No an assistant should be of sufficient quality to be a good assistant. An assistant role is different to a head coach role.


Well firstly they're not on an equal footing. McDermott is in charge so naturally his thinking will take precedence. Any good coach and leader listens to advice from anyone not just his assistants. They have regular meetings, why do you think McDermott just ploughs on regardless or that Eaton & Plume are cowed by McDermott?
I'd think that they'd act like normal human beings act and put suggestions forward and then debate it as a group and come to a decision with McDermott, as head coach, having final word.
I note you're missing Davidson out, do you think Davidson has had any impact on McDermott and how Leeds train?

As for Agar being on a comparative level to Tony Smith well that's like I'm saying I'm on a comparative level to Billy Slater because I once picked a ball up.

What makes you think McDermott needs to surround himself with yes men? And why would you employ someone on equal footing with McDermott? That would mean there are 2 head coaches. That would seem a disastrous way to run a team.


No he left in between the 2010 & 2011 seasons. And was a very different situation since McDermott was already named as McClennan's successor. I'd be all for us doing that whenever the club decides McDermott has run his course, sign a future head coach as assistant for a year under McDermott and then take over. But that's not what we're on about. We're on about a regular assistant who only has to be a good assistant, not a good head coach.

No I'm not, but then again I'm not the one accusing someone of protectionism just because you don't like his coaching set-up. One thing for people to criticise him for what they see on the field....but to baselessly accuse him of being more interested in saving his own skin than the club's best fortunes clearly shows an agenda against the man personally.

I also think people have jumped on the comment he made about Sinfield and Peacock doing some of the coaching in training and jumped to the exaggerated conclusion that they did it for the majority of the time.

For someone who is apparently mainly interested in saving his own back, he's always been insistent and quick to throw the credit for any success down to his staff and players and downplays his own role in a triumph......hardly the behaviour of a "my way or the highway" kind of guy who is mostly interested in looking after his own back.



And when I see Wigan I only see Wane, or Cunningham with Saints or Anderson at Hudds talking. Can't recall seeing their assistants doing the halftime team talking.

IIRC Brian McClennan was the stand-off and captain when the Auckland rep side beat the touring Great Britain team in 1990 containing the likes of Schofield, Davies, Lydon, Steadman, Golding, Skerrett, Betts,
Powell and Gregory.

Tony Smith played in the 1992 Australian Grand Final.

Chris Plume joined Leeds to work with the Rhinos community team before being promoted into the coaching set up.

There is absolutely no need for a top-class coach to have had a good - even a mediocre - playing career. Michael McGuire and Trent Robinson - to name a couple - certainly didn't. But then again the skill set of a coach/manager is entirely different to that of a player.

Whether Leeds's assistant coaches are up to scratch is another issue, but it's separate from whether they have the "respect" that comes from a high class playing career. There are plenty of examples where that "respect" has hidden coaching incompetence.

You are confusing an assistant with a deputy. Two quite different meanings and if they were on an equal footing they would be joint coaches.

Not content with your fixation with McDermott you are now having a pop at his assistants and in danger of becoming obsessional.

The assistant coach is the no 2 in the coaching set up - the deputy or has that changed since McDermott was Smith's/McClennan's assistant

Where am I having a pop at the assistants? What I am suggesting is the coaching set up needs more experience and quality.

The team is bottom of the league, its out of the CC cup and it suffered and embarrassing defeat in the WCC. I would suggest the coaching set up isn't delivering what it should. Am I being unreasonable?

There's a handful of posters who are incapable of being critical of the club and team. Not even season over after 92 days and bottom of a very mediocre SL ladder can shift them. It'll always be something or someone else's fault and out of the clubs control.

The coaching structure of the club has been changed so it all is managed by McDermott - that has never been the case at Leeds since the inception of SL. During that time the club produced the golden generation and a host a talent. That pipeline has dried up by comparison. The question is why change a formula that worked - if that isn't a case of empire building then I don't know what is?

I have no idea whether Sinfield or Peacock did the training I can see Peacock keeping a eye over the forwards.

You need to watch the SKY more closely what you see is the assistants talking to individual players - I never see either Plume or Eaton in that capacity - I see Plume carrying drinks and Eaton with his arms crossed in the corner?

Only this week McDermott says he is happy with things, no crisis - if you believe that and everything that he says in public you are more naive than I even thought possible.

He's not going to know any of that because he's a product of the SL era.

1990 Tour of NZ was an interesting one to say the least. GB won the Test series 2-1 and also beat NZ Maori. They lost several Tour games against NZ provincial sides though, including against Auckland and McClennan.

