New Leeds Rhinos Coach

[Padge]

10 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

Or it could imply that as a club, Salford aren't at the same level Leeds are. It doesn't just mean playing, unless you were being tunnel visioned about that particular aspect to make some sort of point?

Leeds may in a lot of ways different to Salford but they are both at the same level. 

Checks league table.

In fact if you want to split level down to league positions, Salford are on the higher level.

[Click]

3 hours ago, Padge said:

Leeds may in a lot of ways different to Salford but they are both at the same level. 

Checks league table.

In fact if you want to split level down to league positions, Salford are on the higher level.

I am not sure why you don't understand that Salford and Leeds are different levels of clubs.

The clubs have different ambitions when they enter the season, Salford are hoping to not be homeless at the end of theirs and are hoping for some good on field performances to negate that, and Leeds are looking to make a profit and challenge for trophies as a given. 

Just because Leeds have spent the last few years as a mid table club and Salford have started exceeding expectations doesn't change that they are very different levels.

And you mentioned Wigan and London, there is literally only on the field where they are "level" in every other aspect London is a League 1 level club and Wigan are.. Well Wigan. 

[Tommygilf]

3 hours ago, Click said:

I am not sure why you don't understand that Salford and Leeds are different levels of clubs.

The clubs have different ambitions when they enter the season, Salford are hoping to not be homeless at the end of theirs and are hoping for some good on field performances to negate that, and Leeds are looking to make a profit and challenge for trophies as a given. 

Just because Leeds have spent the last few years as a mid table club and Salford have started exceeding expectations doesn't change that they are very different levels.

And you mentioned Wigan and London, there is literally only on the field where they are "level" in every other aspect London is a League 1 level club and Wigan are.. Well Wigan. 

Leeds have Revenues over £11 million. Salford have recently got a rescue package from the Council for a relatively paltry £315k and been placed in Special Measures by the League.

Salford needed to sell players (ironically to Leeds it turned out) to not go bust last Winter. 

Leeds own their own (redeveloped) ground, own their substantial training facilities, have women's teams, a full roster of junior and academy teams, a large foundation programme, a netball club, Salford don't have anything like any of those...

Leeds are the highest graded club with the largest average attendances (double those of Salford and then some), need we go on? 

But remember they play in the same competition so they're on the same level

[M j M]

John Kear fancies an interim role somewhere. Imagine the meltdown from some Leeds fans

Ex-Wakefield, Hull FC and Bradford boss John Kear hunting specific rugby league return

 

[Wolford6]

1 hour ago, M j M said:

John Kear fancies an interim role somewhere. Imagine the meltdown from some Leeds fans

Ex-Wakefield, Hull FC and Bradford boss John Kear hunting specific rugby league return

 

Kit Man

[fieldofclothofgold]

12 hours ago, Wolford6 said:

Kit Man

Remember the man is steeped in the game and he has won a major trophy . 

[M j M]

5 hours ago, fieldofclothofgold said:

Remember the man is steeped in the game and he has won a major trophy . 

His record in the sport is outstanding and anyone who tries to denigrate it doesn't have the first clue about Rugby League.

However it's fair to say his time at the top end of the sport has passed!

[Agbrigg]

13 hours ago, fieldofclothofgold said:

Remember the man is steeped in the game and he has won a major trophy . 

A very valid point. I would not be surprised if he got some type of role in the club where he started out on his illustrious RL journey all those years ago

[Pete Grady]

The talk about the differences between Leeds and Salford boil down not to money, ambition or history, it boils down to where Paul Rowley would rather be right now and that place is Salford, where he is happy, 'fulfilled' to quote him and in control of his own destiny, and that can't be assured if he were to move to Headingly.

Try this:

In his bestselling book Walden, the 19th-century philosopher Henry David Thoreau introduced the captivating notion of “life-cost” – the amount of time, energy, health and mental wellbeing we sacrifice to achieve our aims and objectives. Many of us unthinkingly seek to acquire as much money as possible, or to accumulate possessions. Or else we chase status in the form of degrees, awards, promotion or fame. We willingly pay for these things with our time and often with our health or our relationships.

We should therefore always ask ourselves: what is the actual life-cost of our choices? If we find the price we pay is too high, we may wish to make adjustments, privileging time and health over money or status.

