The World is Coming to an End!

On Monday, on a rare Bank Holiday off, me and the gang headed over to the wrong side of the Pennines yet again to see the Rhinos take on the Warrington Wolves at the shiny, new Halliwell Jones Stadium, a ground famed for it's '2-pint pots'.

It had to be said, we were fairly confident. Warrington are the sort of side that can beat the very best on their day, but can also lose to the very worse. But anyway, Leeds were on decentish form, the dry weather would help our running game and the Wolves were without last season's marketing stunt, Andrew Johns.

It looked even better when Leeds took a 6-0 lead after 8 minutes through a Lee Smith try. So, you could imagine our suprise when Leeds completely fell apart from then on, going on to lose 44-16 to a very impressive Wolves side.
It was the Rhinos worst defeat for 2 years when we lost 56-10 to St Helens. That result was put down to just 'a bad day at the office' and to be honest, it was just that. Leeds went on to win the Championship that year and thrash St Helens 70-0 in the rematch.

So the stewards enquiry began on the ride home and continued on the Rhinos fan site 'southstander.com' with many proclaiming that this was the end of the Rhinos as we know it, some with the 'I told you so' attitude and others contemplating slitting their own wrists.

But before these 'supporters' contemplate hanging themselves from the South Stand rafters, it's important to take stock of the situation on Monday afternoon.
Firstly, shit happens. Sometimes bad things happen and you have 'one of those days', 'bad day at the office', call it what you will. Passes were dropped and things just didn't work - big deal.
Secondly, Warrington were good, in fact, they were very good. Their offloads stuck, their pack drove well and their kicking game was excuted to perfection, keeping Leeds pinned inside their own 20m for much of the game. There arn't many teams that could have lived with them on that form.

Call me a 'one club supporting belivist' (despite the fact I support more than one club) if you will, but Monday's result is hardly the end of the world. One result is nothing in the grand scheme of things. Leeds are still sitting in 2nd place in the table, safely in a play-off place and therefore, still have a chance of making the Grand Final. Whilst we're at it, we're still in the Challenge Cup and with a home tie against National League opposition, our place in the quarter finals is practically booked.
On top of that, Leeds are currently the most sucessful club off the field, with a brand spanking new East Stand almost ready (obviously not built by Multiplex), a new North Stand on the way not to mention a likely operating profit, something that few, if any Super League clubs can boast.

Keep on smiling people!