As for the 1992 Winfield Cup Grand Final, there were five ex-Leeds players who took part including Tony Smith.

Ian Kirke, Josh Walters and Gary Wheeler have all played in a GF....

Paul Sykes, Darryl Griffin and Scott Moore have all played international rugby....

....will that mean we can call their careers great in 20 years time?

Losses on the 1990 tour weren't surprising as it was a weakened touring team. At the time the surprise was they won the tests.

Weren't aware I was bestowing greatness on the playing careers of Smith and McClennan (I'm not familiar enough with either to do that) but I at least remembered them as players which is more than can be said of Plume. If you've got any memories to share then please do so.

You were questioning whether the Leeds players would have any memories of his playing career, not you or I, as the point was being suggested having knowledge of a coaches playing career was somehow significant.

I wonder how many players had knowledge or memories of Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger's playing days. I wonder if Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez sat at home during the year watching clips of Ranieri.

But perhaps they do look back at the great Firenze side he coached and think this guy has been there before he knows what he is talking about? What words of wisdom can Plume or Eaton pass on based on their coaching or playing experience at the top level?

They aren't head coaches though.

That the tour where Roy Powell played something like 15 games in 9 weeks?

That is whole point - its the depth of the coaching at Leeds and how appropriate it is for the task in hand?

Perhaps we could ask about McDermott's coaching career outside of Leeds - or do the players watch his punching escapades on You Tube and think this guy knows what he is talking about?

I repeat the club are bottom of SL, they are out of the CC and they suffered a humiliating defeat in the WCC - you can blame it on the miriad of reasons you have come up with but at some point to you have to question the coaching set up and its effectiveness.

You mean the same coaching setup that also won a treble last year?

A coaching set up that now doesn't have the on field input of Sinfield or Peacock to make it look better than it actually was

The coaching setup (plus squad) you and others wrote off many times in the past and when they won the treble quite a few begrudgingly had to say well done to McDermott even though you didn't want nor did you mean it but knew you couldn't realistically criticise him post GF.

Still smarting from being proved wrong some now are trying to shift ALL credit onto two departed guys in a face saving effort they can try and say they were right all along.

Means more to some to find an angle to insist they were right all along instead of being able to give the whole staff (coaches and players) credit for achieving something. Very sad really and totally obvious what certain posters are trying to achieve by trying to give ALL the credit to Sinfield and Peacock.

The question was being asked of Plume's background. Anyone turned anything up yet for McDermott's assistant?

I've checked whether he faced Leeds during the SL Era and he didn't, I don't think he played any SL Regular Round games for anyone at all.

When McDermott goes does Plume step up? Perhaps Leeds will first need to get relegated to find a corresponding playing level to that experienced by Leeds' assistant coach.

Have you come up with any evidence to support the idea that McDermott would be more likely to be sacked mid-season if he had a 'bigger' name assistant....didn't see Jimmy Lowes being given the job in 2011 & 2012 when we were down in 8th/9th place.

Have you come up with any evidence to support the suggestion that Plume's playing career effects his ability to do his job or his relationship with the Leeds players?

I was agreeing with Sal when he said he'd never seen coaching assistants Plume or Eaton addressing the Leeds players at half-time on Sky - I hadn't noticed them doing this either. In the recent past senior players have been noted doing this.

The issue of McDermott getting sacked is a non issue as far as I'm concerned - don't see it happening no matter how merited or otherwise the move would be.

Leeds' current situation post Sinfield and Peacock is there for all to see

Funny how then you never actually agreed with his point about seeing Plume talk to players and instead just listed Plume's clubs during his playing career which was intended to belittle a man who actually played his part in the club (you supposedly support) having its most memorable season ever.....whilst you just went into hiding because things weren't going the way you predicted.

I know which man looks small time out of the the two of you and it's certainly not the former.

Depends where you place the credit/blame for the goings on over the last 18 months. McDermott, Plume and Eaton were there for both - Sinfield, Peacock, Leuluai, Aiton in 2015 replaced by Galloway, Falloon, Mullally and Ferres in 2016.

2016 is in danger of not only being Leeds' worst of the SL Era, didn't Sky mention it's their worst start to a season for 70 years.



Got two back last week, lost even more convincingly - got all three back tonight and people are quite rightly IMO remembering the night Warrington put 54 past Leeds at Headingley in a game that ultimately cost the then coach his job. While he talks about things being OK, Leeds still aiming for the top 4, have three days off see you all Monday the performances are only going from bad to worse.