So if Leeds and St Helens don't have the same injury run we'll finish about 4th next year then, yeah? ludicrous thread indeed

what is it with some fans oh i think we will finish fourth? hope TS or any of the players aren't thinking like this. smith said last year werte going for both, next year will be the same as he will make them aim for the top not just fourth!

But we are on an upward trajectory. The whole negativity of the thread chimes with the booing of our players ther week before last. If we don't win every match, it's seen as some sort of disaster. Add the scapegoating of Clarke to that and you have Warrington fans down to a T.

If you think a 4th place finish for Warrington 'negative' comment then you need your head looking at.

I'll bet you a tenner we won't finish higher than 4th next season.

p.s. you seem to have a huge problem with Warrington fans. Why not love off and support a team who's fans you adore then!!!

You said "is 4th realistically the best we can hope for"

So you're not saying they will finish 4th you are implying that is the BEST to be HOPED for.

Christ when Steve Anderson took over I HOPED we do the double.

I really don't see what you're argument is? Do you even have one? Or are you being awkward in non-witty way as per?

Oh don't worry, it's not just Warrington fans. There's whole swathes of society I have problems with.

I don't see why we can't finish top next season. We was not the complete package last year and missed out on 2nd on points difference. Smith is still learning about the side and making the minor changes( such as a consistent goal kicker) to take us to the level were we can challenge for 1st each year. We have learn't how to be consistent and avoid slip ups against the "lesser sides". It is just when we play the games against Leeds and Saints that we need to improve.

Regarding stength in depth we have a number of players that have the ability to step into the 1st team. These being:

Cooper
Grix
Mitchell
Mccarthy
Blythe
Williams
R.Evans

That list is correct and until they have a run in the team, we won't really know. Foster, Clarkson, Goulding all did well this year when they would have appeared in a similar list for St H, Leeds and Wigan.

There are a few who feel that buying in players will = success. Look at us 3 years ago all the big signings and we are going to rule the world never happened. Smith in his last interview said that consistancy is the key , that is the club / team / training etc etc . Those lads will be miles ahead of many of the teams next year as each one will know exactly what each other is capable of and when.

There are teams who buck this trend , Crusadors for one TBH but you normally find that it is short lived.

I agree with another post on here that kicking is the key to winning close matches and points difference in the league.

I predict a fine year next year.

I am more confident going into next season than I was going into this year.

Saints are playing at a substitute home and have got a new manager to bed in. Mcguire at Wigan got off to a racing start and has done fantastic but with a new manager it is the exception to do well in the first season and not the norm. They have lost Cunningham and if the rumours are correct may well lose Pryce.

Wigan in my view will be in the top three but I am not sure they will manage to match this seasons achievements. Leeds are a bit of an enigma for next year, they have been the best side in SL for the past three seasons but appear to be on the wain or at best in transition, I am in no doubt though that Leeds will be back in the medium term and as strong as ever.

I think the biggest decision facing TS and Mr Moran will be the setting of our priorities for next season, TS will of course say that we are going all out for the CC and a Grand Final appearance. But in reality it takes a very very special team to be able to win / challenge for both and as much as I love the Wire we are not a very very special team. Saints were that very very special team back in 2007 (or was it 200icon_cool.gif when they won both trophies but we are not that team and nor is the current Saints team a patch on their 2007/08 team

So I think either Wire, Saints or Wigan to finish top and it would not at all surprise me if it were us.

exactly. How can people think Leeds are going to be above us next year? Leeds need 2 new centres,have a winger thats too bulked up and lacking pace, a full back thats been found wanting and a hooker that has started to lose his head. Coupled with a halfback carrying a serious injury (will he be the same when he comes back?) and a forward buggering off to NRL then i can't personally see how anybody can see Leeds above Wire next year?

4th place and a place in the semi finals of either competition? I'd take that. Its easy to say we should be progressing, but there are years where we won't succeed. Success is a long term project. From 03 to 08 we won nothing but steadily progressed from relegation candidates to play off hopefuls. Then we won the cup in 09 and 10. But anomalies happen, and two semi final spot shouldn't be ignored if thats all we get next year.

Agreed..!

Another thing thats annoying me is the way everyone is banging on about these 3 Melbourne Storm players Wigan have signed..
Ok they are proven quality NRL players..But so were Monaghan and King....King especially suffered a culture shock in his first season.....
Wire fans of all people should know that some overseas players require a bedding in period others take to England like a duck to water..Hicks and Grose are just 2 off the top of my head...

To say that Lima,Hoffman and Finch ar going to walk in and start ripping up Super League is a touch naive IMO....