Paul Rowley is a wise man and sees that all that glitters at Leeds is not gold*, but the happiness, fulfilment and control he enjoys at Salford amounts to the gold we are all best served to attain.

(*5 coaches in 7 years is it,  matched only by Man Utd. and Chelsea of the 'Big' sporting Clubs?)

Edited June 24, 2024 by Pete Grady

[Red Willow]

The Watson experiment at Huddersfield is a warning to both Rowley and Leeds. 

You can not just transport a coach and give him money and expect the results to be so much better than Salford.

Blease will take time to resolve many of the outside issues with Leeds before any coach can do their best.

I have no idea what those issues are but obviously something isn't as it should be.

[RP London]

On 22/06/2024 at 23:50, fieldofclothofgold said:

Remember the man is steeped in the game and he has won a major trophy . 

2

[Tommygilf]

1 hour ago, Red Willow said:

The Watson experiment at Huddersfield is a warning to both Rowley and Leeds. 

You can not just transport a coach and give him money and expect the results to be so much better than Salford.

Blease will take time to resolve many of the outside issues with Leeds before any coach can do their best.

I have no idea what those issues are but obviously something isn't as it should be.

Agreed, though Rowley has been successful at both Leigh and Toronto in different financial circumstances. Watson was only ever at Salford.

[Harry Stottle]

7 hours ago, Tommygilf said:

Agreed, though Rowley has been successful at both Leigh and Toronto in different financial circumstances. Watson was only ever at Salford.

But only when Rowley joined Watson as his assistant Tom did Salfords style of play and fortunes changed for the better. Salford ard still playing that way and Huddersfield are like Salford were before Rowleys arrival.

Mr Blease was at Salford from 2016 till a couple of weeks ago being there with Watson alone, then Watson/Rowley and latterly Rowley alone, do you reckon that with that experience Mr Blease has Watson would be on the Leeds radar for a head coach appointment?

[Tommygilf]

3 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

But only when Rowley joined Watson as his assistant Tom did Salfords style of play and fortunes changed for the better. Salford ard still playing that way and Huddersfield are like Salford were before Rowleys arrival.

Mr Blease was at Salford from 2016 till a couple of weeks ago being there with Watson alone, then Watson/Rowley and latterly Rowley alone, do you reckon that with that experience Mr Blease has Watson would be on the Leeds radar for a head coach appointment?

I don't expect Watson to be at Leeds. What he and Smith show is that you need a good recruitment and assistant coaching team.

[Damien]

1 hour ago, Harry Stottle said:

But only when Rowley joined Watson as his assistant Tom did Salfords style of play and fortunes changed for the better. Salford ard still playing that way and Huddersfield are like Salford were before Rowleys arrival.

Mr Blease was at Salford from 2016 till a couple of weeks ago being there with Watson alone, then Watson/Rowley and latterly Rowley alone, do you reckon that with that experience Mr Blease has Watson would be on the Leeds radar for a head coach appointment?

You keep repeating this and keep ignoring posts that say you are incorrect. Salfords style of play was great before Rowley even went there and Salford went from 10th to finishing 4th in 2 seasons before Rowley even joined the club. What actually happened at Salford doesnt tally with what you choose to believe.

[Fly-By-TheWire]

On 22/06/2024 at 23:50, fieldofclothofgold said:

Remember the man is steeped in the game and he has won a major trophy . 

He has won two major trophies, a better record than a guy who was an apparent genius for repeatedly trying to win games through short kick-offs.

Not that I’m saying Kear would be the right man for any role at Leeds of course. Just pointing out a few facts.

[Harry Stottle]

1 hour ago, Damien said:

You keep repeating this and keep ignoring posts that say you are incorrect. Salfords style of play was great before Rowley even went there and Salford went from 10th to finishing 4th in 2 seasons before Rowley even joined the club. What actually happened at Salford doesnt tally with what you choose to believe.

In 2018 Salford finished 11th in SL, Paul joined in 2019 and they finished 3rd and made it to the SL GF to lose to Saints.

Edited June 24, 2024 by Harry Stottle

[lucky 7]

12 hours ago, Red Willow said:

The Watson experiment at Huddersfield is a warning to both Rowley and Leeds. 

You can not just transport a coach and give him money and expect the results to be so much better than Salford.

