It’s the end of an era at Headingley as Super League’s most successful coach, Brian McDermott, has departed.
McDermott’s tenure may have finished with disappointment, but there’s no doubting the impact he has had at the club. Here’s six of his best bits…
First title – 2011
Leeds already had four Super League titles by the time McDermott replaced Brian McClennan for the 2011 season, and they didn’t look like adding to that number after a regular campaign that saw the Rhinos finish fifth.
No team had ever lifted the trophy from that position and Leeds were staring down the barrel too at Old Trafford against St Helens, 16-8 down despite a moment of sheer magic from Rob Burrow.
Re-live Rob Burrow's 2011 Super League Grand Final try that helped Leeds Rhinos to a 32-16 win over St Helens
McDermott’s side showed their ability to get the job done on the biggest occasion though. More Burrow brilliance – this time setting up Ryan Hall – and late tries from Carl Ablett and Zak Hardaker saw Leeds win 32-16 to clinch McDermott’s first Super League success.
Champions of the World – 2012
Despite his four Super League titles, McDermott has only ever added the World Club Challenge crown once, on his first attempt in 2012.
Manly came to Headingley and the weather played into the Rhinos’ hands. In the rain, Leeds took a 16-6 lead into half-time, mainly thanks to two stunning individual scores from Ryan Hall.
The second period was tight, touch and go until late scores from Ben Jones-Bishop and Carl Ablett put Leeds on top of the world with a 26-12 victory.
Title defended – 2012
McDermott’s second season in charge was to prove fruitful as well, and again, Leeds led a charge from fifth in the table.
Leeds captain Kevin Sinfield, Kylie Leuluai and Warrington's Adrian Morley react after Leeds clinched victory in the 2015 Grand Final
Venturing through the play-offs, they ripped up the script lines again and met Warrington at Old Trafford, who were looking for their first Grand Final success.
If Rob Burrow was the hero the year before, it was McDermott’s captain Kevin Sinfield who led the charge this time around. He produced a 14-point haul, including a try of his own to guide the Rhinos to a 26-18 win, avenging their Challenge Cup loss from earlier in the season.
Hoodoo ended – 2014
It was the Challenge Cup proving to be the sticking point between some of Leeds’ club legends and true folklore. The trophy eluded the club’s golden generation, made all the more painful by some heartbreaking final defeats.
It was west Yorkshire rivals Castleford who stood in their way this time in 2014 underneath the Wembley arch, and finally, Leeds delivered.
Two tries from Ryan Hall and one each from Tom Briscoe and Danny McGuire saw the Rhinos home 23-10. It sealed the three different trophies for a group of legendary players, but also McDermott himself.
Treble triumph – 2015
Super League success eluded Leeds in 2013 and 2014, and the stakes were raised when it was announced Kevin Sinfield, Jamie Peacock and Kylie Leuluai would all be ending their spells at the club at the end of 2015. What followed was a season no one will ever forget.
The Challenge Cup was delivered in August – Tom Briscoe scoring a record-breaking five tries in a 50-0 win over Hull KR. The League Leaders’ Shield was won in September, secured with one of the game’s greatest moments – Ryan Hall dashing down the touchline. And glory was confirmed at Old Trafford in October, Leeds pipping Wigan 22-20 in a nail-biter of a contest.
The treble in the bag, victorious send-off completed, 2015 was the year McDermott wrote himself into Rugby League folklore as a coach.
Against the odds – 2017
If the motivation for 2015 stemmed from securing a successful farewell for Sinfield, Peacock and Leuluai, then 2017 proved the end for Danny McGuire and Rob Burrow in the Blue and Amber.
Highlights from Old Trafford as Leeds claimed their eighth Grand Final title with a convincing 24-6 win over Castleford
Leeds had finished second in the table, but a whopping 10 points behind Castleford who had beaten them in every meeting that season. But luck swung the Rhinos’ way at Old Trafford.
Their former player Zak Hardaker was dropped by the Tigers for breaching club rules the week of the Grand Final, and his side never showed up on the night.
Danny McGuire turned in one final majestic display in a Rhinos shirt, scoring two tries and two drop goals as his Leeds side’s big game experience proved too much in a 24-6 win – a fourth and final Super League title for McDermott as head coach.
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