I agree that when the new coach does eventually come in, the old guard need to be or have been, fully swept aside for a clean slate and new ideas. Probably looking at roughly 3 seasons for that to happen.

You'll have a long hard season if that's the best 17 you'll have to put out.

Maybe, though there'll be sides that have longer and harder seasons by far. Hardly a ringing endorsement of SL's quality, is it?

Just be careful you don't clear the wrong ones out or they'll end up starring for Cas and coming back to haunt you.

Can't ever see that happening

In: Myler, Cahill

Out: McGuire, Burrow, JJB (retirement), Sutcliffe (Wigan), Handley, Walters.

Golding
Briscoe Watkins Keinhorst Hall
Moon Myler
Galloway Parcell Cuthbertson
Ablett Ward
Cahill

Garbutt Mullally Singleton Ferres

Delaney, Oledzki, Baldwinson, Ormondroyd, Lilley, Aston, Smith, JJR, Walker, Sutcliffe, Hallas, Holdroyd, ???

Sutcliffe is still contracted for next season according to Sutcliffe.

Where would Wigan play Sutcliffe?

We've got pretty ordinary halfbacks, and a really poor attacking structure full stop - Eden on his own has scored nearly as many tries as our entire 1-5 this year. That's not down to individuals out wide, its due to being clueless as a team about how to set up tries.

As for 'transition', that was what last year was supposed to be. This season is really where we should have been a year ago. As it is we've effectively lost a year. All we've seen is that our older players are not quite as dreadful as they looked last year, but its highly unlikely any of them will take us much further. A CC win this year would be nice, but would really cover up how ordinary we are.

player for player are leeds much worse than cas?
it's the coaching and tactical acumen that's the difference

Player for player we may look OK, but there's a staleness about everything, including a number of players. Our inability to get Hall over the line or get Watkins into space is just poor whatever the cause.

and that's down to lack of structure and planning

Not 1-17, no. Halves and fullback, yes. And that's no criticism of Moon. He's improved things in the halves a bit despite the fact he isn't one. This is itself an illustration of our problems in that regard.

I would agree with that generally and under the right coaching.

But flipping it currently, would Briscoe, Sutcliffe, McGuire, Galloway, Singleton, Ferres, JJB, Keinhorst, Walters, Handley, and Mullalley get anywhere near the Cas team? not a chance.

I'd move Burrow to be the head coach for the U16s and keep Morley as the head coach of U19s. McGuire has mentioned wanting to take on a developmental role in the past so I would make him a specialist halves and fullbacks coach working with both the U16s and U19s. Struggling to think of a role for JJB, his passion and determination is unquestionable but I'm not sure how best to utilise this.