Beating Cas would be our best yet – McDermott
THE PAST 24 months have been among the most turbulent in Leeds Rhinos’ history, but coach Brian McDermott feels they are building towards a “special moment”.
Rhinos will take on Castleford Tigers at Old Trafford in tomorrow’s Super League title decider just a year after winning a battle for survival in the middle-eights Qualifiers.
Leeds were treble winners in 2015, but McDermott came under huge pressure – from outside, if not the club itself – when they plunged down the table to finish ninth last term.
A strong performance over the final three months of the season preserved their Super League status, but the traumas of earlier in the campaign – when Leeds spent eight successive weeks at the bottom of the table – left scars that have yet to heal.
Despite being written off as title contenders, particularly after a 66-10 drubbing at Castleford in March, Rhinos are now only 80 minutes away from an eighth Super League crown and McDermott described their season as a “great story”.
Injuries and a devastating flood at Rhinos’ Kirkstall training ground had an influence on the team’s decline last year, but McDermott admitted: “I do concede we weren’t good enough as well. Because of what went on in 2016, our margin for error all the way through 2017 has almost been eradicated. When we got beat by Cas in a horrible loss, at that particular weekend it could not have got any worse, but at the time I knew it wasn’t going to derail us.
“I knew how strong the group was. For us to battle through that and to then make a Grand Final is a huge achievement. We don’t need to win for it to be a great story, but if we do win it’s the best ever.”
McDermott’s own future at Leeds has been questioned, but he said occasions like the Grand Final make the heartache worthwhile.
“If we win on Saturday night, this is why I am involved - for moments like this,” he insisted.
“This is why I do the job. I don’t care what happens next week, I don’t care what happens next year – I love the moments.
“This is special. There’s a lot going on in our players’ brains at the moment because of what they’ve been through and I know they can’t wait to play on Saturday.”