Re, 2013 and Ratchford takeout.
...when you see Lee Briers packing down backrow in the scrum, you know there is a catastrophe.
(Hodgson on the bench and history would have changed back then)

We always have big debates about our choice of subs.
Most prior to a game demand 4 forwards. e.g. on our last game v Hull. When Price got so much stick for picking a back on the bench.
This game v Wigan was one example where we would have loved to have had a back to come on after Monaghan & Ratchford went off.

SC certainly certain teams have the aura you talk about. Then there is the “hoodoo” issue, Saints definitely had the hex over us for years. That undoubtedly can develop into mental fragility and again especially against Saints you had the feeling that if they could score against us no matter how far behind they were they could always come back, the fans clearly felt the same.
Interesting that the “hoodoo” feeling has gone if not the occasional costly lapse in concentration.
Another issue that I remain convinced about is that if we score too early, we let off the intensity thinking the game will be an easy win, only to get bitten. It being very difficult to raise intensity once you have let it go.

Hindsight, the best coach in the world!

Interesting subject that the Biff has brought up and Sally and others have expanded on. For a long time I have thought that we crumble under pressure.
This could be due to a number of factors:-
A) We have struggled with rotation of the forwards going back to the days of Hill and Sims. When they were off the pitch you knew that whatever lead we had would be eroded when they were off the pitch, yes there has been poor recruitment but also some rotten luck with Harrison and Grix finishing way before their time, Crosby and Dodds could all have helped reduce the drop off. Hopefully we have gone some way to minimise thatnin Mulhern and Butler.
B) Control of a game, Gale gave a masterclass in the CC SEMI as to how to manage a game, when Leeds got in the lead there was no way they were going to let that slip, we have not had anybody take control of a game like that for the best part of 8 years. I thought Gidley with his experience might be the leading voice, then Brown but they never appeared to manage a game, its like there are too many chiefs when we just need one person to take control.
Price's comments after Hull FC dumped us out of the play offs stated that Hull FC kicked better. If there is one area we need to concentrate on it is game management, knowing when to play and when not to overplay.

I didn't like it but could accept losing in a big game to Saints, Wigan or Leeds but the last 2 years we have been dumped out of the play offs by Cas and Hull FC. Over the last 5 years we have been beaten in CC semi finals by Hull KR and Salford. Then in Finals to Hull FC and Catalan. I can accept a couple of those as freak results (a bit like the CC win over saints was a freak result the other way) but not all 6. There has been a problem with mental toughness / attitude / motivation. call it what you want but there is no way we should have been knocked out of play offs and challenge cup in all those games with the squad we had. All those games we would have gone into as favourites.
At some point we will be hailing the arrival of a new coach but I hope that whoever that is brings with him a leader on the pitch that can kick, control a game, knows when to turn up the tempo and that all the other players will follow, A bit like Bellamy and Cameron Smith at Melbourne we need a leader on the pitch as much as we need one off it.

DDI you make some excellent points, but it is rarely one thing alone. I mentioned fine margins before and the Hull CC final was a demonstration of that, if the grounds man had watered the pitch a bit more...
The Catalans game was a disgrace we just didn't turn up. A Wigan fan sat by me kept saying we would come back but I knew we had blown it.
By the same token in the Saints match we were lucky with the "no try" but Saints had masses of time to pull it back but for whatever reason couldn't.
Funny old game sport!

PS i actually rate our win against Saints as a bigger upset than Catalans against us!

Yep
Especially with the half backs we had.
Hughes with his problems down under.
How badly we had been prior to the game.
It is no wonder we enjoyed it.

All a bit off topic and apologies for my part in it but although we weren't 'robbed' so no complaint from me but I thought that we'd definitely done enough to beat Hull FC. The agony and the ecstasy of sport.

The daft thing about the Catalans game is that we all enjoyed and witnessed first hand the way that they blitzed Saints in the semi and yet seemed to be taken by surprise by their fast start.

I'm coming to the conclusion that generally generalisations are too general to be of much much use.

Generally speaking.

Very true. I remember saying at the time that we'll probably know who the winner will be after 10 minutes. It was obvious.

give them lowes as well

Well we already have Paul Anderson, why not add Peacock too, and McNamara?

I don’t know much about their coach but he seems to be doing a half decent job, maybe we should look at him?