He's chief exec of a sporting, stadium and corporate entertaining business whose primary business concern is generating profits to provide the most resources to plough back into the Rugby League team and into the wider community game. He also no doubt still approves any player signings and contracts - this may or may not be fully delegated from the rest of the board - and does some of the negotiating alongside Smith.



If you think there's a better candidate to do this role please let us know.

Yeah 'cos there's lots of sporting clubs where the board just let the manager or coach sign contracts without board approval.



So of course he's involved. But we know that Smith takes the lead in identifying what players he wants.

Like all businesses there will be sign off levels that all personnel have to adhere to - anything major i.e. >1k will need sign off at the appropriate level. Good corporate governance.

If there is a God then this will happen soon before Hetherington kills the club completely. A good business with no ambition to win when in a sporting environment is a disaster waiting to happen.

If you care at all for the club you will go Hetherington before you become a figure of hatred

Let's not get carried away here - GH is running a small SME, c£12m T/O - he isn't a titan of industry. Surely this business lives and dies by the performances on the field and as such should this not be the primary focus of the club after ensuring the security of the personnel they employ?



As a manager sometimes you have to admit you have reached the limits of your effectiveness and for things to progress you need to hand over to someone who can take it to the next level - perhaps that time has arrived at Leeds Rhinos?

I think that time has come. This season marks 7/8 years and six in a row where we have finished outside the top 4 in a 12 team competition where some clubs are quite weak and this year 2 are awful. Salford, Leigh and HKR will all finish above us. Between all 3 I reckon they have brought through Mikey Lewis via academy route. We are underperforming regularly given some of our inherent advantages, such as actually having an academy.



To be fair to GH he passed the mantle to Sinfield but got it back.

It’s time for change on the football side.

As Matt said the Sinfield change was no great success, albeit a short spell. So it needs careful consideration.

I doubt there is anyone in-house to take over. Maybe we should look at Ian Blease or Danny McGuire with his contacts.

I don’t know who else is out there. Ultimately it’s getting someone in to make good judgment calls.

We seem to have lost our mojo.

It is time for GH to focus on the business side and let someone else run the Rugby side. Question is who? McGuire will be the next coach of Leeds not a DoR. I’d be happy to see an Aussie brought in to do it, someone with no ties to the previous regimes, but has relevant experience and contacts.

The problem with the DoR role is frankly one of how much work is involved? Its not really a full time job is it, if the coach picks the players, is supported by assistants and also watches over the reserves and academy, who have their own coaches? So a DoR does what - recruitment and selecting the coach? Recruitment is vital, but is it a full time job? I don't think so, and in any event the coach has to be involved in all recruitment decisions.



What you really want is a club CEO who can run a business and understands rugby. We have that, but it would be good to see GH make some moves that suggest he's learned from the myriad mistakes of recent years and that there's more than some nebulous 5-year plan to look forward to. If/when he retires its that CEO role that matters.



Frankly some of us predicted problems years ago, and just as the Golden Generation was a lesson in what can be achieved through good decisions (as well as luck), the years since then are a case study in exactly how not to manage a transition.

Personally I'd want a DoR who could also sort out the player pipeline through the ranks. On the surface it looks pretty slick but it all feels a little too comfortable somehow. I'm reminded of the England RU team at times when I look at what we ought to be producing and what we actually are.

Fair point it is not really a full time job as such. He must be knocking on the door of 70, maybe GH should retire altogether. My view is he’s out of touch now on the RL side and should step down.

No chance of McGuire at Leeds unless GH is gone - much bad blood when he left.