LEEDS SEASON REVIEW: A step in the right direction

At the end of the 2019 season, Jamie Jones-Buchanan retired. He was the final player who played in Leeds championship winning side of 2004 to hang up his boots. He was part of the sqaud that ended a 35-year wait for a title and ended up winning seven more titles from the next 13.

Players come and go but a club remains. But this group of players were special. History-makers. They formed a team that should be spoken about by Leeds fans for generations to follow, even after the generation that saw them in the flesh are no more.

How do you follow up on an era of unprecedented glory? It's hard. In football, Liverpool won the championship more often than they didn't in the 1970's and 1980's and won the European Cup four times in a decade. Manchester United won even more league titles in the 20 years from 1992 to 2012. 

Rugby League has its equivalent, Wigan's dominance of the late 80's and early to mid 90's being the prime example.

Whilst these examples all have unqualified success in common, they also have something else in common. A fall. Liverpool did not win another league title for 30 years. Manchester United have not won the league since Alex Ferguson's retirement. Wigan won only one Super League from the first 14.

Periods of dominance end eventually. Even extreme examples listed above where dominance lasts for decades and not years do halt. With the final constant presence in Leeds' golden generation departing last year, this was finally the time where the last ties with the old era were broken and the new era, which had started in 2016 and struggled, was finally complete.

Richard Agar has never been the most fashionable coach and has been the subject of quite harsh criticism wherever his career has taken him. But he made the most of the opportunity to build his own Leeds team with the signings of Alex Mellor, Kruise Leeming, Luke Gale and Matt Prior.

Despite a terrible season opening home-humbling by Hull FC, they followed it up with three convincing victories. With two postponements due to wind and rain and latterly Covid-19, Leeds' season was brought to an abrupt end in late-February.

August brought a fresh start, but a different Leeds. They pulled off a remarkable fightback in their first match back at Headingley, overturning a 20 point deficit in 15 minutes to beat Huddersfield in golden point. It was thrilling, but may have masked an underlying weakness. That weakness was brutally exposed the next week by St Helens, who ran out 48-0 winners at Headingley and another defeat to Wigan followed.

As league hopes were fading, cup hopes were rising. After a dominant win over Hull KR in the quarter-finals, Leeds put on a wet weather masterclass to dispatch Wigan in the semi-finals. Leeds dominated Wigan's forward pack and Luke Gale's kicking game left Wigan flailing.

Rightly, Leeds prioritised the Challenge Cup in the upcoming weeks, with fixtures piling up. This gave us the chance to see the next generation. The likes of Tindall, O' Connor and Mustapha looked particularly impressive. I hope to see more of these players next year, Mustapha the most likely to make an impact in a loan spell at Hull KR.

With Salford's surprise win over Warrington in the other Challenge Cup semi final, Leeds went into the Wembley showdown as favourites. The game was tense, tight and gripping. It was ultimately settled by a Luke Gale drop goal. Leeds held their nerve and had the playmakers to execute the winning play, meanwhile Salford fluffed their chances at the winner.

This was a huge endorsement of Agar's recruitment. The decision to recruit Gale was exactly what Leeds needed to ensure that when the big games came around, the Rhinos were players again.

Leeds battled bravely for the rest of the season, but their season ended when Catalans held them at an arm's length in the play-offs.

If you would have offered Leeds fans a cup win and a play off appearance for 2020, I would wager they would have taken it. The season represented a huge success and a faster rebuild than anticipated.

To kick on to the next stage, Leeds probably need a few more signings. Recruitment has been quiet so far, with conjecture not yet transferring to signatures. This will be something to watch as the off-season progresses.

2020 was the year that Leeds returned to being winners, after a few years of relegation worries. Agar has overachieved compared to expectations, his next challenge is to build again in 2021. That may involve the Leeds chequebook opening. But after his 2020, Agar has earned the board's backing.