Can I be the fitst to blame Kevin Penney?

I think we will be alright we do need a fair few players to up their games but they will. I do think we will have a few bad results but I think we will have our share of good results too. I can't see us challenging for top spot but top 4 should still be achievable, I am looking forward to watching us again this season.

I'll be astounded if we don't finish in the top 4. Who is going to be above us?

Hopefully Myler will emerge from the shadow of Briers & become a confident play maker & a few weeks alongside Ratchford could see the establishment of one of the best half back combinations in the game for many years to come. I also think the coaching staff though will have to abandon the idea that we still have a pin point accurate field kicker & promote a more open running game that doesn't rely on a Briers chip to the corner. This could be the start of even more exciting things to come from the Mighty Wire.

I don't want to take it for granted as I remember when 4th seemed beyond our wildest dreams which is not as long ago as it feels these days. I remain confident that Wigan, Huddersfield, Leeds and us should still be the top 4 I expect Saints, Hull & Catalans + either KR, Bradford or Salford to fill the 8 depending on how Salford settle as a team. Widnes should avoid relegation which is good as the derbies are fixtures I look forward to, although I prefer it when we win them (heavily).

Don't actually care where we finish (inside top even if this means a poor start to the first half of the season with the team bedding into the change of players and incorporation of a few youngsters, as long as we hit the season half on a roll to the GF.

who have you signed for next season?

Roy Asotasi, Anthony England, Matty Russell, Kevin Penny.

hudds leeds sts wigan cats and maybe hull will probably have an eye on the top 4..so dont think its a gimme that we`ll be in the top 4

leaves you a bit light in the prop department then.

We will have Roy Asotasi, Hilly, Woody, Glen Riley, Anthony England & Ben H all available.

And Glen Riley is a monster.

He certainly is, and I like what little I've seen of him, but he needs to use that size effectively.

We've had plenty of physically impressive forwards with the stature of a brick outhouse, but who would struggle to punch a hole in their early morning porridge. On the other hand, we've had excellent service from forwards like Danny Nutley, Mark Hilton, Bob Jackson & Benny W who might not have been the biggest units but ran through brick walls for the cause.

While we've obviously lost some amazing players, people seem to have forgotten how many games we played without Briers (and Myler) last season, and we finished 2nd. I'm going to see how these new guys get on first, like Russell, before I start predicting doom and gloom...

Good point about Riley. IMHO, at the moment I would put him in the 'promising' bracket. He is huge, but as you rightly point out, that does not necessarily equate with success. Some smaller forwards will 'fight' for yardage in the tackle, Hill uses the strength of his legs to power on. And I think that is what is missing from Riley - he doesn't use his legs enough. I suspect he has had success in lower grade rugby by simply using his bulk, so has not developed in the same way as Hill. But surely that can be rectified ? Either way, I think we are going to need all the bulk we can get next year, because packs seem to be getting bigger.