Now I know this is a massive IF, and is highly unlikely, but.... IF Leeds started to put together some form and won the Challenge Cup followed by a good play off campaign, it's conceivable that we could do the double (Not that I think for 1 minute we will win either) after what in reality has been a season of awful rugby. For me this would be a real embarrasment for Super League, and although all teams know the rules before the season starts, I have to say it would make a mockery of the season as a whole.

If this were to happen, what would peoples thoughts be on the season, and more importantly, what would peoples thoughts be towards Brian Mcdermott?

I know its all highly unlikely and hypothetical, just interested to see how people would view this.

Somebody please add this to the list of threads to get bumped every time we lose.

Ta.

not much chance of SL title ,but we can win the CC

Why?

I stated on more than 1 occasion that it's highly unlikely (infact, I don't think we will win either), but, having said that, we are 1 of only 2 clubs left with the possibility of doing this - regardless of how remote our chances are.

Simply interested in how people would look back on this season if it were to happen! Would people still want Mcdermott gone etc?

Yes I would, unless the performances improve i.e. we look like we know how to play the game.

Now can we please stop living in cloud cuckoo land cos the challenge cup is a big enough hurdle.

If Leeds do the double, I will walk up the steps of Old Trafford and personally hand Kevin Sinfield the SuperLeague trophy myself.

If this were to happen the season would be looked upon as a huge success and Brian Mac would have achieved something Murray, Lance, Powell, Smith and McLennan failed to do, with what I would consider, in some cases, a lesser squad.

He would have proved himself to be the greatest Leeds (Super League) coach of all time


Of course, it will never happen. Even winning the Challenge Cup would be a huge achievement in my opinion

Leeds are 60/1 to do the double at the bookies.

Believists, fill yer boots.

Where did you get those odds???
I'm emptying my bank account now.

I would still want McDermott gone. Because the rugby is appalling to watch, and we're clearly not the best team in the comp.

If we beat Wigan in both finals, we'd have no real bragging rights. We'd have a few artificial bragging rights but any Leeds fan would know in the heart that, whatever trophies we had won, Wigan are/were by far the better team this year. I'd rather (and this is just me personally!) know that we'd earned any trophies or titles by being the best team. Rather than putting in 2 x 80 minute performances that just happened to be in finals.

Just my opinion.

This squad want to win the Challenge Cup so badly, and know it will take a huge performance to do it - last chance saloon for this group of players you could say.

If they do win the Cup, no way would they then be able to raise themselves to the level needed to win the Grand Final from 6th.

They probably don't have the hunger to do that either, as most of the squad already have multiple GF wins.

Ah but what about winning the grand final from 4th?????
Now THAT would be achievable!!!

For 2 of our last 3 Super League titles we were not the best team in the comp but turned up for the finals and ended up making history. A win's a win and trophy's a trophy IMO, not being the best team throughout 2007 or 2008 doesn't negate the achievement at all for me

I think the whole of this season has been focused on getting to Wembley. I don't think they're not interested in the league, but I think they all have a score to settle because of their poor performance last year. Sinfield was obviously very emotional about getting there and I think that feeling is probably common throughout the team.

My thoughts exactly - it would feel like a very hollow victory as a fan.

(Isnt it much more fun when you just share your opinion - that's what these boards are generally for, rather than trying to make yourself look clever as per your first reply)

You're kidding, right?

Not a chance they will do the double, but in a hypothetical situation they would have to:

Beat Wigan at Wembley.
Then, in consecutive weeks (I'm picking the teams on current league position and assuming the highest placed team won each play-off game):
Beat Castleford, at home.
Beat Saints, away.
Beat Warrington, away.
Beat Wigan at Old Trafford.

If they did that, there would be a lot more to it than simply putting in two 80 minute performances in Finals, as you say.

You could even say that in that highly improbable scenario that that would be a bigger achievement than it took to win any of the 'Three in a row' Grand Finals.

I think the quality of our rugby in recent years was so much better than we are currently achieving. A lot of question marks would remain over the coaching staff for me even if we took the double.

to do the double we would just about have to go the rest of the season unbeaten and we had a post like this early in the season and we know what happened after that.this is where we came in

I much prefer being a tw*t if I'm honest.

I use the anonymity to be a cocky & obtrusive know-it-all smart a[ir[/ise, given that's nothing at all what I'm like in 'real life' I find the contrast invigorating.

Haha - Fair enough! Best reply I've seen in a long time - Brilliant.

Good post this

Win or lose in the Cup Final, I expect we'll fade away to nothing in the league/play-offs. Wigan may find it a bit harder this year as well going into the play-offs - winning or losing at Wembley, especially so close to the end of the season can seriously damage your play-off ambitions.

agreed....but we wont win the CC Final will we ? and then go on to win the grand final ? hard as it is to say we have no chance of this with Mcdermott

If in our dreams this was ever possible you have just totally jinxed it! And I don't even believe in superstition.

The hope for the rest this season, really, lies in our 2005 experiences of defending a title. At this point in 2005 we had been awesome all season but it was around late July and early August that the wheels started to come off a bit and cracks appeared. By the time we lost in Cardiff all momentum had stalled and really we only made it ot Old Trafford because Saints imploded at the end of the season as well.

Could the same happen to Wigan? To be honest, I can see it hurting them in the play-offs if it's going to, but I can't really predict them going far enough off the boil to lose out at Wembley.