If we make the right signings we'd be competitive very quickly. Get a full back and halfback as good as Weslby and Lam in our team and we'd have won easily today. Our spine is just generally poor far too often. Austin had those two good games on the bounce but far too often is part of the problem and Sezer just looks as bad as he did before Smith arrived. Myler will look OK again when the others play well, but he has never shown any ability to drag the team to a win.

The question is whether we can/will make the right signings.

Yeah that's a huge IF. No sign of it happening going by announcements being slow and by the players we're being linked with.

no faith in the leadership or coaching team. can't see anything but poor standards for the next few years

I can’t see it happening but I would focus on
1. Top class half back (ideally 2 but never going to happen). Someone who can control a game and direct our attack and usurp Cam Smith from calling our plays.
2. Full back who presents a line breaking threat. I think on if our biggest attributes at the end of last season as that Hardaker could beat a man on kick returns. Now we are stuck with Myler not beating a man/making yards on tackle one followed by two outside backs running into a set defence. My left field call would be Nene McDonald at full back as he is one of the very few who looks like they can beat a man!
3. One strike runner (either centre/second row). ODonnell has probably been our player of the season so far, but if we persist with him with Bentley/Gannon/Martin we have no real threat in attack. Hopefully Newman can get fit but no guarantees and we currently only give McDonald ball inside our own 20.

More likely we will make some very limited signings and hope for the best. I would have liked to have kept Walters, but I don’t think our prop rotation is too bad. I’m personally not Rohan’s biggest fan but I don’t see anyone on the market that would be guaranteed to be better at this moment. One of my issues is his attack relies on quick ball and high level execution which I don’t think our current squad has and his passive defence style never gets on top though rarely do we get absolutely hammered (on the scoreboard).

That's a big IF. The league is a really poor standard and it isn't improving and we still stink out the place. We have the most money, some of the best facilities, a proper youth academy and we still can't compete. The club leadership is awful.

I think we've got a big problem with ambition.
Saints, Cats, Wire and Wigan are all massively ambitious and want to finish top of the league.
They're all going out and making big signings and pushing to the be the best.
Our ambition as a club is to scrape into the top 6.
8th is about where we are.
We're battling away in that middle group with Salford, Hull, Rovers and Hudds.
These days, finishing 6th would be considered success.
Whatever signings we do make will be for the big push to move up from 8th to 6th.

I don't disagree with the apparent lack of ambition. Ever since the latter part of McDermott's reign we seem to have accepted mediocrity. When we were right in relegation fights GH never seemed to be angry about it or push the fact that it was simply not good enough. The attitude from the top seems to have infected the players as well, for years now. We had a reasonable turnover of players last year, but the team still seems to accept rubbish as being OK.

Like I said, bring in a couple of genuine quality players and we'd be a different beast. But they also need to bring the winning attitude or they'll end up being dragged down by the rest of the squad. Hastings is exactly the sort of halfback we need, at least in terms of attitude.

Simply not good enough since 2017. Poor cheap recruitment from Hetherington to blame. I for one would love nothing more than a new Chief now. Too old too out of touch but too stubborn to accept it I'm afraid. As long as he's topping his pension pot up this will continue. 9/21 Inc cup so far this season and it seems very little is been done to rectify things moving forward. Think it's time opinions were heard starting at the two upcoming home games.Totally unacceptable.

We aren’t often getting hammered this year but these close losses have been really costly. 2-3 improved first team players and we’re probably running in the top 4 at this point; some on here are way too negative.

We do have some good talent in the system coming through. If (and as others have said it is a big if) we can make those 2-3 real high quality additions I think we will look much more competitive very quickly from here, and with more talent coming through.

Gannon, Simpson, Sinfield are all good prospects on the fringe of first grade and I expect a few more like the McCormacks might be knocking on the door within 2 years.

Everything rests on getting the right quality in for next season - and not committing overly long contracts to project players which then ties us in knots for future recruitment.

How many first choice international players do we have in our squad? Martin PNG, Bentley Ireland I can see Walters and Holroyd making the England team soon but 2 out of the current squad tells you all you need to know about the standard of players we have.

Walters will be guaranteed to be in the England squad after he joins Wigan.....

Yes they are currently going quite well and adding to their squad a team with ambition......

The lack of competive nations means international first teamers doesn’t mean much, for example, Roberts played for wales at the World Cup.

But you could add Roberts, Myler, MacDonald, McDonnell sangare and Tetavano off the top of my head.

Not wanting to brag but even I’ve got an international cap for a nation extremely low down in the rankings

Holroyd has already made the England team, so has Ash Handley

We don't have a single player who would be first choice for England. That's a reasonable indicator that our squad is a bit sub par.

I was just thinking about the rest of the season, and if we lose to Leigh I think Smith needs to start planning for next season. I'd be looking to get Hooley a couple of games, just to see if its worth even keeping him around, but more importantly I'd give Sinfield a couple of games on the bounce, and also give Ruan games off the bench. No real point picking Walters past that point, or whichever half back the club knows is leaving.

I'd agree this season now should be for building for next, get Sinfield some game especially. Scraping 6th in this year's form is just pointless.

I was more referring to the fact that Shaun Wane sits on the Wigan bench for most home games and always picks Wigan players in the England squad.
But yes I agree, they have far more ambition as a club than us.

Just a general acceptance of rubbish standards Club wide.

A club that was at the cutting edge is now happy to bumble their way through season after season and the mantra jam tomorrow springs to mind.

We’ve a handful of games left and yet to see a complete 80 min performance from us.

I know we’re not privy to the ins and outs of transfers etc but bitter experience tells me we’re in for a massively underwhelming “project” signings

... But we're not warrington and we don't have Powell as coach. Every cloud









at warrington

So the ''but look at Powell and Warrington" argument well and truly swatted away now.

Both them and us are absolute dog crap and going nowhere fast under current coaches.

Fantastic innit.
Obviously having Williams back made a lot of difference....






Can't see Powell lasting the season.

Do you need a cuddle. Warrington have invested massively, it was' their year' again, and once again it's turning to sht. Let us have a laugh yeah. Powell is a dreadful coach and his meltdowns are something to enjoy in these dark times.

The amount of money they've spent, he should be gone tomorrow, at least our loss was a close one, they've been absolutely battered.

One of the most over hyped coaches ever.

yep. let's laugh at wire by all means remembering we are sat 8th, with a project, poundland coach and no signs of any improvement next season.
hilarious

I was trying to forget, you know, for like just one second. Cheers tad.

The fact that we're also and it's funny to laugh at warrington given the context, aren't mutually exclusive.