best shot.

It was exactly the same against Hudds, 1 unused sub (Achurch), and Singleton only got about 10 mins then too.

So effectively, we played with 15 men against both teams - not sure what McDermott is thinking - maybe he thinks it's a way of batttle hardening the troops, going through adversity etc. But for mine, it stinks - we're trying to win games after tying one of our hands behind our back.

Tough close games against the better opposition is where the likes of Singleton and Achurch will gain valuable experience (win or lose) and become better players, who can ultimately be relied upon in the close, hard fought and important games. If not, you're left with the likes JP, Sinfield, Burrow etc as the ones who can be relied on in the big games, with no succession plan, or an undercooked plan b for if they get injured.

Just seems so bizarre.

Singleton made 27 tackles vs Hudds so he must've been on for a bit more than 10 minutes.

That is the change i was thinking would be made at Half time.

I only picked on this comment, there are many I could have used to. Suppose in the game the coach did as you thought and we lost 14 - 10.

Your comment now reads

What is McDermott playing at , moving the best fullback in the league to LC and bringing on BJB to fullback where he hasn't played all year. Should have left Ward where he was and if JJB can't play while injured we should get rid. Playing Burrow at hooker when Aiton could have played while been ill, if Aiton can't play after having a virus all week we should get rid.
Moving Sinfield to Hooker during the game to replace Burrow is madness when he is a loose forward or stand off. If Burrow can't play hooker we should get rid. Why is he playing that youngster Singleton for 60 minute stints when we have the best prop in the league warming the bench in order to save him for September , if he can't play everygame we should get rid.

What on earth is he playing at using all our subs and not saving them for the end of the season when they need to be fresh, McDermott please go , you just did everything during the game I was going to write you should have done but you did it and lost which means it's me who's clueless . If McDermott is going to do everything I thought and leave me having to adjust my hindsight knowledge rant we need to get rid.

I could go on

i like it!

Clarkson came in late to cover Achurch.

So BJB was planned 'tactically' to be on the bench. Mac is his post game chat said they were expecting a very well drilled, confident team and they knew they were in a fight regardless of the injuries. So that concedes the game went how he thought it would so BJB was always going to be subbed not used.

An injury to the outside backs was probably the only way BJB would have got game time from the bench on Friday.

BJB was probably only in because of Aiton's illness though.

I imagine the bench would've been

Aiton/Burrow
Achurch
Kirke
Singleton

Quite possibly.

But our coach could have put more thought in than just plonking him on the bench.

Aiton was a big loss. Seeing Burrow at hooker for extended periods of time isn't pretty.

Burrow is as much of a hooker as Stevie Ward is a centre.

True, I can live with him doing cameo spells there in games but not too long.

having the same issue at huddersfield

fairbank not used v leeds

yesterday when our props were knackered johnson (young prop) not used on the bench

I'm just wondering re: all the BMcD complaints on this issue - are any of you gold season ticket members? When i had a one-off ticket after Broncos, he was physically loitering around and presumably available to be asked this question (whether one-to-one or in 'heckle questions from the crowd as he talks about the game' fashion).

I'm not sure if some heavies (maybe including Hall - in which case, 1 out of 3 times, he'd miss you

) would be involved and escort you out, but it seems that people are physically there after games at least for you to ask the question.

So why not? If i am in the long bar post-match anytime soon, i'd ask why he was dressed like a boxer pre-match, in hat, hood up and gloves all game, like some gangster-wannabe?

Imagine it'd cut through a lot of speculation on here quite quickly, if someone just asked. As pointed out by someone - the media aren't, so why don't 'you'?

I imagine you'd get a pretty non-specific answer of there was not a suitable part of the game for that interchnage based on how the game was going

Last time someone tried heckling him in the Long Bar he finished his little speech without taking his gaze off the heckling in question. After he wrapped up he made a bee-line for across the room, eyeballing him all the way. Feckwit genuinely almost shat himself. But once he got to him McDermott just said, fairly aggressively admittedly, "we alright mate?"

"Oh yeah, yeah". replied.

"Good". And off he walked.

So if you're going to ask a question, make sure it isn't the kind of bollox that loser was spouting.

Sounds like the queries on here re: only using 3 subs are fairly genuine and not 'bollox' queries though.

Unfortunately for BMcD when you are coach and 'top of the tower' you put yourself in the firing line for people to ask questions - can't have it both ways in my view.

Had i have realised his tendency to do this (i've not noticed it until reading all the comments on here) i could've asked him a fortnight ago when he nearly walked into me as he wasn't watching where i was going walking through the car park!

You see, I have defended his decisions this season, and said I am pleased he has learnt from previous mistakes. But that example you give above, is exactly why I really can not take to this fella. He really does think he is something special and has a very big ego problem. The guy heckling was a waste of space (heckling is poor game, should have just made his point), if he thought he had a point he should have stuck to it, and see how McDermott handled himself then.