I think any teams resolve would have been tested with the issues we had last season.
Injury suspension , agents ,walk outs , change of coach etc we went through a patch of games where we threw any half fit player on and only narrowly lost.
Had we won a couple of those and made 8th spot maybe these cracks woukd not have widened.

Teams like wigan , leeds have good team spirit due to a settled side and relative success. Trouble causers are 'moved on' and not left to spoil the barrel.
'Written off' team s like salford have to gamble on some of those talents.
I like the Sheens _Watson strategy this season, BUT.
There has again been a large turnaround in personnel,
Any new found harmony will at some stage be tested, by hard luck, a poor run of form decisions , If we are battling like Rourke's drift mid way this season we can give the dressing room a clean bill of health.

Personally I'd prefer us battling as we were at Agincourt or Poitiers : defeating the theoretically better sides despite dysentery, hunger and numbers and taking no prisoners. Last year was endless Light Brigade charges and thin red line defences. Mind you the new ground in winter does remind me of photos of the Crimea: do you think Putin would want to take it off us?

Excellent post. When things aren't going to plan and the situation gets tough the fingers can start pointing and a blame culture begins. The hardest thing to do is to stick together when a team is being judged negativity. Some of these genetically gifted athletes may easily have the strength to bench press 100+ kilos, but it's also about having the mental strength and discipline when things are going against you.

Love him or hate him... I had a conversation with Neil Barker and he said at the time we were signing all these players that he felt it was going to be an issue in the dressing room. He fully expected a split in the camp.

I doubted what he was saying... thinking that surely these players were way too experienced to allow that to happen. Seems I was wrong.

I'm sure young Neil (AKA Mario) is expressing the same insightful knowledge to his new employer and any potential sponsors. Furthermore if things start going Pete Tong in the 8's again, I'm certain there's a large gulf in wages between a crop of big earners and the other players at Leigh, just like there was at Salford. It could be a problem if some start letting the side down by swimming against the tide. Big financial commitment by Mr Beaumont. I genuinely hope he gets some pleasure out of it after donating a lot of money to RL, like so many dreamers before him.