Alot of what you said is spot on.
that playoff scenario sounds great as well.

I can see saints topping the table this year. I think they have been given new life by a new coach. A lot of players and fans weren't happy with miick. And their new players are great.

Could be wigan and wire fighting for 2 and 3 i think Wigan might get second but Wire have improved this year.

Think it will bee leeds and hudders fighting for fourth and then hull, hull kr and probably bradford.

There may be some transition in a couple of years as wire change the old guard though.

Garbage.....what arrogance/ignorance from you! you surely have not seen the squad cas have assembled then. it is far more balanced and has real strength in depth in comparison to the last 8 years! granted the squad is not as strong as wigans for example but it is as strong but stronger than all of the teams you list in the league fo 4 aqbove with the possible exception being Hull KR. Salford squad is poor, you could argue an ok starting 13 but after that it's poor.

i guess the proof will be in the pudding but i would comfortably say we will finish in the top 8 this year unless we are crucified by injuries!!

Calm down. Only one mans opinion. Cas have lost two of their most influential players and have brought in garbage like Mathers. Can't see Cas getting in the eight, they don't have a squad as good as Hull KR, Bradford and Hull IMO.

Mathers isn't garbage, however, he does need to have some top class players around him to allow him some confidence, which he had at Wire & Leeds and didn't have at Wigan or won't have at Castleford either.

He won't struggle or indeed be 'garbage', but he isn't the type of signing to suddenly make a side significantly any better.

I have never doubted his hunger or his effort but a proffesional rugby league player should be dropping easy catches on a regular basis and looking scared to go for the ball. He is a poor player, why else would Tony Smith get rid and replace him with someone better, he was the only weak link in the wire defence. His tackling is poor and he even throws out stupid passes. He doesn't score enough tries from a FB and doesn't link up in the line to create tries like Tomkins, Hodgeson and Webb.

End of the thread.

.....He is not garbage.....Any player who has the bottle or talent to play at Super League level is definitely not garbage and you are a fool for even daring to use that term for ANY player.

Yes, us non-Wiganers all get it....Mathers had a rough time of it at Wigan, of that there is no doubt, but just because he dared to under-perform for you lot does not make him garbage.

Being a Warrington fan, if we are using your analogy, then there are plenty of players who I could diss over the years, as being awful players, if I based their talents on their Wire performances.....Steve Roach, arguably the best prop forward in World Rugby in the 80's, was an absolute donkey in a Wire shirt, yet I wouldn't even consider questioning his talents....David Kidwell, unrecognisable from the NRL version of the same player, could be cited as being 'garbage' by some Wire fans....The list goes on, and the same probably applies for most clubs, but to simply label somebody garbage is insulting and disrespectful.

And just because Tony Smith chooses to replace him with 'someone better' does not make him a poor player....We have replaced Hicks with Joel Monaghan....Does that make Hicks a poor player?.....Similarly, we replaced Martin Gleeson with Chris Bridge in the centres and suddenly we have 2 Challenge Cups in the trophy cabinet.....What does that make Gleeson?...

Cheers cause I couldn't be bothered.

What is the problem with you lot accepting that Mathers is not 'garbage'......Yes, we've had it until our balls ache from you lot, about how rotten he performed in a Wigan shirt, but considering that within 3 months of leaving the JJB (or whatever you call your football stadium) he had a Wembley winners medal, then he can't be that bad.....Also, add to this he has been signed up by 2 highly respected coaches (Noble & Smith), tells me he can't be total garbage?

As for the deal and who came out best?.....Well, at the time it was convenient for all concerned....You needed rid of a confidence-shattered Mathers,we wanted rid of a bad-influence Gleeson, a bit of cash thrown in and all things considered, both sides have come out smiling, with trophies aplenty.....

Just as one extra thing on Mathers?.....If he was really, really garbage (as you Cherry & White experts say), then why does he continue to have a Super League career?....I hate to be patronising, but if you lot knew as much as you all reckon, then you'd be running the clubs instead of the guys who continually give Mathers contracts.

So has Ricky Bibey...........