The Aussie journeymen loved playing for the club I guess - a nice atmosphere within, the blokes were probably all mates with each other off the pitch and enjoyed being effectively an Australian team with an Aussie coach. And they put in 100% to entertain the supporters and earn their crust. Fantastic. Now we have a draconian coach, English journeymen who aren't good enough, and a smattering of talent from the South.

I'm really struggling to understand the fascination with having an English team. As far as I am concerned, I couldn't care less if the blokes were from Bangladesh, as long as they played entertaining rugby that I could go along, watch, and enjoy, and hopefully pick up a few wins. I realise the quota rules are tighter than they were, but other teams seem to manage it.

I always felt when I went to the Broncos that we had a fighting chance going into any match, and now I am just feeling that defeat is inevitable every week, and I'm getting to the stage where I'm not even bothered because its a crap club to support at the moment. God knows what occasional supporters think. Does anyone honestly expect us to give Warrington a game next week?

'League Express' has us down as finishing bottom this season, which is very hard to argue with. The nagging thought that keeps coming to me is that we're not even going to apply for a franchise in the next round - our player recruitment would certainly appear to be directed at a long term future in the Co-Op leagues!!

These are two (what would seem to be) opposing viewpoints, but I agree with both. These are my thoughts after thinking about the game and the situation for a little longer.
[1] Some of the players we have coming through from London and SE are very, very good. I think many of these players have bright futures and I am super super enthused about the prospect of seeing a good team made up of home grown talent (and these players gaining representative honours etc.).

[2] I know there is an element of cutting your coat to suit your cloth, but without naming names (you can fill in the gaps), some of our signings in no way represent young and upcoming English talent. They are neither young nor promising, some aren't even "experienced heads", because they've spent many years of their career in the lower leagues. I would much rather see their places go to our local talent (given our funds). In fact, the only difference I can see between "journeyman Aussies" and "journeymen from the North" is that by and large the Aussies were better.

[3] The quota has been poorly managed. We have 2x spaces available. This isn't widely publicised, but before Chad Robinson left McDermott went on record saying that we could, but are choosing not to fill Gafa's spot and are instead focusing on what we have. After one game, with 18 fit players left* and Louie facing a ban, he is not exactly looking like Socrates.
[size*McDermott's own words form the Super League show.[/size

[4] Balance in the squad. Three fullbacks (two of which play wing every week), three hookers (none of which can really play scrum half, apart from maybe Randall) seven props (Jones and James - did we really need both of them!?), effectively three back rowers (I could have predicted Purdham would spend a few months injured - he has every other season), one recognised centre and not one scrum half (all three halfbacks are better at 6). Last season blowing two quota places on two identikit back rowers, one of whom was injured anyway. I'm not saying it's easy — it is hard and no doubt harder the fewer resources are available. But there's just a whole catalogue of decisions that seem to have made us weaker, not stronger.

[5] We can all make excuses for McDermott, about how he's changing the culture and developing the club (the inference being we should prepare for a dry spell), but he's worked with teams that have had playes the calibre of Mark McLinden, Henry Paul, Scott Hill etc. and we still didn't achieve and perform consistently. Both 2007 and 2008 were particularly disappointing in this regard.

I can sympathise very much with feeling defeat is inevitable, I go out of loyalty. I don't enjoy it like I used to. The club is meant in the entertainment business as well. It's clear we've developed no style or flair in the off season. One good set play to put BJB away in the whole 80 minutes isn't good enough. Almost every other time they did try and put speed into the game the skill level just wasn't there and the ball normally ended up being fumbled or bouncing disappointingly along the floor. And I don't buy into this "we couldn't practice on grass" argument, because [1] you can practice skill and timing indoors all you like and [2] we had no idea all of last season, when there were was plenty of grass to practice on. This is just a cover for the fact McDermott can't coach good attacking rugby.

Pretty much my thoughts exactly. I go out of loyalty and continue to renew season tickets but after Wakey took the lead I resigned myself to yet another defeat. Apart from BJB there's no spark out there and although I don't want to start the call for Mac's head after just one defeat, its not just one is it? Something's got to change, we're stuck in a rut, treading water! If Brian can't or won't change his coaching style then bring in someone else who might be able to turn things around.

As well as Saturday's 'performance' with less than 4,000 (and a good number of them from Wakey) at the Stoop I'm really worried about our SL status. The RFL has protected us thus far but how much longer will they continue to? I suppose it would be much easier to bring in more punters if the team is doing well,so its got to be time for Mac to be given a deadline to improve things or go. W hatever happens we're not going in the direction we are supposed to be going in. Makes me get a bit misty eyed for the Broncos days when at least we used to get a sniff of the playoffs / cc final from time to time.

Ah the old irony cop out, last resort in an argument lost.

Now Lister this is what you call irony.

