Thanks Guru for a bit of detail on the defensive issue that I have been on about for the last few weeks. seems to me that a lot of the posters on this blog are on the wrong one, they should be on a fantasy rugby league site where money and player availability is no issue. So in the real world, I absolutely agree with you, and thanks Mat on the next post in clarifying pay outs, that does make it even more important to keep the very recent improvements in defence going on for the rest of the season even if it means we win 9 games by just a few points. Assuming the funds are there, how do you attract a good experienced offensive/organising half back? If the defence is sorted by the end of the season, then a bit of ego massage would help the cash, as Potter can justifiably say to prospects that the defence is sorted out and the most important piece of the jigsaw is a half back to work off that platform in offence. Yes, lets walk, or rather tackle, before we run.

So far we've had two very bad performances and the rest have been pretty much what might have been expected at the start of the season. A bit disappointing that we didnt manage one "shock" victory against Wigan/Saints/Giants/Leeds.

As far as the new signings are concerned, I think we're getting what you might expect from the pool of players that are now our target market. Some decent performances but an awful lot of inconsistency. The players we've signed are available at a salary that we can afford because they have some talent but are unable to turn it on week in week out.

Despite our league position I have slightly more faith than this time last year, but until we can afford some genuine quality, or the younger players fulfill their potential, I cant see massive scope for improvement.

I would like to see Lionel Messi at scrum half.

This season was always going to be about reasonable performances at home and a good cup run. I think we signed a lot of players on one year contracts asking them to prove themselves. The fact that we signed so many always meant we had to be fortunate in having a lot of those gambles paying off. My worry is that we now have to replace most of them at the end of the year as they have not really impressed thus meaning next year will be another of transition making our seventh. This will then be followed by Potters departure after his two years meaning another coach and yet another transition year. After a while you have to start believing ypu are a mediocre club and no longer in transition.

The thing is, the club are in talks with OOC players and this should hopefully mean there'll be less of a player turn over this year.