It was the Wigan bench that did us in that final, rolling props on and off every 15 minutes. Ryan Bailey - say no more.

I was pointing out a fact, specifically in relation to the GF, not defending TS. If you remember Dodds was injured from the start of the season. Ben Harrison was out as well. G King squad number 18 and Wilde squad number27 if memory serves, so hardly intended to be first choice.

Yeah I know. Ben Harrison was on-loan at Wakefield IIRC. Dodds injury was months and months before and no steps taken to replace. (ie. deregister and sign replacement)

Injuries are part and parcel of the game. We did not have an adequate squad.

2017 and 2016 were the most disappointing seasons I've seem in SL from Warrington.
The highlight in those two seasons was Sandow's 80 min dg vs Salford.
That just about sums that period for me.
Good riddance to it.

However...lovin JC.

I think if you de registered mid season the full salary would count on the SC I can’t see Dodds agreeing to no payment just because he was injured.
My point however was we did well to be in the GF despite all those issues.

I don't....the season was pants and we got lucky. I've never been more disappointed in a season than 2016.

But we still finished top and made two major finals even with this weak side. Which says something about TS ability to get the best out of a mediocre squad, even if you put the blame for the decline in the quality of the squad on him.

Name me one other coach in SL who would have made major finals with the squad we had in 2016...?

It just was disappointing regardless of the finals.
The standard of rugby that year was so poor...no coincidence Wire Wire and Saints all struggled the season after when lower teams made modest recruitment.

2016 wasn't as bad as you are making out surley? The LLS and a match saving tackle on Currie denying Wire the CC (with my P&B specs on, we were the better team that day) and it's a successful season.

Yeah we didn't and SL standards were poor ......blah de blah

By position and finals debut it was pound for pound arguably the greatest season for TS.
....but my point is I can't remember such a disappointing season than 2016.
It's like we never earned anything and it's like without the Sandow early season form, we'd have struggled.
It's not easy for me to give an argument when the stats prove greatness...but inside you know everything that year was flawed and just wrong. It's like peeing in the wind, you might not see it but your covered in it!
....and it's like something inside was telling me 2017 is going to be trouble unless we buy 2 props.

I don't think we can take much comfort from beating the following to get to Wembley.

Oldham (Away)
Widnes (Home)
Wakefile (Neutral Venue)

Fair play beating Saints at home in the SL SF.

Saints too were poor too. Not such a big thing really.

An interesting philosophical divide between those who think the team did well to get where it did (greater than the sum of its parts)., and those who see only failure. I do think that season almost broke Hill.

100% agree (apart from 2016 being the greatest season for TS - I'd go 2012 ).

2016 was definitely the most disappointing season. 5th & 6th in the league following our spine being ripped out and rebuilt, having never quite got over the line for the Big One, Sandow, Gidley + co brought some optimism that there was some light at the end of the tunnel, the transition seasons were coming to an end, and we were once again going to be competitive.

I would have been less disappointed with a LLS and 2 semi defeats. But to get the LLS, and be in both finals, losing to Hull by a matter of inches, and against a poor Wigan side, was the most galling.

The earlier GF's, particularly 2012, while disappointing, you knew we'd be capable of getting back there soon.

In 2016, as you rightly say - inside you knew everything that year was flawed - there were too many papered over cracks. Walking back from OT through an empty Stretford, listening to the fireworks, I knew that was a bang or bust game. We would be in for more pain before we could consider getting close to that again.

Good analogy.
Like 2016 was trying to syphon off the remnants of the home brew without disturbing the dregs at the bottom, successfully not getting those dregs, but you can see the drink is getting cloudier and the taste is bitter, not sweet ...knowing if you didn't brew a new barrel in 2017 for the next glass, you're only gonna get sediment no matter how much you try a filter every drop.