Hodgsons best years were at Huddersfield? More like Wests Tigers, he was past it when he came over here

Wire will still be thereabouts at the end of the year. I think Smith will just manage the golden oldies a bit better this year so they can peak for the playoffs, as well as the added bonus of giving more minutes to the younger players who will take over the spine. O'Brien and Hill are already crackin players and they'll be better at the end of the season with the more gametime they get.

Still won MOS at Hudds

He raises some valid points though...

I still think that come the end of the year the top two will be Wigan & Wire (in any order) and by some distance. That's not to say there won't be a few horror shows along the way for both teams. Let's not forget that we need to go to Montpellier again in June and look what happened last season.

Wire have a raft of good players but are suffering a hangover from last years Devon Locke style failure.

They're still the only side I actually fear even when were at the top of our game and our lads play a bit like they do too.

They'll make the GF this year IMO.

The only problem with Wire is that they do not like it to quote Corporal Jones "up em!"

Any team goes at them will bully them and they will fold. They are the pretty boys of rugby league they are a very good rugby playing side that lack a tough underbelly and in my opinion that is partly down to the coach.

Everyone has seen a Wire decline coming. How long it lasts is up to them really. There are some decent yougsters there but these things tend to be cyclical

There's some much funnier threads than that over on the Saints board. The bubble has well and truly burst over the Billinge lump

I'd go the other way on that score and say they're the only side that have been tough enough to match it with an ultra aggressive Wigan pack these past couple of years. I've seen Saints, Leeds, Huddersfield etc have some huge pack battles with Wigan in the past two years and we've won the majority but I can't say the same for Wire.

They struggle with pressure situations but physically they're tough. As much as they've won 2 cups and a hubcap in 3 years they've yet to really prove they can win 'big games'. They won the cup twice via a mix of easy draws and playing clubs like Wigan, Huudersfield and Leeds at very favourable times in comparison to where they stand now.

I think they'll overcome that this year though and in a strange way struggling through the year could take pressure and expectation away in the play offs.

Why do we care?

Just made me laugh - still can't forget the semi at Hj against Catalan and the wolfs are a Cat for a day. I hope they were shouting for Catalans today too!

Maybe some valid points but I expected them to lose today and they did, Not because I think Wire are in decline just that Catalans are a very tough team to beat at home and I can see us coming unstuck there aswell. Wire will still be there come the end of the year, It's whether they can cope with the pressure come the play offs.

True. They've had a pretty tough run of games recently too. I won't be writing them off yet. They could easily be the Leeds of this season and be the form team going into the playoffs

Still seething that we didn't do them at our place the other week though!

They have nobody that gives out the niggle. Morley is a spent force and has never been a niggly player.

Players get into them they do not know where to go.

We beat ourselves that night.

Wire couldn't believe their luck.