I agree but why the hell go into the season with only one ball playing halfback in the first grade? It's bonkers.

Not holding his position in defence I'm told.

I agree with this completely. But I also have to question whether there is a large enough pool of players available with enough quality to play at the highest level. Comes back to my argument of whether the game/player pool is too diluted.

To be honest mate, we had the same problem with the halves for about 3 seasons so it's no excuse really. We've had 3 years to put a proper halfback combo together and we've failed.

The pies lost lulu and finch in the same season and brought in Green and Smith. Wigan know you can't win pots with no halves.

And, when Smith/Green are injured, wi*an have youngsters able to step in and do an adequate job.

Yes but it's rare both are out. If one is out, the other can dictate play. They have lockers to step in if need be as we have Wilkin but the fact they DO have two halves that can control the game is a massive difference.

Who have been our halves in the juniors since Gaskell was there? Why haven't we seen any come through to the first team?

But the issue is we have binned or loss all our best junior prospects bar Wheeler.

I'm still not sure on the thinking behind binning Gaskell last year for an average hooker.

Fine he was the big I am, but hell he could play when he wanted to. I think sometimes we need to be more practical than principled. We got rid of a player with attitude with no back up in place to cover him.

If we had Gaskell he may be a pain in the butt, but he would be vital at this time of year and it does not stop us looking for another player in the mean time.

As it is we are were we are and it's going to be a struggle, but it's all relative. We are struggling to stay top. Not to stay in the top 4 or top 8 or the league.

Given that Rush dropped him and Brown dropped him I'd say Rush and Brown didn't like him so that was that! The Bradford coach seems to be handling him ok just now. They're relegated but last week in one of the RL weeklies Gaskell was their MoM and from what I've seen of him on the highlights shows he can pull off some great passes, he's tackling his heart out at present (saved a try last week) and is kicking well. Maybe the 'big I am' was Rush and Brown, rather than Gaskell?


I read somewhere that we'd guaranteed our top 8 spot.

I doubt we will make top 4. A couple of losses and with the top 4 being so close we'll soon be down the table.

Think we can't finish out top 6

Pete's right , no halves = no pots.

We will finish this disappointing season with a whimper due to an inadequate squad .... again. How many years will we go without 2 recognised halfbacks before it finally sinks in. As has been stated people claiming 'there arnt any out there' should just look over the lump where they seem to have no problem replacing them

Indeed the worst position finish we can have is 6th, however it might even be 4th (I haven't done all the permutations yet, but owing to the fact there's so many games between the top 5 in the last few weeks of the season, teams will have to drop points)

We've been scrimping on recruitment in hope a set of superstars come thru the youth system and it didn't.

We've only just got the props to a decent standard, we went 4 years with one centre and we must have gone 3 seasons with one or no halves and people wonder why we stopped making finals.

Finishing out side the top 4 would take a collapse of unheared of proportions

I don't think we will win another game in 2014.

I think that's a bit OTT, with the way form has gone up and down this year, I can't see us losing them all

Well our pack has been hit and miss this season and we now have no kicking game and no playmakers. Brown does have the option of throwing a couple of kids in who could provide some but it seems he's rather we just struggled on than take a risk ... although I'm not exactly sure what the risk is given we are a rudderless ship

But given we are out of half's we are all stabbing in the dark, some say play Wello, for the leadership, others a young un for the kicking game, other say swift etc.

There is no obvious solution to this problem and saying we should have got a 6 at the start is not a solution to the current problem no matter that it was right.

Having said all that. Other teams are also having up and down games. I'm not saying we will win the GF but top spot is not impossible.

That's what I think tho

Now would be a good time to announce a signing.

Cas will win tomorrow and be on 32 points, and will have have a better points difference.

CAs are in the top 4. Or had you missed that??

I had, but if Hudds win they will join Wire on 30 and you have to play both of them, but I think they have also still to play each other. A lot will depend on who makes the CC Final.

I haven't run every single permutation of results yet, but the worst case I have so far simulated saints finished 5th, and that was with a very specific set of results. If 1 team hits form and wins their remaining games, saints finish top 4.

That's the point if we lose every game it will still be difficult to finish outside the top 4.

I don't think we will lose every game and whilst no longer favourites to finish top still think we are in with a shout.

Yesterdays game has no more bearing on the final league placings than the next.