However, we have still to hit the levels of achievement seen under the last coach. Not to mention that our owner clearly stated that just achieving the top 8 would NOT be seen as a success under his regime.

True but our owner seems to have a habit of changing his mind about lots of things.

I guess it is a bit sad that scraping into the top 8 is seen as an achievement.

We are about on par with when Gentle was in charge, it's now up to the players and Radford to make sure we kick on and improve on that and challenge for the top 4, with our current squad and signings we have real potential, but I've said and thought this many other times.

Well I hope the players are professional enough to realise that the season is not over until the end of the super eights. That being the case they should be going out to try and win every match and LR should be drilling this into them. I didn't buy a season pass just to watch an end of season party lasting 7 games.

Making the top 8 is [ian[/i achievement. Just not the season defining one we should be aiming for.

We still have 7 games to kick on and while I'd argue that we haven't got back to the level we were at under Gentle we have the potential to exceed it this season.

Let's face it - we are in a far better position now than I and many other fans were predicting for most of the season and even as recently as the last couple of weeks. No reason why we can't continue to exceed expectations even given our injury situation.

Are we? 6th in a 14 team league +cc final in 2013.
With a fading patched up Horne and our no.7 out for 1/3 of 2013 and was never really the same after his head injury, starting the season with a rookie winger & centre on the same side, rookie FB & SH for the last 8 games with zero SL exp. Ellis missed 16 SL games out of 29 (incl Playoffs) so to finish where we did AND reach the CC final was nothing short of a miracle. We then had the players giving up in the final game which took the edge off a progressive 2nd season under PG.

Radford has benefited from a set of established halves that have being fit pretty much all season, Ellis has missed a few games for sure but Watts, Paea and Mini have bolstered the fowards no end this season.
Given the squad we have I'm really dissapointed where we are, we've scored less points than all but one team in SL (the shower that is Wakey) so there's a relatively big difference from our performance/level in 2013 to this season despite only a potential one place differential in league position, we've hugely underperformed IMO.

If you define BAD defeats as not getting a spanking then yes you are correct. However a defeat against a team that has lost 16 games on the trot and completely out of their depth in this super league season, I think is a BAD defeat. A terrible defeat infact!

Have we nicked any games, we have really not deserved to win? Struggling to think of many, but we have lost plenty that we let slip and should've won, they for me are bad defeats too. The ones that got away. Being beaten fair and square by the better team is acceptable, throwing away games is not.

Several bad defeats over the course of the season for me.

At the start of the season i said getting into the eight would be decent considering and we have done. This season Radford has had good patches and some bad ones too with this team but it seems the good patches are becoming more frequent now so im hoping hes now finding a way of keep the team consistent. Apart from the Leeds second half we have not been battered though a lot of displays have been average to poor yet we still have managed to stay close to sides. We also had a fair few new players this season inc two new halfs and our talisman Ellis's injuries have bit just as hes been in awesome form. All things considering ill say that Radford has done above average and now has the next eight games to try and keep the consistency going that we now seem to have even if it means winning ugly. Next year with Pritchard, Taylor and hopefully a couple of top notch backs we then have to become a 4-6 placed team and Radford has to deliver this - if not he has to go.

After the shocking early part of the season we then enjoyed a really good run. This came to an end with the matches against Leeds (2), Catalans and Wakey away. Although disappointed that we lost them I was not surprised with the Leeds and Catalan results so for me the Wakey defeat was the hardest to accept. Since then we've got back on the horse and started winning consecutive matches. There seems to be a real togetherness in the team and I think they've a good chance of upsetting some of the big boys in the next 7 games. Lets just get behind them (LR included) and give them our total support. Any inquest can be held once the season is over.

The problem is Knocker that because we have just made the top eight some fans will see that as progress but as you have pointed out that since his appointment Radford has taken the club backwards despite his own squad and no major injury list which Peter Gentle also had to contend with.

Change the ing record. No-one is convinced by Radford and most supporters would prefer changes to the coaching team but it isn't going to happen now or before next season.

What did you make of the derby win? I noticed you had nothing to say about it.

Unfortunately with the squad we were left with and players on silly contracts we were going to have to go backwards it go forwards, maybe we went too far backwards, but we have certainly made progress IMO and have far more potential with this squad, Radford and Tony seem much better at recruitment getting value for money and signing players in the right positions.

Our away form is just about as good as it has been in years, something we have always struggled with.

Still not convinced and we see how go the next 8 games. I also worry about his man management of players, particularly the Shaul situation and it will be interesting and a big test of Radfords when Yeaman comes back.

I would have been really happy with 6/7 when the season started with our squad and hope we can kick on and finish at least 6th.

I've seen this a few times, but it could quite easily be that Shaul has a bad attitude rather than any mismanagement on Radford's behalf. Let's be fair, Shaul has previous from his time at York where he was deemed to have a poor attitude, and has fired out some seemingly petulant tweets in the past.

This is the attitude that annoys me. Instead of looking at what we actually see on game day, which is that Radders has the team working their s off each game running their blood to water, instead, a 'situation' with Shaul is highlighted as Radders having bad man management despite nobody having a clue what has actually gone on.

I'd take the players' enthusiasm, effort and team spirit as a much better indication of his man management than a youngster being dropped (which could simply be that the player he's dropped for is better).

It's a fair point, but Shaul is a young lad and sometimes these young players do have bad attitudes and need grounding, but it's up to Radford to try and make it work, as he is a long term FB, Rankin is Ok for the short term, but he won't be around very long and we are then looking for a new FB. I bet there are loads of young players in Sl than have done the same and the coach has worked with them and turned them around, look at Leeds and Hardraker, he had been in plenty of trouble, but Mcdermott sticks by him and keeps playing him, he doesn't sit him on the naughty step.


Radford should be having a clear the air meeting with Shaul this week and giving him one last chance, the kid is a great talent and loves the club (You can tell by his twitter).

I hope this can be sorted and doesn't go the same way as Crooks.

I imagine Radford is trying to make it work, but a lot of it is down to the player too. I'm not sure why you see this as a failing by Radford?

Hardaker - Leeds stuck by him, but they also punished him with a fine and a ban. There's no evidence to say we haven't stuck by Shaul and he's been dropped for a better player.

If Radders is trying to implement a culture amongst the senior squad, and Shaul isn't singing from the hymn sheet, then he rightly should be dropped. I'm sure he would have been told what behaviour is expected of him as a professional player.