The thing is, it is not about being top now. That fact in itself is being used to hide the real issues by some. We are not ready for the 8's and won't be unless we can become 'a team'.

I have read all the opinions on our performance however, nobody has mentioned we lost our scrum half early in the game reducing us to one Pivot! I wonder how Batley would have performed had Brambani gone off at the same time as Chase?
We looked jaded at times and Batley, looked more like a fulltime team than us! All credit to them and their coach John Kear!
This time last year we were the Media's darlings, playing a brand of scintillating Rugby riding high at the top of League and beating all comers. John Kear said; we wouldn't need the Million Pound game as we would gain automatic promotion! Then the wheels fell off and we finished bottom of the 8s
We are again riding high at the top of the League however, we don't seem to be anyone's darlings!!
Its notable though when we need to 'do it. we invariably come up with the points which, is always the mark of a champion side!
We had a better side sat in the stand than Batley have and there's, the frustration! Even our former hero Mr Brierley was sat with them!!
I'd love to see the following team play with all players fully fit and at the top of their game, take some beating i'll bet? but these are the players on our books!
1/McNally
2/Armstrong
3/Smith
4/Tonga
5/Kay
6/Ridyard
7/Chase
8/Moi Moi
9/Higham
10/Weston
11/Hansen
12/Hock
13/Paterson

14/Beswick
15/Acton
16/Hopkins
17/Emmitt

Yep, a good point. Higham looked in real need of a rest when he went off after half an hour. 2 minutes later Chase limped off and Higham had to come straight back on and play the rest of the match at 7.

All of a sudden the dual threat of Ridyard and Chase, which had been working well, was reduced to everything going through Ridyard. Our kicking game was being shared between Riddy and Chase which was keeping Batley guessing. After Chase went off everyone knew who was going to be kicking and Ridyard was under much more pressure and understandably less effective.

Any news on Rangi's injury by the way?

Las season the team was better than the sum of it's parts. This season it is worse. It's just the fact that we have players with individual skills better than the oppositions that is allowing us to scrape wins. As has been said before we are full-time, most of our opposition is part time. We should be battering them. What are we doing in training? We should be fitter than all the part time teams like we were last season. How many times last season was it close at half time, then we ran away with it in the second half? This season it's the part time teams that are coming back in the second half looking fitter and better motivated. As it stands at the moment, I have a better chance of becoming the next King of England than we do of getting to SL. In agreement with the title of this thread, with the money we have spent this season - this is no where near good enough.

I know we (Bulls) are a damn sight worse that last year and some on here are not too chuffed with the way you are playing. Do you think the gap between Championship and SL has widened and that there is even less chance this year than last of somebody getting promoted?
I suppose that ultimately a Championship side will appear in the MPG and that it comes down to one game.

The gap is wider and last year Wakefield were by far the weakest team which gave championship teams some hope.

Whatever happens in the middle 8s a Championship team will be in the MPG,hopefully it will be Leigh, the question is Can they compete?At the moment the answer is NO.However they can improve between now and the middle 8s so there is hope.

Get to the MPG and anything can happen in a one off game, too many times the underdogs have won in finals and this is basically a Final game with a massive prize.
The key is getting the everyone to peak at the right time and early May is not the right time, re our defence I think every team I have seen this year has forgotten how to defend properly, have you watched SL this season, games with 20 plus points scored against you and still winning is the norm.

The Watcher believes that Finnigan was the mole leaking info out of the club & when he was identified he was dispatched.

I think the mole left a few weeks prior to Finny....

If true that is shocking after what the club/Derek did for him.

Just watched the game again on Centurion TV.

I was right for once. We should be better than that.

Did we still win? If not a disaster.

Did we have two moles then ? Also with the current bottom four in S/L,no championship team will make the mpg imo...

Well at least one Championship team HAS to make the MPG unless one of them finishes in the top 3 and goes up automatically (unlikely!).

Even if Leeds, Hudds, Salford and HKR take the top 4 spots then whichever Championship side finishes 5th will be in the MPG and get a one off shot at promotion.