Personally I don't think we'll be serious challengers for anything this year.

The youth development and player recruitment has nowhere near kept pace with players leaving over the last 4 years or so and I reckon this is the year when that policy comes home to roost.

Without Long and KC next year we'll be much worse.

Call me a pessimist but look at our squad and look at Leeds squad. Their youngsters are way ahead of ours as is their recruitment of senior players.

That's a far too simplistic analysis of success. For instance, I would count winning the CC as an excellent season. Most teams fans dream about it, where as we have done it three in a row. Getting a fourth would be a superb achievement.

Ideally, we should be aiming for the GF, we have some wrongs to right there.

Unfortunately I fall into this bracket but I had similar-ish thoughts last winter and things turned out well. Hopefully the same again will happen although Potter has one big job on to match what we did last year.

Leeds to me are out in front - it would be really good if we stumbled through the league rounds, get to OT from 2nd/3rd and upset the appecart and do it against the team who should really run away with the Minor Prem. Would kind of make up for recent events?

I agree with you in ridiculing our internal recruitment policies of late, but I think our saving grace is going to be the rubbishness of the other challengers. Warrington look better than us this season squad wise, but the rest are still lacking. Leeds are comfortably ahead, but in a one off game they are beatable, as we proved in the semi final.

To summise I'd say Leeds appear to be well in front of everybody, especially as Watkins looks a real prospect at centre. Probably the break through British RL needs given it paucity of quality backs.

I still see Saints as the challengers to Leeds given everyone else is crap, really.

I just want to see some of our young players come through. I am sure if Foster, Maggenis, Ashurst, Wheeler and Frodsham are established by the end of the season everything else will take care of itself.
I enjoy going to wembley so a cup final would be good on top of that.

All this talk about us not being able to challenge is a load of rubbish, IMO. Saints have a very strong 17 players, that can match any side in the league. The key, as it is every season, is injuries. If Saints get a few injuries then we might struggle a bit, as would any team though. We have a side capable of competing, and i think Saints will surprise a fair few this season.

I'm confident we will win at least one trophy this season, but be well in contention to win them all. People are writing us off and you never write the Saints off.

if I remember correctly people were writing Saints off at the beginning of last season too , "no recruitment" etc , and look what happened

I'm surprised everyone fancies the Whinos but its no bad thing. I reckon that having won it the way they did they will need to motivate themselves all over again and thats not so easy to do. Sure maybe their best players will have another good second half of the season but there were times last year when they went from looking very good to a pretty poor spell.

When we were good we were better than them and you can't say we will be short of motivation. I like the look of Saints squad and have a sneaky feeling that we will come good for the GF, not bothered about the CC unless you can garantee Bratfud in the final and that I can play

Agreed.

F*ck top spot and the Challenge Cup, the Grand Final should be the focus.

Am I the only one who would like to see us push for nine CC's in a row?

as if

It has to be the GF, forget everything else.

People suggesting Saints will struggle are in cloud cuckoo land. With the exception of Leeds, there isn't one side in the division with the strength Saints have got, regardless of age. We should be looking to plod through the league, finish top 2 and then go all out to win the GF.

I reckon we can win the League Leaders and the Challenge Cup. Maybe not the Grand Final this year.

Challenge Cup or Grand Final winners would be another good season for us. I've no preference this year of the two because four in a row for CC would be a great achievement. League leaders shield means nothing.

I will settle for 4 and take it from there.

And I thought I was an optimist.

You should go on the Wigan board, they are all ready for cutting their wrists too.

But if we do that then whats the reason we cant win the GF? When you get to a Final then anyone can win, its just a game of 17 a side, ask New Zealand, ask Sheffield, ask Saints/Leeds



I really don't get that, if Saints end up top of pile _and_ win the CC they would be way odds on to win the GF

I will settle for beating Warrington for starters!

Dont worry mate you will find it when you eventually get there its in the same place as the old Empire Stadium.

dont agree with this at all. we are weak in the centres, we have great young talent but lack big game experiance. if senior is injuried(which he is for tonights game against wakey) its ablett back in the centre or watkins and gibson which looks like a great future pairing but need time.

we have also lost ellis and it will take time for our new signings to gel.

i agree that we need to win something, at least one of the two main trophies, again i would prefer the GF but the cup final is always a top day out. to say anything less than a clean sweep is failure for leeds is not true. no club has done it yet and this is not a complete team yet. so if leeds manage to do it, it will be really something to savour though i think in the modern game its pretty unlikley

grand final and beat wigan at murrayfield would be a great season.

Done....Giants next please