Blease will take time to resolve many of the outside issues with Leeds before any coach can do their best.

I have no idea what those issues are but obviously something isn't as it should be.

Unless things have altered that I'm not aware of i would put my money on Brad Arthur being the Leeds coach next season.

[Damien]

1 hour ago, Harry Stottle said:

In 2018 Salford finished 11th in SL, Paul joined in 2019 and they finished 4th and made it to the SL GF to lose to Saints.

He joined August 16th 2019 after round 25 with only 4 games left and Salford finished 3rd and reached the Grand Final. Its a heck of a stretch to attribute all that to him and to give Watson no credit. I'm certain if roles were reversed then you wouldnt be.

Edited June 24, 2024 by Damien

[fieldofclothofgold]

2 hours ago, Fly-By-TheWire said:

He has won two major trophies, a better record than a guy who was an apparent genius for repeatedly trying to win games through short kick-offs.

Not that I’m saying Kear would be the right man for any role at Leeds of course. Just pointing out a few facts.

And I'm certainly not arguing 

[Pete Grady]

11 hours ago, Damien said:

He joined August 16th 2019 after round 25 with only 4 games left and Salford finished 3rd and reached the Grand Final. Its a heck of a stretch to attribute all that to him and to give Watson no credit. I'm certain if roles were reversed then you wouldnt be.

Salford's style with Watson was a little dour to watch, but effective, and it only changed when Watto took the trip over the Pennines and Paul Rowley became Head Coach.  Salford became much better to watch after Watson left to carry on with his '5 drives, kick and defend well & force a mistake' game plan at Huddersfield.  Of course that game plan still holds at Salford, but with a lot more skill, adventure and licence to be bold, wherever you are on the pitch, and that's all down to Paul Rowley imo. 

[Damien]

14 hours ago, Tommygilf said:

I don't expect Watson to be at Leeds. What he and Smith show is that you need a good recruitment and assistant coaching team.

Yeah and thats what is also the case at Wigan with the triumvirate of Peet, O'Loughlin and Leuluai. Each brings something special to the table and is responsible for a particular area. If you get that blend correct then it works really well.

[The Future is League]

Perhaps Brad Arthur isn't in the running for the Leeds job, if ever he was.

https://www.nine.com.au/sport/nrl/news-2024-brad-arthur-perth-expansion-coach-parramatta-eels-sacking-20240625-p5jona.html

[Tommygilf]

16 minutes ago, Damien said:

Yeah and thats what is also the case at Wigan with the triumvirate of Peet, O'Loughlin and Leuluai. Each brings something special to the table and is responsible for a particular area. If you get that blend correct then it works really well.

Agreed. When you look around Super League at the assistants in place you've got to wonder what the thinking has been at Leeds. Long? Chev Walker? Grix? Feels a bit like we're giving the newbies a trial run.

When you see Danny Ward as assistant at KR, or other elements of even Leeds history and rugby intelligence across the sport but not at the Rhinos you start to realise that something is just not being done right.

I suppose we'll never know who had control of that aspect and why. 

[Damien]

15 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

Agreed. When you look around Super League at the assistants in place you've got to wonder what the thinking has been at Leeds. Long? Chev Walker? Grix? Feels a bit like we're giving the newbies a trial run.

When you see Danny Ward as assistant at KR, or other elements of even Leeds history and rugby intelligence across the sport but not at the Rhinos you start to realise that something is just not being done right.

I suppose we'll never know who had control of that aspect and why. 

I suppose for Wigan Leuluai and O'Loughlin retiring around the same time was pretty unique and pretty hard to replicate.

Both had a wealth of experience at the highest levels of the game over almost 20 years and already had the respect of all the players as former Wigan captains, leaders and great players.

They are also fantastic at what they do. I think what really helps is they are happy with their role and what they do as part of that triumvirate, they have no inclination to be a head coach and are happy just focusing on the rugby side of things. Then you have Matty Peet doing a great job of pulling it all together and leading it. I think for all that to work there can be no egos and that in itself is probably pretty rare at this kind of level.

I don't think the type of guys you mention have that standing really. I imagine the equivalents may have been players like Peacock and Sinfield (who didnt seem to work in the non coaching role they put him in) but they are long gone now.