A stupid contribution or just a differing opinion? There's loads of posts I don't agree with on here, but I would never take a cheap swipe at their intellect just to undermine their point. It's snobby, which I know you're not concerned about but I'll also add that it's not very dignified either.

Quality

No point overreacting to last night. We weren't at the races and Leeds pulled away through a series of poor (from our pov)/oppprtunistic tries. It happens sometimes and last night was one of those nights.

We'll be fine and I still fancy us to defend our title constant reshuffles and playing players out of position will catch up with you eventually and we're taking our medicine.

On the plus side we may see a Saints side with Walsh and percy starting next week which goes a long way to addressing many of the woes stated on this forum since the game finished last night.

Indeed, typical mid season madness reaction to a resounding defeat. Leeds look a better side than us at the moment, I don't have any problem saying that. Their backs are utterly superb, potentially one of the best that have ever played in Super League as a unit as bar McGuire they've got years left in them, certainly up there in contention:

1 - Hardaker, best fullback in SL, even when Sammy Boy returns as he can defend and Sammy cannot
2 - Hall with Handley as backup
3 - Watkins, best strike player in SL
4 - Moon, up there with the best overseas centres to play in SL. Not Jamie Lyon class, but a step up on most who've played SL
5 - Briscoe with Watkins moving there and Ablett to centre as cover, which loses Leeds very little
6 - Sutcliffe, looks a certain future international. They've replaced Sinfield and more with this kid
7 - McGuire, looked astonishingly good against us. Virtually unstoppable all night when he ran at the ruck and passed behind himself to one of the many runners.

To have that backline in this competition, a competition where standards have fallen each and every year since it began is remarkable. Their pack is relatively poor but they play to their strengths and will be very difficult to stop this year. Are we at that level? No, not currently. Under KC we look a bit lost, not really having a style or a noticeable consistency to our approach. We're more aggressive than last season and are getting numbers into the tackle, but the line speed is awful, we're missing tackles at a record-breaking rate and we're making so many unforced individual errors with the ball that it's hard to see what we're attempting to do as it's very rare we complete a set at the moment. Could we beat Leeds? Yes, we could, the pack is capable of laying a platform for the likes of Walsh to exploit, but KC has plenty to work on to get us up to the required level.

It's another transitional season as well, people forget that because of the GF win last season. We weren't the best side in SL last season, we just did a remarkable job of pulling it off against the odds.

I disagree that our pack is poor. Granted Saints have the best pack when fully fit but the Leeds one is getting a bit underestimated I feel. Peacock is obviously still the one everybody looks at and he's still performing better than most props in the competition. However Cuthbertson is having a great season, as is Aiton at hooker who I think has been the best 9 in the league so far this year (he won player of the month just recently for the whole of SL). Ablett hasn't quite shone so far this year but in form, whilst not International class, he's one of the top 2nd rowers in the competition. Add to it Stevie Ward who is still going under the radar but I reckon you'll start hearing more and more about at this rate.....the lad is top tackler in the league (Houghton would pass him TBF if Hull wasn't in Cup action this week) and since he's been able to bulk up in pre-season he's transformed. He isn't hitting the headlines like others but he's been a massive part of our strong start to the season. I know it's still early days and a lot can and will happen but already Cuthbertson, Aiton and Ward must be strong early front runners for the SL Team of the Year in their respective positions.

I also agree that there's nothing to worry about for Saints. On the day the teams at the top could all beat each other, and given the shortened playoff system of 2 weeks and just a semi and final then whichever 4 teams make the playoffs any could hit their best form for 2 weeks and win it.

The individual errors aren't something new either, I remember a long period last year when we couldn't keep hold of the ball as well! Didn't we go a run of about 6 or 7 games where we coughed up posession either directly from kickoff or on the first tackle? There's a long time to turn it around!

You guys have absolutely nothing to worry about.
You will be there or thereabouts come the business end of the season.
Once you get Walsh back fit again he and Burns will keep you at the races.
Think you might be a three quarter or two short of a top team but you can't have everything.

We Leeds should also be up there providing we start using more of our squad such as Walters, Robbie Ward and Mulhern otherwise we will be burnt out by then.

You're right. I'm not concerned.

I thought you were self confined to a deck chair reading war and peace. Welcome Back.

Haha, I've noticed. You may as well just s**t in your hand and clap. That said, the world would be a boring place without you Mugwump.

