I'm excited as ever as the new season prepares to get under way.
It will be tough to recapture our Super League crown because the competition has improved and all the teams seem to have recruited well.
I'm especially keen to see how Catalans Dragons go.
 Stacey Jones was a big hit in last year's Tri-Nations Series |
There's some great talent in France, which is often lost to rugby union, and the Dragons have recruited a legend of the game in Stacey Jones.
It's great for the fans to see players of his calibre in action and I think the French venture will be a major success.
Leeds have signed some very talented people of their own, like Jamie Peacock, Shane Millard, Scott Donald and Mark O'Neill.
Not only are they great players, they are all level-headed people and have fitted in fantastically well.
We learned a lot of lessons last year.
Five or six years ago, the club would have been pretty happy with finishing second in the table and losing in the Grand Final.
But it shows how far we've come that we recognise we need to be winning silverware and that getting to finals isn't good enough.
I know there's a lot of other clubs with a similar mentality, but it hurt last year coming second in everything.
 |  He has transformed the club since he came here and changed us both as rugby league players and as people |
We haven't talked about it much, but the pain is still there and a lot of us just want to get rid of the demons out on the pitch.
Our build-up was hit by the loss of Danny Ward - and that was tough. I've played with him for nine years and grown up with him.
You don't like to see anybody's contract terminated whatever line of work they are in, but we just have to get on with it.
We'll also be without Barrie McDermott.
He retired at the end of last season but hasn't wasted much time in pulling the boots on again.
Unfortunately, he won't be playing for Leeds after signing a deal with Widnes.
The loss of Wardy and Barrie may deprive us of two quality prop forwards but we have options.
 Danny Ward's presence will be missed |
Jamie Peacock can play there, Ryan Bailey has worked so hard in the off season and is really looking the part, and Mark O'Neill will be back once he recovers from a shoulder injury.
We also have Nick Scruton, who has perhaps played more first-team games than people realise, Chris Feather and a few other back-rowers who could do a job.
Our coach, Tony Smith, agreed a new deal this week.
Personally, I'm delighted. He has transformed the club since he came here and changed us both as rugby league players and as people.
He encourages us to study, to think of what we might do after we retire. He's interested in our family lives and cares that we're happy away from the pitch.
Finally, we've got a new kit this season. Not only does it sport a new design, it's also skin-tight.
Some of the fatter blokes - naming no names - aren't so keen as it shows off their bellies. But the coaching staff think it can give us an edge, so I'm all for it.
MMIX
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