Just walking away from the ground after a match not feeling gloomy and pessimistic will be nice. Top 6 and some entertaining rugby, with 100% from the players will do me.

You're all too pessimistic

One good prop, and other teams will be looking at this Leeds side with some trepidation for the first time in years, there will be threat across the park.

going to take some time to bring this team together and get them playing as a feared unit but I hope to have other teams dreading playing us by the business end of the season.
I agree with everyone else that we still need a good prop but I'm happy for them to come in during the season, obviously would prefer them to get a pre-season in with the rest of the team
I just want to walk away from Headingly knowing that I've seen a good game and a 100% commited squad. I don't expect fireworks early on but i think that is in line with where the club are trying to get to

100%.

With the young lads another year on, and signing Hurrell, Lolohea, Merrin and possibly the Mystery Prop - the side will take some time to learn new systems but there's enough quality and experience there to hit the ground running. Leeds' first 17 isn't quite NRL standard, but it won't be a million miles off.

Maybe, though it wouldn't even need to attain that level to challenge in SL.
Just a question now which will come first: hearing slade's "merry xmas everybody" or complaints of Leeds cheating the cap

Well to be fair this is why lots of other sides hate Leeds - have the pull and resources to buy success to some extent. Lots of Academy lads come through Fev/Wakey/Cas areas... we really don’t have any excuse not to be up there towards top of the table most years. Looking at the current squad though I would think we NEED to get rid of some more squad players, especially if we are for an additional prop. A few players on good wedge will have to prove their fitness in 2019 too.

I think we as supporters also maybe need to realise it may take a while to get the systems working and players gelling.

However I fully expect a For the live of god, Furner out thread by March

Yep he has about 2 games before he gets abuse! Tough first month on the road too.
Hopefully, most fans are realistic... put it this way, it will be disastrous if the new squad gets anywhere near relegation again in 2019 with the money and effort thrown at the team.

Think that ship sailed









Joking aside SL needs a strong Leeds and I think you should definitely be aiming for play offs

Do you know I think last year's struggles will do us all good as fans and as a club. It's a sobering reminder of what it's like to follow a side that's badly struggled and has had years of success beforehand. It should make us all appreciate the good times more and not to get complacent.

Hate to say it but some fans have known nothing other than success over the last decade or so. For those of us that remember the Doug Laughton years or perennially getting hammered by Wigan in every big game, we might be more sanguine. At the end of the day it just isn't possible or healthy to win everything all of the time, sport naturally runs in cycles and Leeds have had a hell of a cycle. It's not surprising that some complacency and arrogance crept in - takes a brave manager to make changes to a winning side (from 2015 and 2017 in particular). I do very much like what Sinfield has done since arrival though, and who knows, a new period of success could be quickly upon us again.

Gives the game as a whole a bit of a kick up the ar$e too, tbh. Hopefully some of the other billy big b0llockses at other clubs with grand ideas about turning the tide of falling crowds might motivate themselves to actually do something too.

I have mixed feelings about the Marquee rule. It goes some way to returning us to the bad old days of the same old top 4 every year, which kills interest for the poorer clubs. On the other hand, the standard has clearly dropped too far in recent years as SL has raced to the bottom and the lowest common denominator. There's always a balance I suppose - 2x Marquees is probably about right.

100% agree, what was weird for me in 2016 I actually quite enjoyed the middle 8s in a strange way - but I never felt in 2016 we were in any danger of getting anywhere near the million pound game, this year I hated every second of every game in the middle 8s it was too close for comfort, I'm glad they have gone!

But as you say last year was probably just what the club needed, I look at the staffing and playing structure we have put in place an wonder if all of those changes would have been made had we scraped in the Super 8s.

I'm hoping for an enjoyable year next year I will be happy with not winning anything but don't want that sinking feeling after going to games, especially away games when I felt let down on many occasions that I'd bothered to turn up but the team hadn't, Wigan away was the worst game of the season for me, I'd been probably incorrectly looking for excuses and cutting them/McDermott some slack but that game put paid to that.

I am very much a Sinfield Fanboi as they say but like you I have been very impressed with how he's come in and put new things in place, from everything he's said in the press releases he is not going to be one for complacency or people not putting effort in, ATEOTD the day he was like that as a player so there's no reason he won't be like that as a director.

Fair point though the crowds of poorer clubs are falling too. And for every big name that's brought in there's a (usually) capable player shipped elsewhere. Garbutt to HKR being an obvious recent example. So while HKR might - theoretically - have a harder task beating us, their fans maybe get to see an improvement in what they're watching too. And should they beat a team loaded with "names" the victory will be all that much sweeter. But yes, there has to be a cut off at some point.

HKR are quietly putting a decent side together there. I honestly want to see more sides of good quality able to beat other sides (including a GOOD Leeds side). Re. crowds dropping, Leeds having poor league form on and off for a while doesn't help; the standard on the field has also dropped. People want to be entertained. We're also milking the udders dry with too many fixtures and have had way too complicated a structure which even hard core fans struggle to understand. Lots of little reasons probably, rather than any one thing you can fix. If Leeds get it right though I do believe the whole game in England is enhanced.

Yep same here. 2016 was intriguing and we were clearly far too good but last season was different, we were in real danger. It's given us all a shot across the bows

Remember them well. I used to be convinced as a kid that we would never win anything..

It was character building to visit Wembley year after year in the forlorn hope that Wigan wouldn't spank you by 30 points.

All though getting to see THAT Offiah try being scored pretty much right in front of me at Wembley is something that will live with me forever, so that sugared the pill a little.

I hate watching it even now. Even worse is Jason Robinson at OT

Yep saw both those tries live. We deserved that first GF win actually, really unfair on Daz Fleary to be the guy twinkle does danced around to win it. Great tries though

I was thinking that the recent flush of signings reminded me of the Laughton era, or at least the year we brought in Clyde, Mullins, Carroll and Mears... 2000?

How long is it since opposition fans have sung 'what a waste of money' to a Leeds team? Or even our own fans? [that would have been appropriate last season, perhaps I missed that not going to games any more

I'm more optimistic than many who have posted on this thread already, but at the same time I think there's scope for a lot to go wrong with so many changes to both the coaching team and the playing roster.

We should expect a return to the top half of the table, or better, although it may take them a few weeks to gel. Hopefully any potential dissent over players leaving and having to accept different roles in the team can be minimised. Plenty to look forward to - in terms of the new signings, how existing players respond to the new regime, and younger players coming through.