Following much doom and gloom, and it's hard when we're not winning games, but Widnes are a good team this year and we opened them up several times down the middle and out wide on the left. Our forwards definitely made greater meters and stopped their pack in defence. Added to this, when they did manage to exploit our fringe defence it was following a penalty or knock on.

Compare this to our match at Widnes earlier in the season, we barely made any yards against them and couldn't make a break. Until Greg Johnson worked his magic anyway. I call this improvement, and with better ball control we would have been looking at a score line somewhere I the region 40:20 in our favour. Man for man I would say we were the better team, but they played better as a team and rode their luck. The sign are there!

This is probably a reason why he'd to stay at Cas to be honest. All those years at Salford and it has taken a loan move to another club for someone to show a bit of faith in him.

Good to see people coming round to the idea that he should be our starting half back now though, despite earlier claims on here that he wasn't ready for SL and it was a masterstroke to loan him out.

You can't argue it wasn't a clever move to loan Sneyd out? Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but cast your mind back to the start of the year and the alternative was either to sit him on the side line (couldn't envisage Smiths atrocious form and personal issues along with Theo's injury) or go on dual-registration to Oldham or Barrow. The lad has gone to Cas and been one of the best half backs in the competition, he'll therefore come back to Salford a much better player.

I have lost count how many top players have spent a year on loan elsewhere before breaking through into their parent clubs first teams.

Cas fans at clutching at straws and I don't blame them.

I think that sending Sneyd to Castleford was just about Brian Nobles biggest success, can anyone honestly say his development would have been on the same scale if he would have been at Salford this season?. I think it is pretty much guaranteed that he will be back playing at Barton next season and for a formidable partnership with Chase to result. My only worry with him is that he is not an authoritative scrum halve who will bark orders for others too follow.

I'd also like too see the club now sticking with Mullaney @ #7 as on Saturday for me he was a real success, you could see the rustiness as I believe it is a number of years since he has played in the position but there were signs there that he will offer a bigger creative spark than Smith has done this season.

Much as it pains me too say it we should be playing more to our strengths and trying to out muscle and tire teams out with our dominant forwards and then trying to feed Meli for more fall over tries. When Johnson is back we'll have some potency on both flanks.

Mullaney injured,bicep muscle

JGR, cast your mind back slightly further and ask yourself why did we pay big money for a scrum half despite already having 2 at the club? Whilst leaving the number 9 position and outside backs woefully under strength.

Also I'm not sure how many clubs have loaned out their best young player to a fellow SL club for a full season.

It's been a great move for Sneyd, but a poor move by Salford.

To be fair I thought it was part of the Chase deal? Cas wouldn't let Chase go without having Sneyd on loan for the season plus a healthy sum of cash and if we're being honest no one at the start season would have said that was a mistake. All of us would have happily loaned out Sneyd if it meant we were getting Chase, wouldn't we?

Maybe Michael Dobson? I think he would be ideal to orgainse our team.

I’ve been to all the games this year and this was one of the better performances I don’t like to mention referees but robys performance was shocking on Sat, players like Junior Sa’u and Lami Tasi are improving as the season progresses I don’t think this team is that far away .

I totally accept what you're saying but I wont lie, I was delighted when we signed Tim Smith. I thought he would be ideal alongside Rangi Chase. I never in a million years envisaged him having a year that he has done. I also wasnt sure on Sneyd's best position last year, but after 12 months at Cas under an excellent head coach it's evident to all and sundry that the kid excels at scrum-half.

He's progressed that much this season, that he is now head and shoulders above Theo IMO, who still has a long way to go (perhaps 2015 on loan for him would help).

I disagree with the poor move by Salford bit, we're getting a top class scrum half back in 2015 which we didnt have prior to Sneyd leaving for Cas.

Dobson: on a one year contract with an under performing Knights (who have an issue in paying every player on time) and only about 28 years old. Signed to add depth so not an automatic selection.
Against : married in close season so may not want to up sticks AND it could mean 5 half backs in the squad

Was thinking the same about Theo going out on loan, the only proviso I would make is to insist on a caveat for him to return on a temporary basis if injuries allow.

I'd even look at seeing if Castleford were interested as they seem to have done a bang up job with Sneyd. I still think of the two that Theo has the more natural talent but can see Sneyd developing more into a structured and go to scrum halve were as Theo will I'm sure become more of a flair player.

I agree with a lot if what you are saying. I'm not as optimistic as you of him wanting to return though, which is the main reason I class it as a bad move. If he comes back as first choice scrum half and an improved player as well I will be delighted.

I'm reading this thread with interest. My first thought was that I don't think the original poster would say that to, for example, Hansen or Hock's faces!!

