..as I keep saying, the halfbacks that Smith keeps running with don't work behind a pack that is too loving light in quality!!!!!.... and until we get a Cronk or whoever, we need to fix it up like Appllo XIII, "we've got to fix a hole like this using only this"

This being having the biggest half backs and the best players with ball in hand to plug the weak hole that the 2 smallest half backs keep falling into!

Winnable games for Widnes and Castleford next week too.

Your half backs are fine. O'Brien is a perfectly capable 7 and should DEFINITELY be playing ahead of Patton. He was anonymous today and is now making individual errors. When young players do that it's time for them to be removed from the front line before their confidence is shot. We did that to Gaskell and he's only now recovering from that. Where is Matty Russell? Put him at fullback, play Ratchford 6 as the runner and have O'Brien or Myler at 7. You might not have the halves to win SL this season, but you definitely have enough to finish top 4 and make the GF. It's easy to be pessimistic when you lose a tight game, but look at Saints last season. We only had one halfback, we said we were daft to recruit only one halfback. Then that halfback got injured for the season, his backup got injured for the season and his backup got injured for the season. We ended up with a fringe backrower and a second rower in the halves and smashed the play offs and won the GF. Are you seriously suggesting it's beyond Warrington?

Take into account belief. St Helens never know when they're done. I can't say the same for Wire sometimes. I will not count anyone out, currently. But if Huddersfield get 4 points ahead, I honestly can't see them giving that up. No matter how many games we win, if Huddersfield don't lose then we can't get above them. I agree on GOB over Patton by the way. He's more experienced and during a game you know he's there, for better or worse. I'd rather that than someone catching and passing for 80 minutes.

We still have to play Huddersfield, Castleford and Catlalan, the three teams around us. Them three matches are must-win just to secure a spot in the 8.

KR away will be tough and we still have Wigan and Saints at home to come.

Huddersfield have a very tough fixture schedule, I can see the Wire going above them if you settle down the half back combo.

We will be ok it will all come good we were doing worse last year we were about 2 point off where we are now

I can too. But if the Giants turn over a few of those sides, which they look capable of doing, they could usurp Saints and Wigan and really put the cat amongst the pigeons.

Everyone seems capable of beating everyone else so we just need to get our own house in order.

Throwing away too many leads!!

We should have enough against Catalans on Friday.

Carney and Tonga are absent for quite a while.

Escare & Dureau are major doubts and Casty could be banned.

The big one is the game after at Huddersfield a week on Sunday. If Huddersfield beat us I think we can say goodbye to the top 4 especially wth games against Saints and Wigan to come.

Well possibly Huddersfield will have five missing also,and your good to go.

After such a short turn around for Catalan when you take off their flights days, they are massively at a disadvantage this Friday.
If we lose this game at home like we have v Cas, Hudds and Hull (I think?) then I'll be rethinking that "be careful what you wish for" comment I made that got criticism from one or two posters.

I would expect Catalans to spend this week in Manchester.

Everyone who spent the last three years crying that games against the likes of Cas don't matter have got what they wished for, but it seems they have found a new excuse for not attending instead!

We definitely have the more level playing field this year that everyone was asking for to lift the excitement value of weekly games ,but some teams seem to have bought into the "every second counts " idea more than others.
Despite losing 2 lesser clubs the overall quality of SL is arguably worse than last with any available talent spread thinly throughout the 12 remaining clubs. In fact ,the clubs that seem to have shown improvement this year are the ones which have picked up older,experienced players while the youth producing clubs are finding times harder compared to their own standards.

Remember there's still 7 games after the split bud.. And with 4th-8th so close on points every game will be a four-pointer. Exciting times!