I'd love to carry on picking the bones of Saturday's embarrassing defeat but there are other things to think about.

Tough tough game this week and each game now becomes more important than the last.

I'm not sure we are out of it if we lose but I definitely need to see an improved performance. Especially in defence.

I think with the right tactics and selection we can get a result but we have to be at 100% and have learned from the first half on Saturday.

I've noticed the Rugby League Banter page on Facebook seem desparate to get Rangi Chase banned for making contact with an official. Personally i don't think there is anything in it and purely accidental. The in goal judge looked to laugh about it so a ban seems unlikely and totally unfair. That said I'll take anything that helps us out so a 1 match ban would be a great boost.

I expect Salford to be slightly better than Wakefield. Should Gaskell Neilson and Mullaney be fit then I expect us to lose but the margin be less. The players, hopefully, will want to show they can improve.

As long as Leigh lose to the 4 SL teams like we will probably do all we have to do is beat Leigh at their place and everything else is irrelevant. We should beat Fax and Leigh will also beat Fax and Sheff - so all square between us there.
The problem comes if Leigh beat one SL team but I expect Widnes to win.
My concern is they still have Wakey to play and I think they could just beat them. That would mean if we beat Leigh it all comes down to points difference who gets into the £1m game. So out of a bunch of 30 games (23 + 7) there is probably only the next Leigh Vs Bulls game that really matters if we are aiming for that one off game at the end.
As Jimmy says. It isn't the end of the world when we lose because either Leigh or us were always going to be in that £1m game and the rest of the season was just a filler between February and September.
Now, it doesn't seem all that bad now - does it?

We may, says he, ever the optimist, .....now get the SL sides treating these games a little less like 'cup finals' and a bit more like easy games against second tier opposition, which naturally they'll feel they will win in a canter.......

We have - generally - performed better at home this season....

Damage limitation is all we can really hope for I feel.

The danger is the coach and players start thinking that way too. Don't take the next two games seriously and we end up going into the Leigh game undercooked. And even if we beat Leigh to 5th spot, what chance would we have in the final game if we had been repeatedly hammered by SL teams?

Realistically, I'm struggling to see how we can win this game. The Salford team on paper is much stronger than ours and if we start like we did against Wakefield the score-line will be even worse. If Nielsen and Mullaney are in then it might give the team a lift, but I don't think it will be enough. That said, I still expect a better performance from us this weekend. We underperformed massively against Wakey but we are better than what we showed in that game.

I think the realistic aim now has to be fifth place. If we beat Leigh and Halifax, having already beaten Sheffield, it should enough for fifth, assuming none of Halifax, Sheffield or Leigh take a SL scalp. With this in mind, if Gaskell isn't 100% this weekend, I wouldn't risk him.

If this game was against Wakefield then I could see a way to win it: just come out pumped up and take it to them, get the pack on top and never give them an inch. A bit like they did against our powder-puff pathetic capitulation at the weekend.

Against Salford, it is much harder. I suppose the thing in our favour is that, like us, you never quite know which Salford will be turning up, whereas Wakefield have been given a big injection of structure, confidence and desire by our old boy Brian Smith. If bad Salford turn up then we have a chance to beat them IF it's a week where we turn up, but that is some "if". But if good Salford turn up, then they are considerably better than Wakey and will beat us, and if we play bad Bradford versus good Salford then it would be a cricket score.

I presume that our performance will be better, (it can't be as bad again and there isn't a "worse"icon_wink.gif so if Salford aren't at the top of their game, I expect we will lose by around 18. A win would be an astonishing turnaround, but I don't see it. And without Gaskell it is truly Mission Impossible. We had zero belief against Wakey, and getting mullered that way and looking a shambolic bunch of headless chickens on national TV won't have helped the confidence any.

Don't worry it is just another day at the office for Jimmy. But will it be a good day or a bad day?

I expect a much better performance on Sunday. Strangely enough I take confidence from how Halifax have performed against both super league teams who are imo better than trinity.
The team know they let us and themselves down on Saturday and will be keen to make amends this Sunday. Keep the faith!

With Salford winning big and us losing big I feel helps us in a strange way. Salford could naturally see this as an easy day at the office and understandably.... Us on the other hand surely can't perform that bad 2 weeks in a row!

I will go for us by 4 points... It will go to the wire!

Think we'll come out aggressive and pumped up, but i think Salford's quality will come through towards the end with them winning by around 14 with us being competitive for 65 minutes.

I think Leigh could also beat Wakey on Saturday. Difficult side to beat at home are Leigh.

If Leigh do beat Wakey that makes our loss to Wakefield even more crucial and we'll have to beat an SL side. Personally think we have to do this before the million pound match to earn promotion.

Fortunately for us, Leigh did peak too soon in the season, as many of us kept saying. Now, their form is getting worse, and getting beat will be denting their confidence. They have lost the belief in their own invincibility.

Wakey are going in the opposite direction thanks to Brian Smith and I don't see them having any trouble winning at Leigh, something which just a few weeks ago I wouldn't have believed. Leigh's chance is the same as our chance was - namely get really into their faces early doors, get stuck in, get into their faces and heads and make them doubt themselves. Not impersonate the doormen at the Hilton.

Wouldn't say Leigh are going backwards just yet, or Wakefield are definitely on the up. As wofeul as we were on Saturday and as good Wakey were, they still conceded 3 tries. That was with no Gaskell, Mullaney and bloody Harry Siejka at 7. If Leigh come out of the blocks quickly they will score points. One result could change everything. If Leigh win on Saturday, then suddenly the pressure is back on Wakey and big time on us. If Wakey win convincingly though and we lose to Salford, i think that could be it for the championship clubs. Psychologically i don't think they will feel they can beat an Sl team when it comes to the million pound match.