How many years of near total Aussie journeyman dominated teams has it taken for you to feel brave enough to say that

Mate do yourself a favour and stick to winding up the Tigers supporters, you are missing the target big time here. As already said many times most Quins supporters have a soft spot for Wakey and see some similarities between the clubs, this thread is not really about Trinity and how good/bad/indifferent/will win GF/won't win GF you are, it's about QRL and how freaking poor we are especially one game in after playing your mob, which is the only yardstick we can use in 2010.

Very few teams come racing out the blocks and I doubt any Trinity supporter would be 100% satisfied with the win over us, but you did get the two points, and as it stands will almost certainly be above us come seasons end.

Now do one and let us get back to moaning about our lot and our coach without your interuptions

To be honest PTB, I tend to find many of your postings just a bit too negative and pessimistic, but this time I believe you're spot on.

I didn't get to Sunday's game so can't comment on that specifically (though I did listen to the depressing Radio Leeds commentary - couldn't get a peep out of the R. London feed, suspect I may have been the only one trying to listen. ). But based on what I saw at the end of last season, the crux of the issue is the lack of skill. We desperately need a couple of players with spark, originality, flair.

We have Robinson's salary and 2 quota spots to play with. If we can't afford to use them, I struggle to see a way forward.

Maybe we're wrong and with a real game behind them the guys will produce the goods at Wire. And we're missing 4 first choice players to start the season, we have their returns to look forward to.

Let's see: tick ... tick ... tick ..

OK, I wasn't there to witness the game but let's get real here. We have lost our opening game to a side that finished 5th last year and that has recruited well in the off season. It was a game that few fans expected us to win.

We had 1 pre-season run out and that was never going to be enough, especially as Mac said we gave the Skolars the ball to test our defence???? The 2 quota spaces and robinsons salary will I suspect remain un-used as we need to balance the books and I am sad to say that Salford, Ourselves, possibly Crusaders and maybe one other will spend the season fighting to avoid the wooden spoon.......not ideal, but as a london RL fan, not something unusual either. The play-off years were achieved with some pretty good Anzacs, but we have laid our stall out to promote our own talent so it may take another 3 or 4 years before we get to see P-O rugby again. Remember, before it all fell apart last year we were punching well above our weight, so we CAN DO IT.

This is D-day for the club. We have ticked the development box and the ground/location boxes but we need to worry about the financial and crowd boxes this year. I know it'seasy for me to say this from over here, but this is the season that the club REALLY NEED THE FANS TO STICK WITH IT. If we lose fans, or don't add significant numbers then I fear for the next round of licence allocations......
IL and DH will sort out the finance stuff between themselves and PB has done enough (sponsors et al) to show that he knows what he is doing, but if the fans desert the club, then the last 30 years may well have been in vain (apart from the great amateur set up in the SE that exist)......

I am often the first to jump on the back of the club for lack of activity, but to be fair, they really are having a go this year and as such I would suggest that every fan takes advantage of the 2-4-1 offer for the Catalan Derby.....it would be great to see a 5,000 crowd for that game and all it would take is every ST holder to get 2 mates to spend £7.50 each and every casual fan to bring a mate to do this........

Sorry mate cannot agree, yes Trinity are a good side but they are and always should be a side we measure ourselves against, and at no point in the past have I ever gone to see a game with them expecting us to lose.........the only reason perhaps few fans expected us to win this time is that in essence, apart from the months in between, jack all has changed from the second half of last season and even worse, little can be seen to relieve that perception.

Yeah we will get a do or die win against a bigger club, but it is only papering over the cracks which by now are pretty damn wide.

Not saying we expected them to lose....but let's face it, nobody was suprised that we did. Agree will get the "shock" win again and doubly agree that it will be a papering exercise, but there is no way we have a squad that, at present, will trouble the touts at Old Trafford, Wembley or even a PO game.....just being a realist and pointing out that the fans need to stick with the club this year more than ever.

Gutters, is this really you? You look from a safe distance but we see what is a plain as the nose on our faces. We are going backwards in relation to the squad and the playing style. We will stick with the club (we have nowhere else to go) but as Wakey & Cas are our benchmark sides (no money!) we have to try and keep the club and point out obvious failings.

I agree. The squad and style of play are weaker than I can recall as a fan ( if the reports are all true)......what I was saying is that although as fans we expect/want/crave/desire a competitive side on the pitch, we have to understand that we can't compete financially until we have the cash in the bank. In the past, the club have nearly gone to the wall....but we made 2 play-offs so that's OK is it? We need to cut our cloth accordingly and this year that means having a workmanlike squad that in all probability will struggle all season.
I don't look from a safe distance by the way...I look and I feel the pain of defeat as much as if I had been there......it would take more than 12,000 odd miles to stop me being a fan......it is nice and sunny though

Spot on.