Dave Craven: Lesson learned that you should never write off awesome Rhinos

It was a slightly nervous situation for the assembled journalists afforded free access to the victorious squad given the obvious verbal blast – he even managed to do that in a dignified style – Kevin Sinfield had aimed in our direction just minutes before.

Leeds had done what no one else but themselves believed they could do – won Super League yet again – and, in front of nearly 70,000 fans and a watching TV audience of millions, the distinguished captain had wanted to rebuke such doubters in his winning address.

“And last, but not least, to all those people that wrote this team off, all those people that criticised this team, tonight, this is for you,” he hailed.

So there was a little trepidation that, in the claustrophobic confines of their sheds, we could be in for a more up-close-and-personal riposte from him and his colleagues.

In reality, there was nothing of the sort, just their usual willingness to talk – no smugness of any kind.

It was a sign of their champion quality that they even allowed such an audience so soon after an energy-zapping 80 minutes, and those precious moments when a victorious squad and its coaches, management team and backroom staff savour the realisation of what has been achieved over the last 12 months.

I’m not sure Fabio Capello would allow such open access if England cause the biggest upset in sporting history and win Euro 2012 – I’ve clearly not learned about writing teams off – but maybe Wayne Rooney, who revealed via Twitter that he was at Old Trafford on Saturday and how he is an avid rugby league fan, could pass on the suggestion.

That’s if Capello is still talking to the Manchester United star and self-proclaimed Rhinos supporter (how will that sit with the Reds of Manchester?) after his ridiculous red card less than 24 hours earlier.

Anyway, I digress. Back to that quick glance around the aforementioned changing room.

When there is the unrivalled Sinfield in one corner, England captain Jamie Peacock in another, former Australia captain Danny Buderus receiving well-wishers galore – notably defeated Saints coach and fellow ex-Kangaroo hooker Royce Simmons – and, somewhere burrowed beneath a hoard of inquisitive journalists that little dynamo Rob Burrow, you wonder why you could ever be so foolish as to be so dismissive of their chances.

That is four players alone. Add Danny McGuire, Brent Webb, Kylie Leuluai, Ryan Bailey, Ali Lauitiiti, Jamie Jones-Buchanan, Carl Ablett and Ian Kirke – an astonishing 38 winners rings between them – and the thinking becomes absurd.

Let us not be dismissive any longer; the fact is, this Leeds side has now won five titles in eight years during an era when the salary cap is supposed to level out the competition.

They are threatening to attain levels which the dominant Wigan side of the late 80s/early 90s reached while they operated full-time squads and everyone else pitched up a few nights each week to train after work.

It is unquestionably their greatest success so far. Their first title in 2004 came after they took the league leaders shield a massive nine points in front of second-placed Bradford.

In 2007 and 2008 they finished a close second behind St Helens, but delivered when it mattered most, and in 2009 they regained that league leaders’ shield before conquering Old Trafford for a third successive year.

This season, they finished fifth, a gargantuan 13 points adrift of leaders Warrington. They were only six points shy of falling out of the play-offs.

But the belief that “It’s not how you start, it’s now how you finish” has never been better exemplified.

They did not fall out of the eight. They were in there. They were fit. Confident. Talented. Experienced. Fearless.

Leeds were, by their own admission, suffering teething problems during McDermott’s early reign, notably as they dealt with the continued loss of both Peacock and McGuire while also adopting the principles their new coach was eager to implement.

McDermott, to his credit, has stood by his beliefs unwaveringly, confident in the knowledge that, when his squad was back to full fitness, they would be a better operating unit for his influence.

That has come to pass in the six games since Wembley. Leeds were desperately unlucky not to emerge from London with the Challenge Cup but what they had secured, once the heartache had been cleared, was the understanding – if they ever needed it – that they could at last compete with the leading sides.

Let’s not forget, they had not defeated a top-four side until winning at Huddersfield on the penultimate weekend of the regular season.

But they understood that a strong finish could make up for any of those earlier aberrations – the dismal 32-22 loss at Harlequins, only ‘bettered’ by the 24-10 home defeat to the Londoners; the abysmal 40-24 reverse at Hull KR, the chastening 42-16 defeat at Saints and that lowest of lows, the meek surrender in Perpignan.

In effect, their season was condensed into another cup run – four games, consecutively, to lift the trophy. When the time came for that burst of intense, highly pressured fixtures – against Hull FC, Huddersfield, Warrington and, finally, Saints – they were in peak condition and perfectly primed. They showed everyone that, despite its critics, the play-off system really can give anyone the opportunity to take the chance to be champions.

The difference between Leeds and everyone else was they grasped it. Perhaps now others will follow their example but the challengers will need an added ingredient.

One of the songs blazing out of the Old Trafford PA system once Feeder were rained off was U2 with their hit Desire.

Fittingly, that is the characteristic underpinning all that Leeds have done. One title was not enough. Neither it seems was four. For a squad so successful still wanting to achieve such remarkable feats, it says plenty about their insatiable drive. That’s what the rest have to discover and it is an unenviable task.