Genuine question..Which team do you Wire fans regard as your main rivals ,Saints or Wigan? by that I mean the team you most want to beat in any game and the team you most want to lose to whoever?

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You know this after 5 games ? We haven't played Saints, Wigan, Cats or Leeds yet.

Posts like this are asking for trouble.

Wigan purely because they're better than Saints at rugby at the moment, and because their flag-waving fans make me cringe with all that Ultra rubbish.

I agree on the latter the cringeworthy ultra flag wavers irritate me too.

Yes I do. We are not playing that well at the moment but the defensive structure and shape (which will not alter as the season progresses) is seeing us through, it was SUPERB again at Bradford. The attacking push is still there but some decision making isn't quite yet but it will be so particularly as the weather warms up.

We look better prepared than at this time last season, we are top of the league and we were the team to beat last year as well. We have a stronger squad and the same exceptional coaching staff.

On the other side of the argument, what other teams are better than us and why?

Spot on in what your saying about structure & shape, theres no denying that. But a better attacking team than Bradford would have took us alot closer or beaten us on saturday night. I know we have injuries and will probably get stronger, but throw a suspension in here and there, maybe even more injuries to key players, and things might not go our way as much as you seem to think it will.

Not sure about your stronger squad comment. I'd say more versatile with Ratchford replacing King, and Waterhouse for Anderson, but not stronger.

I think with Bridges impending ban, no big Monas, Sully & Harrison (and possibly Hodgson & Grix) Friday night will be a good barometer with us playing the champions away.

I'm sure saints will learn from these narrow defeats and come back a better side. They have alot of young players in key positions that can only benefit from all this game time.

having said that they are almost certainly worse off than last season. Winning a trophy will prove difficult for them.

Saints probably gets me more worked up if I'm honest, despite the double last season that losing streak hasn't yet been rectified as far as I'm concerned, and (for me) it won't be until we snatch a few games from them right at the death that they'd looked almost certain to win.

That doesn't mean to say I don't care whether we lose to Wigan or not, mind you

That's just how I see things.

If we do the double over Saints this season then I will be able to talk about 'closure'.

[size=50Thats how damaged all those defeats left me.[/size

Um, that is just one year longer than our previous Superleague dry spell so I don't think you'll be finding me despairing! The beauty about winning as much silverware as we did over a ten year period is that it is easy to live off the warm glow produced for a few sp years while watching our new crop of talent getting settled in.

Interesting perspective.

Foster won or drew half a dozen games for us last season with his kicking alone. As for Makinson, who do you think it was that scored our first try in the Grand Final, the one that turned the game around for us before the injuries hit?

You could have mentioned roby, as opposed to defending foster. I'm glad you mentioned his kicking (it's alll he has)

Any way, that makinson try, while starting a fire in a boring game, was a defending mistake and not attacking brilliance. Makinson went invisible after that, as did much of the team. Especially when leeds woke up again.

JD please change your sig that Dancing yankie fecktard is getting on my nerves more than a briganty

never write saints off while there's playing time left.
don't write the pies leeds or the catalan team, shuddersfield at a push!

allthe above including ourselves will be at the top end of the table playing for play off places.

if i was a religious man i'd be praying that saints do self implode and only win a handfull of matches, i'd get on my knees and pray that the same happens to the pies and leeds as well. but the truth is it's gonna be a tough season all round.

may the best team win (in a promrose and blue stylee!)

sorry. I obviously never see it

I wouldnt write Saints off just yet! Everybody was writing Leeds off last year and looked what happened!! We made both finals! Saints have a team of quality players not playing to there best at the moment, we know how well lomax, gaskell, roby and wellens can play on there day. Also Hohia and Laffaranchi will turn out to be good acquisitions!!

If they are playing like this in late August then maybe you could start to write them off.

I disagree, winning is addictive. The more you win, the more you want it, becomes more painful when you lose. So in a nutshell, all the above is utter rubbish.

Friday could be the toughest fixture for us this season (apart from Wigan away) but more so due to the missing players and the lack of a dry track.

I would say stronger definitely as a squad because the younger players all now look more capable.

It is about time all us old cynical Wire fans (including me) started to have more confidence in the way this team is being coached and prepared, they are genuine winners led by a superb coach.

Do St H ever concede a legit try which has no forward passes, knock on's, obstructions, etc according to Paul Wellens? Every try he runs to one of the officials with both arms out stretched.

if i were simmons id be having a word with him over that, its getting farcical now seeing wellens stretching his arms out further than his ears.

I agree winning is addictive, and can breed confidence. However it can make you over confident and then that is when you leave yourself open to the feeling of complete catastrophe when you don't win a few finals or a few regular season games that you normally would have won.

I am proud to support St Helens through thick and thin and whilst we don't look like world beaters at the moment, there will be a time where Saints and success will go hand in hand again...

I have seen us win everything and have seen us capitulate in games where we looked home and dry (Hull KR and Catalans most recently), but the belief that we will win trophies again is still there and will never waiver.

haven't won in 4.

More open comp or decline of Saints?

D E C L I N E..no roby...no saints

I wonder when people will let down their defences and laugh at saints.

I think I will if they don't win for 2 more weeks (or after we beat them)

In fact, there is a good possibility of Saints going against us without a win.

Bradford almost had our number and LEeds can beat anyone.