 Smith's arrival seemed to give Leeds more self-belief |
Leeds were the dominant force in Super League IX, losing just two games as they finally ended their long wait for a championship.
But if 2004 was memorable for the men from Headingley, then 2005 is also shaping up to be the year of the Rhino.
The champions may be without Matt Diskin for the first few weeks of the campaign after the hooker damaged a knee on Great Britain duty.
But the team is still in awesome shape, especially now that Gareth Ellis has been recruited from Wakefield.
There are four good reasons why Leeds are the side to fear: their squad is youthful, talented, experienced and settled.
Just nine of the 23 players will be over 25 when the season starts, with just four of those over 30.
In Danny McGuire, Richie Mathers and Ryan Bailey, they possess three of the brightest stars in the British game.
Virtually every member has played international rugby, either at the top level with Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand or for England, Scotland, Samoa and PNG.
Finally, only Dave Furner and Matt Adamson are missing from last year's victorious squad, with the arrival of Ellis making up for their departures.
We must not forget either the input that coach Tony Smith has had since his arrival.
Having the best players is not always a guarantee of success, but Smith seemed to give Leeds the self-belief that has sometimes been missing in the past.
And now that the Australian has agreed to extend his stay until the end of 2006, any question marks against his commitment to the cause in 2005 should have been dispelled.
 | LEEDS FACTS & FIGURES At 32, Barrie McDermott is the oldest player in the Leeds squad Five players made the Super League Dream team in 2004: Senior, Bai, McGuire, Diskin and Lauitiiti Centre Keith Senior also made the World XIII |
The loss of Diskin is obviously a worry but not a major concern.
In Andrew Dunemann and Rob Burrow, the Rhinos have two very capable deputies while skipper Kevin Sinfield has also worn the number nine shirt for Britain.
And talking of Sinfield, his disappointment at missing out on the Tri-Nations Series will have fuelled his desire for a successful defence of the title won convincingly at Old Trafford on 16 October.
Finally, I've got two big wishes for the 2005 season.
Firstly, there are no off-field scandals to drag the game through the mud.
Secondly, Kieron Cunningham finally gets to pull on a Great Britain shirt again.
MMIX
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
