If we can keep our best 17 on the park come the big games I think we've got a decent chance of challenging. We weren't far off this year in the play offs when we had our best side and we have a better squad on paper next season (although new signings as we know are risky).

Wilkin playing at 7 all season has developed his game which will help relieve a bit of pressure from Walsh I feel.

We do lack a player at stand off and centre but we have a pack strong enough to compete with all sides. If we can maintain the steel in defence that we showed towards the end of this year we'll go well.

Our target next season has to be a good cup run (although this can be taken out of our hands with a bad away draw or a bad run of injuries), a top 4 finish and aim for the last 4 of the Play Offs, It's anyone's game then.

Yeah, the forwards are massively improved by the signings and the youngsters we have in those positions are very promising.

The point you make about strike in the backs is unfair I think; considering that our back line will look likecould[/i do something (Wigan at home this season, for example) and Swift does look dangerous at times with the ball. If Jones plays centre then he does seem like a steady player who won't produce anything special, but he made 18 breaks this season so he must do something right. Comparatively, he made the same amount of breaks that Kallum Watkins and he is seen as a dangerous attacking player. Turner has made a promising start in a Saints shirt too. If we go with Percival he looks dangerous too, but far from a finished product obviously.

So I don't think we do lack strike tbh, although we 100% need a 6.

If we stay injury free, I really believe we can aim for 1st and the Grand Final. The standard of the league is that average elsewhere.

I don't agree with your assessment of our backs. All those have played this year and we've struggled massively to put points on the board at crucial times in games.

Makinson is a good steady player but isn't strike player and very rare he beats a man. He's a good finisher but he's not exactly a go to player when we need a break.

Swift looks a very good promising player but it's early days. Same with Percival.

Wheeler will not play.

Jones also isn't a strike player. He's also not a good centre. He won't (can't) pass. He plays with his head down and looks more of a Backrow than a centre. I like JJ, he's a good steady player but no strike player.

Wilkin isn't a back and not a strike player at all!!!!

Hohaia has been pretty awful.

Turner has done ok in his first season but I also don't expect him to make a break out of nothing.

Only lomax I'm the backs has the X factor, he's a go to player when we need a break or a pass but IMO he's the only one in the backs capable of being a match winner.

Don't tell me he is injured again already !

Out of Wigan's grand final winning backline with Tomkins & Richards gone next season, I only see Charnley as a strike player. The likes of Goulding, Thornley, Gelling, Green & Matty Smith aren't exactly X factor players. They defend well, are very well structured in attack & have a solid pack. We should be more than competetive next season, easily our best pack for years - Graham papered over many cracks, although admittedly we will need Lomax & Roby to stay fit & Percival to progress. All SL squads have their own 2-3 key players, so we are no different on that score.

Goulding does a awful lot for charnley to score and very under rated.

Smith is Lance Todd winner and Green is Harry Sunderland winner.

I'm taking about our threat outwide, we can't compare to Wigan next year but this year they have to halves that move the ball wide at speed and have rugby brain. That creates space out wide for Goulding, Tomkins, Charnley and Richards.

Our current squad has one centre (Turner) and no stand off!

At Wigan as you know Bowen will replace Tomkins, he is a strike player.
Likely Burgess will replace Richards, he's a strike player too. He's 6'4" and a flyer, given the opportunity by Wane he will score plenty of tries. If not Burgess then Manfredi, another strike player who given the chance will score plenty tries.
No lack of strike power at Wigan I don't think.

Swift looks good and Makinson looks pretty useful too. You need two pacey wingers of which Swift is one together with another half back. Still no left centre since Talau left years ago, I can't understand that one!
I do think Saints will be Wigan's biggest rivals next season.
Leeds and Wire seem to be ageing and slowing. Their star signings Briscoe and Asotasi don't light up Super League for me, but we'll see!

I think Percival is a tremendous prospect at Saints. I was very disappointed when he went there instead of Wigan. It may still be a season too soon for him, but if he's looked after (not overplayed) I believe he could be a top class player.

I didn't say Wilkin was a strike player, so not sure the relevance of your reference in reply to my post.

Fair enough if you don't agree, but I do feel that we have pace in the backs and having a half back who will create space for these players will make a big difference next season. Hopefully Walsh can help to do that. We need a 6, like I said, though.

I agree with you with JJ but he's made the most breaks outside of Lomax, so he must do something right. I remember him vs London away and it's the best I've ever seen him play at centre. He ran riot, although you could say against a poor defence but we lost that match!

If our toast lands butter side up, we could well be the best team in it, but if it doesn't then we could see the same sort topsy turvy season as last year.

We've recruited well, that's for sure, but we're still missing a 6. If Brown is foolish enough to play Hohaia at stand off, then we may as well get used to not winning anything again. As stated, if Walsh gets injured, then we're back to square one.

We look like we've got a good pack on paper (again), but Wigan have just won the title with a relatively modest set of forwards in reputation.
LMS is the case in point, whilst towards the end of the season he was showing some truly classy performances up front, for the first 2/3s of the season he was garbage. Who's to say we wont have to put up with this again next year?

In my view Tommy is a very underrated player, he has skill, speed and determination. Before you ask I am not his father!

I agree Rogues but you can't have them all.

Hopefully having Jones will mean we can dip him in and out.
People seem a bit quick to write Jones off as a steady eddie, or someone who "doesn't seem to have a position", but we only had Johnny Lomax who made more clean breaks than him and he's a tough defender. I don't even hold with the idea he's a [ican't pass, won't pass [/i type, and the fact he also got 8 try assists this year would agree. He's a bit hunched when he runs, so doesn't look like a natural ball player, but he's a lot better than some seem to give him credit for.

Our squad on paper does look a lot better but we have to remember we were off the pace for a lot of last year. Form late in the year can be very deceptive as a lot of teams are banged up and the teams with smaller squads are easy pickings, like Hull KR in the play offs.

However I think we have identified the gaps in the squad and filled them with quality signings which is a massive improvement on previous season when you would question if the club were aware of what the squads weaknesses were.

We (the ever wise rlfans posters) have identified Left Centre and Stand Off as the positions that are up for grabs this year. Percival will play a lot of games but will need spelling. Wheeler if fit would get to play in either position but you don't want to bank on it. You think that Brown likes Turner as a stand off and obviously has plans for Charnock given he played him as a part timer. But in the end a lot is down to Hohaia, the club either have to ship him out and replace him or motivate him to play the way he did in the last few games of last season.

I am positive about next year but we should not expect to much given that we have not had a top three league winner in three years. As usual a good run in the cup would make a big difference.