Almost looks like we are deliberately working towards building up the quality of humility, lately!

if the players have run out of steam why have players who have performed well in the reserves not been played in some of fixtures at the end of the season.Reynolds being one prime example,both of our half backs could have been rested to give him some game time.We seem to have lost any aggression in our pack and I don't mean by that being dirty

You make a very valid point with regards to mentally and physically exhausted. It was very much evident at the AJ Bell yesterday where you could see the weariness in the Salford team. I think a lot of teams are starting to run on empty which can make foregone conclusions on paper, less certain by the week. As for Leigh, I think you peaked just slightly too early, but you're not out of it just yet.

That prediction was made based at the time on their current form.If they had shown anywhere near that form in these qualifiers,you wouldn't be posting here.

Could it be that your player’s performances are being affected by the fact that your chairman has stated that he has signed at least 5 new players for next year so I would assume that quite a number of the team will not be in the starting set up?

There also seems a shift in the philosophy at Leigh which was building a young team together with a few old heads and having a family environment so that the team all plays for each other.
With the rumoured signings of Tim Smith, Maitua, Hansen, Paterson (mainly all 30 and above) and trying to obtain Chase this appears to be going in a different direction to what has achieved you success in the past.

Will Leigh be Salford Mark II?

Difficult equation to balance Tony.

What has become obvious (well, to me) is that we need a squad of players who are savvy enough to perform well, at the 'Qualifier' stage of the season. (presuming we are lucky/good enough to be at that stage again, next season) And, while I accept that the coach has to win the games to earn a crack at the Qualifiers, somehow the squad needs to be fully utilised during the season, so that they are ALL fit and ready for the Qualifier matches.

Glad I'm not a coach!!

Looks like you'll have to beat Bradford and then come here to Widnes and grab the points to stand any chance of even 5th

I still think this team is skilful and good enough to win promotion to SL (though not this year) but god have we been naïve. Looks like the team got carried away with the hype and thought we were entitled to a place in SL rather than having to earn it. Thinking we could just turn up away at Fax, expecting SL clubs to give us chances and not gain momentum and go on a role. Think this year has been a steep learning curve but we'll learn from it and come back better & stronger next year.

There are still a few possible scenarios available yet.One of which could see us requiring points rather than the win when we play you.

That would be the one with Fax, Bradford and Leigh all finishing on 4 pts. All being said we are no longer favourites for that million pound game. This has been a grim few weeks for the club as a whole.

Hardly the end of the world though is it!! Been if far worse situation than this over the years.
The biggest disappointment for me is how we don't seem to have learned much during the play offs, that said it all seems a bit much for Champ teams in general - hopefully all the better for it this time next year.

Bradford beat one SL team, we should have beaten 2. The qualifiers are and we're always going to be a different beast to the league. Unfortunately we have approached it as a continuation of the league. The difference should have been spotted very early on and I actually think we will be very very lucky to finish 5th.

I don't think we've learned much that we didn't know already. Anyone who watches Super League regularly can see that the extra money on offer gets a better standard of player, and more of them.
All of the Bulls preferred starting 17 have recent Super League experience( or NRL) but it's obvious that that isn't enough in itself.............They all become de -skilled in a short period of time as we have been light years away from the standard required as shown by Wakefield, Widnes and Hull K R in our matches against them. Hopefully the other full time teams will be up for it next year and more of the part time teams will be able to improve. I always felt it would take a miracle for anyone to get promotion and now we've had a good look I don't think that miracles come that big.

Whilst I agree, it wasn't just the team that got carried away it was the fans too. I read many posts saying 6 wins out of 7 were achievable - with no substance or reasoning behind it other than a couple of good cup wins (against the worst 2 teams in SL).

When you take the physicality out of Leigh the defence really suffers and teams have worked this out in this qualifiers. Whilst I sympathise with you after having such an excellent Championship campaign, I can't help but think the lack of professionalism at times off the pitch put cracks in Leigh's attempt to get promoted. I think the club and everyone involved needs to take a step back and realise this and look at how to improve for next year.