I was pessimistic because of the state of our pack. I remember in the off season I was saying things like we will probably find that we go backwards relative to where we were under the Price era and most people on here thought I was unduly pessimistic and were saying none of the top teams have a better squad than us etc. I thought we'd finish around 6th or 7th.

The reports from the preseason friendly were a warning sign and the other thing that set alarm bells running for me was seeing Barrie McDermott and Shaun Wane say "I think Daryl Powell has got a huge challenge on his hands" at the time the season started. Those guys will talk to people and be hearing the gossip around the SL scene and I wondered if that meant there were problems in the camp beyond just having a weak pack. I think we were lucky with that win against Leeds in round 1 and without that we'd be on 8 points and in a lot of trouble.

Interesting to consider this in the context of Currie and King. They emerged from our Academy to become leading SL players in their position and get the backing of the club with big contracts. There wasn't a problem developing them from youth/reserve players into first team regulars, nor was there a lack of willingness in the club to invest in retaining its home grown talent.

But now they are two of the players getting the most stick on here.

What did the coaches/club do wrong?

Well Currie has been “cruelled” by ACLs in both knees, thus no lateral movement. King? Dunno? Maybe Price’s one trick pony attack move of high kick to the corner on the 5th showed him at his best?

Bit of a naive post to say the least.

Why blame the coaches and club, when most of the fault is likely with players who probably lack both the ability and dedication to become as good as it was hoped they would be?

Yes, the club gave the contracts, but ultimately its upto the player to knuckle down and make the most of their opportunity - in the case of a number of our players, they have simply not been upto it and they only have themselves to blame.

Yes Currie was exceptional before his knee injuries. But I don't see why his tackling is so half hearted this season both against Wigan and Leeds.

Currie's debut was in 2012, King's in 2014 (same year as Philbin) - and the lack of any 1st team regulars coming through the ranks since them highlights the potential issue (unless I've made any glaring omissions - aside from the younger players who've been given a chance this season under Powell).