McDermott energised by chance to defy the doubters

The brooding prop who caused such chaos for opposition ranks while marauding around with Bradford Bulls, would have been angered by the obvious slight.

So now, as a Super League head coach, it is no surprise he cannot hide his feelings.

By choosing his Leeds Rhinos side rather than Wigan Warriors in the much-maligned Club Call, Warrington Warriors have effectively laid down a challenge which cannot be escaped.

“You can try to be too intellectual about this and try and play it down,” he said ahead of this evening’s qualifying play-off, the prize of Old Trafford awaiting the victors.

“There is a really big gut feeling among some blokes who are saying they don’t think we’re as strong as other teams. That will have a bearing no matter what I try and say to the players.

“No matter how much they talk about it not having a bearing it does come down to the fact their pack has chosen our pack.”

It is brutally simple; Warrington believe their forwards have a better chance of dominating Leeds up front rather than Wigan, not something which will sit easy with such grizzled professionals as Jamie Peacock, Kylie Leuluai, Jamie Jones-Buchanan and co.

It should make for a fascinating encounter in the opening exchanges this evening when the likes of Gareth Carvell, the ageless captain Adrian Morley and returning Ben Westwood all fire up.

But McDermott, 41, concedes his players have been affronted already this season and begun to prove the critics wrong.

He was seething about the manner in which some wrote off England captain Peacock and international colleague Danny McGuire during the club’s indifferent spell earlier this season.They were returning from serious knee injuries while captain Kevin Sinfield also came in for criticism before last month’s Challenge Cup final loss to Wigan.

Part of that troubled team form is the reason why Leeds are so unfancied while just 80 minutes from a Grand Final.

“I don’t get angry or lie awake at night thinking about it as we have been poor this season at stages in some games,” says McDermott.

“I don’t think Saints, Wigan and Warrington have been as poor as us in some performances this year so therefore some attention is being turned to those other three clubs with regards the Grand Final. We’re still surprising a few and some people are thinking ‘haven’t Leeds done well?’ which is fair enough as well.

“But to go one further and say those players are gone and to say they’ll never get back to where they used to be is naive on some people’s part, almost to the point of being disrespectful.

“What was being said about some of our elder players – Danny McGuire, Kevin Sinfield and Jamie Peacock – seemed to be just to grab headlines before Wembley.”

Crucially, that key trio are now looking as commanding as ever – “JP carried the ball 24 times last week and made 246 metres; I don’t think there’s been a stat like that in Super League all season” - which hints at the potential for an upset at Halliwell Jones Stadium.

For all Warrington’s flair and gritty substance that took them to the top of Super League, they have never been in the position of being so close to a Grand Final so nerves may yet play their part.

Leeds, in the meantime, have done it all before, that established triumvirate alone boasting a staggering 11 winners rings between them.

Such vast experience is priceless but McDermott knows Leeds have to put themselves in a position to win from the off.

“Warrington are a very potent team who will try and put a couple (of tries) on you in the first 10 or 15 minutes,” he said.

“They are not too dissimilar to Wigan where you have to have a good start against them.”

If the West Yorkshire club are to overcome the massive odds stacked against them, the foundations of any success must start with that pack performance but McDermott insists his side will be less pressured tonight compared to a week ago. Then they had to win at Huddersfield Giants and he said: “I thought that was probably the biggest test. Obviously to beat Warrington we will have to perform at a better level than we did last week.

“They’re a very, very good team but in terms of our attitude towards the game we were jittery last week and very nervous.

“Had we lost that game we would have been massively disappointed.

“If we lose this one it will be the same but the carrot dangling in front of us now out-weighs those jitters.”

McDermott goes up against Tony Smith, the Australian who gave him his chance at coaching, first with Huddersfield and then as an assistant at Leeds in 2004, the year they won their first Super League title.

McDermott has advanced into a head coach via four years at Harlequins before returning to Headingley this term.

But the ex-Great Britain international is concerned by the lack of opportunities for young coaches wanting to follow a similar path.

He is the only English coach remaining in the last four with Australians Michael Maguire and Royce Simmons in charge at Wigan and St Helens respectively.

Little-known Aussie Craig Sandercock took over at Hull KR earlier this week, with fellow countryman Peter Gentle announced as Hull FC’s head coach for 2012.

With assistants Paul Anderson (Huddersfield), Andy Hay (ex-Castleford), Francis Cummins (Bradford) and Kieron Purtill (St Helens) all seeking their chance at the helm, McDermott is worried they are not being trusted.

“I’d be interested in the opinions of some English Super League club owners that are employing Australian No 2s and why some English No 2s haven’t even had an interview for the job,” said McDermott. “Some of those have played at the very highest level, been assistant coaches at clubs that have won trophies, been involved in very successful cultures and have got very good reputations.

“I’m not giving an opinion whether it’s right or wrong but I’d be interested as an English coach who has an interest in where our game goes and what it looks like in five or 10 years.

“I feel I’ve inherited the game as an English Super League coach and at some stage in the next decade or so – hopefully longer – I’ll hand it over to another generation of coaches. I feel responsible for what it looks like now and would like to know what these owners are thinking.”

There would be no finer advert for those domestic coaches than McDermott flying the flag at Old Trafford next Saturday. But first comes that Warrington battle.