With the return of Russell, Penny, Westwood and Hughes, we seem to have turned the corner with the injury situation. If you were picking our strongest 23 or so players with which to fashion a challenge on the CC and the super sevens, then with the exception of perhaps Dodds, we seemed to have arrived at a good place at the right time of the season. We know from experience that when the table splits in 6 weeks time TS will pick the same players and field a fixed 19. So I think we are at the crucial stage of the season. From what we have seen, and barring injury, is this squad good enough to win silverware ?

Yes.

We ought to have been picking up the SL plate tonight but for some pathetic results. Saints Cas Wakey Hudds Hull Hull

Whilst I'm disappointed when we lose, more so when we think that we blow it sometimes, you have to credit the opposition? Yes with if's but's and maybe's we could have taken four points of Hull and not keeping tabs on Fages cost us the points v Saints at home.... On the other hand I wonder how Salford felt when we came back and snatched it at the AJ Bell?

You can't really be saying that we deserve to be unbeaten at this stage?

In answer to Charlie's proposition then yes this squad is good enough to pick up some silverware this year. I think whether we do or don't fitness apart will depend on attitude and a slice if but's and maybe's going our way

I think to feel comfortable, I would really like another quality prop. Other than that I think tactics could be a deciding factor. Saints, Wigin, Hull all call for a more conservative game than we like to play. Less offloads, no charge-downs, early kicks to pin the opposition in their end of the field, no wonder passes after a good break etc. Would TS call that ?

But yes, I also think we have the personnel and it will come down to luck and nerves on the day.

We indoubtedly have the players, what we need to show is some consistency in performance, especially when we are a few bodies down.

Great to read that Dodds is well ahead of recovery schedule and is due back in a few weeks time.

The big problem I see , is the right wing , if Lineham was scoring for fun , we'd have no trouble picking up silverware

Dodds coming back could be crucial for us if we can get him match fit. We are bound to be playing Hull and Cats for some of the important end games. But the last game was pretty instructive as far as I am concerned. I would say pound for pound we had the better players on the pitch, but with home advantage and an under strength opposition, we played the wrong tactics for all the first half of the match and paid the price. If we cannot play smart then it doesn't matter who we put out, we will still come up short.

I'm confident we will be at least one final. We are approaching the business end and we have a fit squad.
Dodds will be like a mid season signing to us.

In order I fear Catalans 1st then Hull and Wigan the least.
If Catalan finish in the top 2 in September I pity the team that would have to go to Perpignan to get to O/T

While we may have our big guns coming back, i feel that unless some organisational skill materialises behind the scenes, we will still be found lacking when we need to put games to bed. It seems to be a problem that keeps surfacing.

Whether Warrington win the treble this year has very little to do with who is on the pitch and who isn't. Your team and squad has been good enough to win Super League for the vast majority of the last 10 years and significantly better than the eventual champions on numerous occasions. Even if you lost Gidley and Sandow, Ratchford and Patten are still as good as the halfbacks in the top sides, perhaps better.

The question mark is mentality. And it's a huge question mark.

Surely you're not sober yet after Friday's historic win?

Maybe he isn't but he does raise a good valid point.

Nothing is handed out in June or July. We have done the double over a poor Wigan and a Catalan side that are a big unit. Things didn't go as planned against Hull, however even playing poorly we did not get blown off the park. We are only 2 points behind the second place team and a home semi final (at least another 11 games to pull that back) . As long as we start to ramp things up and are physically and mentally prepared for the bigger games at the end of the season then this team of ours will be there or there abouts. Too often in recent history have we been blowing teams off the park during the season and we have not been good enough to win the big prize. Plenty of time yet.

You don't get the LLS until the end of 30 rounds not 23.

I thought it was after 23 rounds. Are you sure?

It is 30 games.

Getting over it now, felt like the weekend after a GF win, constantly watching the highlights over and over. We actually scored from outside the opposition 10, once or twice from outside the 20, unbelievable scenes!

Ahh yes!
All those happy times when Wire were indeed Lanky Lanky.
Those modest wins when we had nothing to play for...
When we considered beating Pies as being a successful season and beating Saints as a dream..

Now you get to cherish those times as we at Wire get peed off if we haven't put 50 on someone and finding a heard of goats when we don't.