To be honest I am happy with the fact that we are now 'up there'.... anything else is a bonus.

I think we're more confident than usual with these signings as firstly they are coming over in a group, which should hopefully help them settle in, as well as coming over to join a coach which they know well, and in turn knows their strengths, weaknesses and personalities already.

Everybody has Saints down as being improvers next season but I'm not so sure. If Tony Smith was leaving and we were getting Royce Simmons in as coach we would be a bit concerned, fans of other clubs would be writing us off saying we were getting in a coach who got sacked nine years ago for finishing last at Penrith who then went onto win the Grand Final 2 years later under a new coach (John Lang). Simmons is a great unknown. Saints have got enough quality that you know they are going to be good but at this stage I couldn't forecast confidently how they will do, or if they will finish above us.

I reckon Wigan will be the team to beat next year. Us, Saints and Leeds will be contenders. The Grand Final will be contested between two of those four teams. The Challenge Cup final probably will be as well, with an outside chance of Hudds, Hull or Hull KR making the Challenge Cup final.

As for finishing position I'm not that bothered about whether we finish 2nd, 3rd or 4th in the table, this year we were crap in the playoffs, next year we need to be better. I would rather we ended up 7th or 8th and winning a few playoff games.

But overall my main hope for 2011 would be the third Challenge Cup in a row. If we have a carbon copy of this season, win the Challenge Cup and crap in the playoffs, that will do me.

It's all just ifs and buts at the min. Who knows where wat team is going to finish. Ijust want to see us improve,year after year.Winning two C.C is just the start,to hopefully a long and successful period. In Warringtons rugby league history.

I think we'll have to show improvement again next year. Then again, that's true every year. At the level we compete at, it's a relatively even playing field. In those circumstances, more than ever, it will come down to coaching, preparation, attitude to make the difference. The same level of performance may well see us 4th (which is practically 3rd in the current play off system anyway). I'm certain that's how the coaches will be looking at it.

I don't understand where this concern about the age of the squad is coming from. Granted, on a long enough time frame, it will be fatal to our chances as players will retire sooner or later. The age is only an issue relative to the length of the contract. As long as players can perform at the require level for the length of their deal - who cares how old they are?

We just have to trust the head coach and his staff to spot when it's time to move a player on. As Smith has shown in the way he dealt with Gleeson, Mathers and, on a slighlt different angle, Myler, he has the balls to do whatever is needed.

ISWT.

Next year will be interesting. We obviously improved a lot on last year but there was plenty of scope to do that. There is less room for improvement next year and it's going to be harder for us to improve by that smaller amount.

For me (all things remaining equal) its the composure in big games we need to improve on. Saints is a prime example. We would put ourselves in a position to be in with a shout of winning the game but would make poor decisions. Not necessarily howlers but just not doing the right things at the right time.

That's a good call....If 2009 was 4 out of 10, then 2010 was 8 out of 10.....As Ulster points out, it then becomes harder to better that and become a 9 or a 10.

Personally, I'm not concerned with how Wigan or Saints do, or who they may or may not have signed. I just want to see improvement from Wire and then we can go from there and let everybody else worry about their own results.

One thing is for certain is that if we get a relatively full season from Brett Hodgson then we will be significantly improved....We had 2 'weak' spots in the side, full-back and loose forward. We have signed arguably the best full back in our league....I think we need a loose forward urgently to finish it off and make us complete. In an ideal world it would be O'Loughlan or Sinfield. In the real world it wouldn't surprise me if Westerman has been enquired about at some point and ultimately, it won't shock me to see Jon Clarke filling that role more regularly next season, when Smith has the conundrum of fitting Myler/Monagan/Clarke/Higham in the same 17.

I think we'll improve on this season because there's plenty of competition for places and some of the younger players have got another year's experience.

I'm more than happy with the squad and - regardless of stats - with Hodgson we have a very good strike player and goal kicker.

TS will be working on consistency and the mental side of things to make sure we improve - particularly at the end of the season.

League leaders odds 2011:

Wigan 7/4
Saints 2/1
Wire 4/1
Leeds 6/1

Plenty of money to be made for those of you who are confident about next season.

Spot on. Improvement does not only equate to recruitment, in fact, recruitment is often a gamble with new players to settle in a new contry and team. For me, the measure of TS is how he can get an extra 5% from a settled and confident squad with one very high quality addition. That is the measure of a great coach.

I think wigan will dominate RL for the next few years but your lot should be next best. Youve made the signing of the last few years in Hodgson. Saints and Leeds are on the slide. Hudds are the biggest danger with (it pains me to say it) Hull KR - both got top coaches and improving sides.