Despite the regular arguments about the play off structure etc. There is a knack of doing well in the play offs and the clubs that are involved most regularly (especially at the semi final stage) generally fear better than the teams that haven't.
Also, the clubs that have won the GF in recent years have stronger squads and know how to manage them in order to make the final (notwithstanding the fact that Saints have played a good chunk of the season without a decent half back pairing).

The all new league structure will change the nature of the play offs, as it will be the top 4 who contest the play off series, which will certainly help the less experienced clubs, if they can secure a top 4 finish.

Having said that, they would still need to win the final

So is 3 Challenge Cups, 1 top of the table finish, and 2 GF appearances in the last 6 seasons and a style of rugby which is lauded by most within the game, a total failure then??

Of course, we would love to win the Super League title, but I think its fair to say most clubs, bar Wigan and Leeds, would swap their last 6 seasons for ours?

You and me both

*If* the only concern was how to get a new name on the trophy as quickly as possible, your best shot would be to completely eliminate the cap - provided you assume that Koukash has, in Rugby terms, a more-or-less 'infinite' budget - thus making Salford a likely candidate. Not saying a complete free-for-all is a good idea, just that eliminating the cap would probably get you a new name on the trophy faster than lowering it. This would not have been true pre-Koukash.

What is it with you and the asterisk?

The might *look* like asterisks but really they're *stars*

Why dont you just use "these"?

I'd love for our name to be the 5th on the trophy but I never have or ever will state "this is our year". I find the Wire fans claiming this are either:

a) being sarcastic

or

b) are the same idiots who moan about everything and blame "the club" for Thursday night games & rant about ticket prices etc. In short, armchair / fair weather fans.

I'd say we are considered part of the top 4 as Bradford have fallen, they still have more silverware than us in the SL era, but we are up there now.

On a side note, I find the "it's always your year" chant quite amusing tbh.

"When will we get a new name on the SL trophy?" well reducing the league is not going to help, and neither is p + r.

I also fail to see when this has happened. It's always been Sky who've said it'll be "our year" or whatever. And considering the last five years we've had it's not exactly an unreasonable prediction. But yeah, it's easier for people to say "LOL LOOK AT THOSE DELUDED DIRE FANS, WINNING CHALLENGE CUPS AND GETTING TO GRAND FINALS" when their own team/club is sh*t and doesn't have a hope of getting near what we've done in the next decade.

I fancy wire to win it next year.Very close this time out and they will only improve from here on in.

We won the grand final and league with no HBs. We should have Walsh back alongside Burns.

We should be even stronger next season.

We don't know who our coach will be yet. We'll probably have a better idea how strong or otherwise we will be once we know who is going to oversee the whole chebang.

It's getting more and more like the NRL now. You really can't call who is going to win it next season. For the first time in Super League history we have a relatively open competition. Leeds, Wigan, Wire and Saints could all win it. It's been a while since four teams could genuinely say that.

Yeah, when Burns isn't banned

For a so-called Saints fan, you seem to spend a lot of time brown-nosing Warrington...

What's all this '2009' and 'the last 6 seasons' that keeps cropping up in posts from Warrington fans?

Why do Dire Wolf supporters think RL only began then?

..... You were the one who started poking fun claiming that Wire were some sort of experts in failure - The recent success pointed out, simply shows how much of a nob you are.

As for our supporters only thinking RL began in 2009, then go check out the game's biggest ever crowd - It seems plenty of Wire knew the game was about back then??

You will be in the mix for sure. You can't read into anything regards the title win this year though and the incredible fortune you had to win it.im happy for you suffering fans by the way, but it was the stars aligning and nothing else really,any other year you wouldn't have even got to OT with that team as it was.

Have to agree - Was made up for my Saints-supporting friends, as they have suffered more than most over recent years, but, in truth, no team will have a easier route to picking up the Super League title.

Firstly, a Cas side which had shot its bolt in the middle of August, a Catalans side which was absolutely knackered from their previous exertions, and then when they finally have to meet a side which was match ready and in form, they have the massive fortune of Wigan playing a man short for the majority of the game.

Yes, their name is on the trophy and you can't ever take that from them, but they will fail to win Super League titles with much better sides than the one which beat Wigan.

Apart from Wire I cant see it, Cas were ultimately a long way off being a champion side this year and so have Hudds been in recent years, competing in the regular season, even beating the big boys, diesnt mean you have a team capable of doing it in finals football. Maybe Catalans, but they're so enigmatic that I cant really see them doing it any time soon.

Isn't that precisely the reward for being the most consistent team throughout the weekly rounds? Not lucky, just finding a way to win (albeit against the odds)

In the new system it'd of been Castleford than Wigan, which is probably easier that Castleford, Catalans and then Wigan

Saints deserved it and I have no problem with it. I was simply pointing out, as the previous poster alluded to, that the cards fell heavily in Saints' favour during the play-offs and finishing top had little to do with it.

Leading into the play-offs, even Saints' fans were pretty down on their own chances and I think even now, most of them will still be wondering how on earth a side so short of its vital elements managed to come out on top... I think most will agree that it took a bit of self-implosion on the part of other sides that contributed?

If Todd Carney keeps himself out of mischief I would throw Catalans in there too.

Wire would be my shout for the next name on the trophy. As realistically it would take about five years of building, Cas for example of last season need o be firstly getting to the upper echelons of the league table , then getting to the semi finals, then getting to the GF (first one probably losing if not more) than finally winning. Whether the new format allows this sort of building we will have to ait and see.