Nobody to laugh when he gets back in his box for few days is the?

Most forums have one

Not like this whopper they don't

You certainly fill the role as a member of the RLFans Admin team with an interesting style. If I could be rsd I might even ask, "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" But I can't so I won't

Pmsl!
What about the other teams that have injuries then do they just roll over?
I don't doubt you have a good side with your first choice 17 but you aren't the only ones as for Lomax he seems destined not to complete a full SL season biscuit boned.

Oh man, don't get him going. He will bring the dictionary out in full force now. No other team in super league in his eyes, he's totally blinded by saints.

We have best pack in world rugby. We ain't been dominated since 2007.

Haha i do however think you will be ok and certainly in the running come the play-offs but Mugwump would have you/us believe you have all the bestest players in the land but they are injured or unlucky!

Quite right in what you are saying.
I have always said that a team is only as good as its squad. It's obvious that our squad overal is not good enough and needs strengthening.

You can. And you did.

I don't know what you think my "style" is. Whilst I won't deny having the odd laugh at the expense of others this bears no resemblance to the litany of misdemeanours and crimes I've been falsely accused of either orchestrating or perpetrating over the years - not to mention the mind-boggling list of "multiple identities" I'm assumed to marshall like the head of SPECTRE.

If I come across as blunt it is not out of any particular malice, or (fx: snooze) "trolling" - but rather a crushing, spirit-draining BOREDOM with the staggering ignorance, shallowness and stupidity of people.

If I could press the button and nuke you all tomorrow - I'd do it today.

Misanthropically-inspired mass-murder is not a great business model for a website which depends on attracting visits from the general population.

You do all realise that Mugwump and St Pete are the same person arguing with himself don't you?

A small part of that would actually be genius although I'm not sure I can convince myself by their extremes.

On the contrary - if the Internet currently teaches us anything it is that the intersection between a sharp blade and a row of necks is a captive audience.

One thing I will say is I feel far too many people are getting carried away with other sides' expansive tactics and looking on enviously. In many ways I think it's commendable that coaches are attempting to inject more mobility and it certainly adds entertainment to the competition. Sure, it would be great to see a couple more young backs breaking into the Saints side and if we possessed some of the talent other teams are blessed with I'd be looking for us to give the ball a little more air, too.

But I think people are losing sight of the objective here. As the current SL champions our primary goal is victory in a ONE OFF game at Old Trafford.

Spraying the ball to every corner of the pitch in the league is a completely different proposition to doing the same in a high-pressure, winner-takes-all Grand Final.

If you want a good analogy - consider the World Cup. How many times have we seen teams overflowing with exciting talent facing off against each other in that competition with the end-result being a dour and disappointing stalemate with players who would think nothing of attacking from any and all avenues in a LEAGUE match choosing instead to dial down the adventurism for fear of making a mistake which, unlike in a league game, could well be impossible to recover from?

At Old Trafford you don't get twenty odd bites at the cherry. It's an eighty-minute winner-takes-all fixture which makes even the most adventuresome player reticent to take risks. If we face Leeds or Wigan in the Grand Final and they whizz the ball around at a hundred miles an hour and win - good luck to them.

I'm not saying it's impossible to win giving the ball more air. But Saints fans more than possibly anyone should know the consequences of having one of those days when the ball just won't stick. And when your opponent is repeatedly grinding out his sets and kicking you back to your twenty the pressure soon begins to twist around your neck like a tourniquet.

If you're asking me whether I'd PREFER to win scoring sixty yard tries through six pairs of hands - sure. Who wouldn't? But given a choice between ploughing down the middle, limiting the amount of time the ball is in the air and generally pursuing a relatively conservative attacking strategy or going wide at every available opportunity I'll choose the former every time.

You're forgetting though that the Leeds squad is pretty similar to the one that ground out boring-risk free rugby in the CC semi and Final vs Wire and Cas to lift the cup. We maybe throwing it around a bit this year but this group still knows how to and when to play the 'just get the win' rugby. Wouldn't surprise me if we make the playoffs and were able to grind out two very unexciting wins.

As for Saints.....can they do it? What examples do we have? The playoffs? Both Cas and Catalans had hit a brick wall by the time they face Saints and Wigan had 12 men. You stumbled towards the LLS hoping that Cas would fall to Catalans.......not trying to wind up or troll but just seriously pointing out that their's no real evidence of Saints being able to produce under TRUE pressure.