Are you still "nervous" about us making the top 8

Clearly there are areas that we can and need to improve on.
However, after beating Catalan on their own turf and in blistering heat, we can beat anyone.
Although Hull are the team that we would probably like to play in the final, they are the one team that we haven't beaten this season.

It would be most satisfying to play and beat Wigan in the final, just to hear Wane's bitter comments and to take some revenge on the
ungracious pies.

Of course this would be a massive ask, especially with all their big game experience but, we should have no fear against anyone and if the team plays with the same spirit and desire that they have shown against Shudds and Catalan (and Wigan, to a slightly lesser extent), we can have a really good go against either Hull or Wigan.
I still think that Hull at their best, have been the top team this season and if they are on the top of their game they would be our most difficult opponents but, we have to get their first.

Up the Trin and lets enjoy what lies ahead.

Normally I'd say is good for the players to be nervous about outcomes so it keeps them on their toes but it clearly bothered them over the few games that would have secured top 8 for us. They really didn't play with the same 'joie de vivre' as we had been earlier.

Now we are firmly in the 8 I think we can go back to the underdogs shaking some cages. We shouldn't be frightened of any of the top 8 now.

I'd love us to continue the French win with a win over Cas to a) put right the result from the beginning of the year and b) secure 6th place at the end of the regular season.

Just thought i'd bring this back up again!

Now onto Cas this week, fancy this one to be nip and tuck with one or two of our guys carrying knocks getting a rest before the semi. They are also beset with injuries though so i reckon home advantage will tell and a narrow win is coming.

Let's not be having any of this kind of positive thinking on here.
I think that it may be against the forum rules and you may even get a ban

Seriously though, we looked reasonably "safe" 3 weeks ago, as it was always unlikely that the teams below us would suddenly go unbeaten until the end of the season when they had been average all season.

I agree about the team appearing to be under pressure, however, securing top 8 (which was just unthinkable before the start of the season) should allow the players to relax a little and not force to many crazy plays and hopefully, Chester's bad experience at Wembley last season, will benefit us in the coming weeks.

These are exciting times and the next couple of weeks could be truly memorable.

I’m probably going to sound patronising here but I think you and a few others need a reality check regarding this issue.

The reason as I’ve been told by smart people that we concede these penalties is generally not a lack of discipline or being lazy but most of the time it’s pure necessity that causes it.

We as a team are outgunned in nearly every department by nearly every team in SL whether that be speed, size, power or guile and as such we find ourselves back peddling more than most. Because of this we often need to slow the play down because if we don’t the opposition will gain momentum and we really can’t allow that to happen. Conceding a sloppy try from a penalty is a better outcome than conceding 3 back to backs as per last season because we allowed them to build up a head of steam.
As long as I can remember it’s always been advantages for us if the game is a bit niggly and less open - the big difference this year is we have the ability to exploit the situation when it turns in our favour. It’s not pretty and we’d all love to be the Harlem Globetrotters of RL but we just aren’t.

We are not alone and even the top teams do it but for the reasons given we do it more than most. It’s not accidental and most of the penalties we give away are from a deliberate decision to take the risk and it’s part of how we play. I do think we get away with less than some big clubs but we certainly push it.

The one that always tickles me is Stevo and his 5th tackle Coach killer - as if giving away a penalty on the fifth is a deliberate act of stupidity by the players - it isn’t. Against a good team by the 4th or 5th tackle they will have made headway and your defensive line will be stretched and at that point they will go wide or through the gaps.

So what does a player do with a split second call - risk the ball moving out to what he thinks is a certain overlap and try - or does he risk a penalty by interfering or holding down to give the defensive line a chance to set. It’s a tough call but one they have to make and sometimes the ref loses his patience and bingo. However the worse that can happen is the opposition go on to score a try, a try they would have scored anyway but at least they had to work harder and some of the steam has been removed.

RL these days is really quite complicated and by and large the players know what they are doing and although in hindsight the penalties may appear needless at the time to the player involved they certainly don’t. It’s a percentage game and we have to play it to the extreme and sometimes we will get badly caught to, that’s life. We either accept that or we all sell our houses and fund a team of internationals.

There are exceptions where they do mess up due to fatigue, lack of concentration and occasionally they can’t be bothered - but they are only humans not machines.