Agree with Ops points, well said.

Also it is becoming obvious now after 5 or 6 years since the CC final moved from May to August, the result has had an impact on the CC winners. i.e. Saints and now the Wire, although we didn't make the 8 last year.

IMO the CC should be completed mid season, meaning the finalists, winners or losers can get over the emotion of the competiion to get on with the regular SL season and concentrate on the play offs.

Overall a great season, won one of the two major trophys on offer and came short in the play offs, some great games and days out on the way, roll on next season

My only worry is that the current team is not only a Hodgson away from winning the title!

Apart from that, great season and let's just improve year on year!

What I've learnt from the last two games is that we have an ageing side in critical positions who are now unable to up their pace in a match so that we actually dictate to the opposition instead of the other way around.

The positions?

Scrum-Half ....... what's happening with Myler?
Stand-Off ........ Lee is showing his age. Yes, he pulls strings now and then but would you expect him to do what Brough did last night with his break up the middle?
Hooker ............ Clarke - Higham - Monaghan? Take your pick. Without a full on S/Half Mona's gets pulled into the No 7 Shirt when his best slot is Hooker.
Full-Back ......... Hodgson's an obvious improvement but he's not got youth on his side has he?

Both Saints & Shudds have a majority of younger players who will just get on with it and got into us time after time without question ....... we simply got blown away upfront in both the play-off games when I would have certainly expected us to win the "arm wrestle" as they say but it didn't happen did it.

Having said all this I'm obv delighted that we did the biz in the CC and were pushing all the way throughout the regular season it's just that we seemed to have been undone by intensity in the last two games that's all.

Observations over - here's to next year.

I agree that we should have dictated the pace but we have proven we can do that this season. Myler will have his day, I am sure. We harp on about how we don't bring the youth through and then question why a young lad is not being played. Smith obviously sees Myler as an investment.

Yes Briers is getting on and Brough had a superb game - but he hasn't done that every game this season, youth on his side or not. I do hope the under 20s have their eye on the no 6 shirt though.

Monas is and always will be a number 9 - he also one of the fittest men in SL. He doesn't tire.

As for youth, Harrison and L.Anderson (who is hardly old) dish up the 'get on with it' factor don't they? Benny is hardly old? Do Saints really have a 'majority' of young players?