Seriously, rebuilding takes a lot of time. Salford signed the players that were available last season and there were reasons that you got them in each case. Had any of the top 4 wanted them they wouldn't have joined Salford.

The Saints players were after one last contract, as was Morley. No-one else wanted Chase, he had been available since he won Man of Steel, but no-one bit (apart from Hull FC meh). Hock is seen as a big risk (great player though). The only one of your signings that anyone would want is Hansen, and I'm still mystified by that. I can only conclude that his wages must have tripled (at least).

After that - was there even a hooker avaialble? Because I can't think of one, especially if Clark is going to Wire. You might have tested the water with Hodgson or Houghton i suppose. Who knows, maybe you did.

However, the signings for next season are already a step up.

Looking forward to Thursday. Hope there's a decent crowd - and it could be a good time to play Wigan plus Harris, Hansen and Hock will be looking to put one over Shaun Wane. Should be tasty!

Only tripled? I heard Marwan has built him a a palace made of gold with diamond windows and taps that pour angel tears. It was the only way to tempt him away from Wigan because, as you know, all players love Wigan as much as you do, and any player that leaves can only have been tempted away by money. Any considerations like the city the player grew up in, or the club he grew up watching his father captain are irrelevant.


Unfortunately, it's always a good time to play Salford. For now, anyway.

Not trolling but watching Salford is just symmetrical to how cas played 2009-2013. Some exciting stuff, will win and lose a few high scoring games, will get battered by the better teams more often then not but most frustratingly no real ability to control a game and tactically out fox the opponents.

Thanks for that insightful nugget. Next time could you sit on the toilet and squeeze it out there instead of doing it here?

Castleford 2009-2013 was just the style of play Brian Noble was trying to replicate when he assembled this squad of players.

I want Harris to succeed because that's good news for all Salford fans.
I think the signs are that he will ultimately succeed.
There is a 'but'.
He's in the results business and the constant reference to Nobles flawed signing policy is wearing thin.
I repeat that this is a team with Hock Hansen Tasi Sau Chase,and even the older players still have much to give.
Harris's job is to utilise the undoubted talent that's on the books and win a few games. This is far from the most difficult coaching job in the land.

In the longer term it is probably,almost certainly,a benefit to Iestyn Harris,that the friends of Noble in the press and media repeatedly remind everyone of how many games in charge he has had and how few victories.
Had the wins occurred immediately,the general consensus would be that it was Nobles side and he should be receiving the praise.
It has become more evident how difficult the job is,not helped by player injuries and coming into the job a couple of months into the season.
He does deserve a little bit of time to assess and decide before delivering.

Very humorous RJ. You've got to admit it is a little hard to understand the pull of Salford,even if he grew up in Swinton and his dad played for you. He left the double winners before getting the chance to play in the WCC in Sydney (surely the game of a lifetime that every pro would aspire to?) and the promise of a testimonial year in 2014. I can understand Morley for example because he is at the end of his career and was not likely to get another contract at Wire. But Hansen is at his peak and should be playing in Finals and proving himself the best second rower in Super League.

Of course there may be other reasons. And you are right not every player loves Wigan like the fans. Though those that know him insist that as a product of Wigan's academy he was well loved in the club and that was reciprocated.

He was fed up of eating pies!!!!!

Nobby's recruitment policy does account for most of our current predicament though:
* No recognised goalkicker
* No speed at dummy half
* No pace in the three quarters
* One member of that three quarter line who defensively makes Paul Carige look like Gary Broadbent.
* No-on field leader

I think that these problems have led to most of our defeats this season, and they're problems the coach can do little about other than recruit. He dealt with the second one on the day he joined the club, and the third should be less of a problem next season, but, at the moment, he's having to deal with the squad he's got.

I think Iestyn has improved things. We seem more solid down the middle and, since the introduction of Logan Tomkins, pretty sharp at dummy half. However, as we saw at Leeds, the lack of pace is a killer, both in attack and defense. When Leeds got through our line, they had the pace to finish off while our three quarters were left grasping at air. When we broke the Leeds line - as Rangi did with that 70 yard break in the second half - there was no-one with him and he got tackled near the line. You can't blame Iestyn for that.

(And to be fair to Nobby, the fifth problem in the list was a bit unfortunate.)

As a general rule of thumb, fans can [inever[/i understand why players leave their club and so assume it's for more money. They play for your club for the honour of doing so. They play for another club purely for the money. Your comment about his salary being tripled was just an extreme example.

I think we have more than one on field leader, the problem seems to be my estimation that non of them have been given the role.

HH or Hock would be my choice as both set a good example with the work rate. Odd as it sounds I'd give out of those two Hock first as I'd be in no doubt that he would tell a few people like it is and not mince his words in what he expects from certain people who are week in week out not carrying their weight.