I get your point but I'm not sure the analogy holds firm as Hudds only spent 1 week at 2nd in the league (after the 1st game), and had occupied places as low as 9th. Whereas, I think I am right in saying, we have held 2nd or better for 13 weeks.

Good point.

check my sig :-p

I think you are reading too much into it. It was a comment in a post-match interview when he has to come up with something to say.

and who knows what the question was that he was asked, thats why he's responded mentioning 'contenders'.

I'd say its certainly out of character of tony to even mention or acknowledge such a situation or the club to be in the position.

Very much the cliched one game at a time bloke.

on the original question. If we maintain our form towards the back end of the season, we're gonna have to knock one or two off to pick up the SL trophy.

Would it be so bad if we didnt win the GF OR CC this year.I see this season as more of laying the foundations to being a sucessful team over a number of years.One area i think we need to look at is a ball playing 2nd rower, Westwood and LAnderson good at what they do.Just seem to be lacking that little bit extra.

No, not so bad. We haven't won the league since 1954 so we can cope. I'd like us to trouble the semis though, as surely Leeds, Saints and Wigan will. We have no divine right to beat any of them but at least be on the same page.

I'd have Westwood as one of the first names on the team sheet for workload alone, but agree we could change Louis, and improve, with a more skillful ball playing 2nd rower. Imagine if we could get a "Solomana effect" for the 2nd row who could last the whole 80.

So. It still knocks you out the play offs or loses you the final if you lose by 2 or 10. The fact is when pitched against genuine title contenders you have been done each time.

In matches way before the business end of the season. God knows what will happen in the return fixtures or in the play offs. Let's enjoy it, eh?

And?

Its not play off time yet

Indeed.

2nd in the league and better still to come.

We heard all this crap last year in the CC you won't beat Wigan....blah blah you won't beat Hudds blah blah

Really the media and the outsiders are the realists, its our own fans who thought we were going to win a trophy this year who were the fantasists, and thats why at the end of the season, despite us having a very good season and made stacks of improvement, the mood will start to shift slightly against Tony Smith, because he hasn't delivered what the fans expected.

After we are knocked out of the playoffs, look for the threads on here about "where Smith got it wrong". Then midway through next season wait for the "is it time to get somebody to take us to the next level" thread. At the moment we are a bit like where Spurs were under Martin Jol, consistent against the teams below but coming up short against teams who have been at the top for years. Spurs made a change to take them to the next level (Juande Ramos).

lets just keep quiet and let everybody ignore us. and bob along just under the radar happy days