I get all the frustration – and I feel it just as much as any other ardent fan - but let’s put the losses into perspective: we’ve played only two games off the back of only one pre-season runout against Dewsbury; we could, and should, have won what was a close encounter against Leeds (in the very first game of the season); we were tied up at 6 a piece at half time against a Wigan side who defended brilliantly in the first half and in the second half ruthlessly exploited the enforced switch of James B into the centre following TJ’s injury (when we had a bench full of forwards). Off the back of that, people are calling for CC’s head to roll immediately, are singling out individual players for some pretty harsh and unfair criticism etc etc.. Now I’m one of biggest critics of the team and coach outside of this forum but I think we should not overreact just yet after two games.

That said, I accept that there are some pretty worrying signs in respect of our toothless attacking play even at this very early stage of the season. Just like last season and the season before, there is a bit of a deja vu feeling. I don’t think it’s all doom and gloom because there was a glimmer of improvement on display in that 20 min stint in the first half against Leeds to convince me (at least) that the group of players who CC has assembled are indeed capable of playing some decent attacking rugby. That has to be offset unfortunately by the reality that for nearly all the Wigan game, and most of the Leeds game, we were devoid of any real attacking threat.

Like previous seasons, we seem to lack any consistent structure in our attack. I look at all the NRL sides week in week out and watch how they set up in attack and think to myself why don’t and can’t we attack like they do. I’m not talking complex plays just the basic stuff: forming a deeper backline; running onto the ball and not catching it stood still and being driven back; having a number of players running at the line to confuse/keep defenders guessing as to who is going to hit the line with the ball rather than one out, predictable stuff which leads to easy defence reads and gang tackles; running intelligent lines; last tackle sets where our wingers actually compete for the ball with their opposite numbers or fullback. I don’t think any of that is really rocket science but it’s effective, it’s how you win games and it’s entertaining to watch.

The really frustrating part is that this team can do all of the above when it wants to – and, as I say, we saw a fleeting glimpse of it when they went 16-4 up against Leeds - so why don’t they do it on a consistent basis? For me, we need to be emulating (if we haven’t been) how NRL teams attack and that means getting those attacking fundamentals right. The coaches need to nail in training with the lads the plays that those NRL sides run and then make sure that they are executed come match day. It requires buy in from all the team obviously but specifically the half backs who need to grab games by the scruff of the neck and marshal the team around the paddock. It requires Miller to step up, be vocal and lead by example as captain and make sure that we stick to the script on the field and, if the team do not, to read the riot act and get the required response from his team.

If the attack continues to misfire over the course of the next 5-6 games – and I don’t think we could realistically leave it any longer than that to see the significant improvement that is required given the relegation threat (which is exacerbated by reason of the strength of the teams in the bottom half of the table) - then at that point people need to step aside and changes need to be made; for a start, a change of coach and a change of captain which for me would mean the promotion of Last and Pitts respectively.

We can’t keep relying on individual pieces of brilliance from TJ and Dave. If our attack does not start clicking as a collective – on a consistent basis and soon - then we will keep losing I fear that we will be relegated and I dread to think what that will mean for the future of the club.

We are now one of two clubs still to win this season. The problem is that we have had many years in SL to have put together a competitive well trained squad whilst Leigh had only a few months.

The club and Chester have to face reality in so far if the former want to continue with the latter they must loosen the fiscal purse strings and give him more options on the playing front. If they don’t want to do this then Chester must go because he is singularly unable to get the best out of what we have and it is time to give someone with new ideas.
If both prefer the status quo that I personally see a long hard nervous season ahead once again, with this thread getting Longer and longer and the supporters more frustrated.

With all the coming and goings of the last couple of weeks, could the saga of Andrew Fifita be the crossroads for CC?

Mr Chester wasted the Budget last year . No more 3rd choice players or player reaching there last few years

3 day turnaround for both sides no matter what score its still defeats 4 pts for them 2 for us....not cherry picking anything what i say are facts one of the meaningless fixture was bo less meaningless than the other you cant say the one we won was meaningful but the deafeat 3 days later wasnt...oh and no big win at headingley was at saints ground