5 years ago. Everyone has to be an assistant at some point, that's how it works. We, arguably, got the best assistant you can get.

I never really believed the Kath excuse.

Biggest problem we have is the number of players under-performing at any one time. Any coach would struggle to drop all of them. We'd be hard put to field a full 17.

It really does. Back to the gypsy curse I reckon. Just watched Wigan who field loads of young kids and play fantastic and exciting rugby. That's under an unsung british ex prop forward! Seems that team cultures somehow have a life of their own regardless of everything else! Maybe it is us. We just believe we're better or going to be better than we ever are??

I've honestly given up trying to work it out. If I thought that changing the coach - again - would fix it then I'd happily call for Gentle's head on a spike, but I'm not confident that we'd see anything but a temporary improvement.

Yours wasn't even an assistant. Sorry that's a lie he was an Under 20's assistant

He's had a season and a bit. Yes, we're not performing as we (and indeed PG) would like but we still haven't had our best 13 on the pitch at the same time. We survived his predecessor for 3 plus years before he went. Let's have some patience.

Just because we get the best assistant coach, doesn't mean he'll make the transformation to a successful Head Coach.

Employing an Assistant is always a gamble, Maguire worked at Wigan, but Kearney from the same setup as Maguire,failed at Parramatta.

This week our first choice pivots, McDonnell,Holdsworth Seymour,Houghton. - only Houghton trained.

We need better players in key positions - notably a scrum half. The last time we had a good quality controlling half back we won the Challenge Cup under the current Batley coach. I think Gentle should be able to get us playing with more confidence but he can't turn average players into world beaters. It's happening again with our two main signings unavailable for weeks on end - one of them an international and the other with the only organising and kicking game at the club. Until we solve the half back problem it wont change a great deal.

I agree that it's not possible to drop all of them, but the problem is rooted in the fact that we don't really drop any of them IMO. At least not the more established players at any rate. How many times have we seen a player over 22ish and with 30+ appearances to their name left out in the last few years? I can think of Seymour and that's it.

It's standard fare in most work environments that if someone is seen to be disciplined the rest go on best behaviour to make sure they aren't next. Our players perceive no such threat IMO, they can look around and see fellow players not pulling their weight with no consequences, so there is no real reason to drive them to improve.

Who last season deserved to be dropped and wasn't?

This season we arguably have an embarrassment of choices, but as Gentle himself realised after the Widnes game you can't drop them all.

I guess you could look at Galea, but it might be hard to drop a player who's scored 3 tries in the last 4 games. Lynch and Ogre maybe? We're already lightweight at prop. Who else amongst the older and more experienced players deserves the chop and isn't getting it?

Rather than who to drop, I'm more interested in his reasoning for playing Briscoe at fullback. That one is simply baffling

Someone asked what was the common factor, Richard Horne has been in our halves for so long now my grandson has grown up watching him and can tell me what he will do next. He is the most predictable player in SL by a country mile.
If you cant change how a player adapts to the game plan and just goes through the same old drop off pass and the most predictable short kick and dire long kick ever, he rarely pops up out of nowhere like all good half backs do, the last time he did was when he was running off the shoulder of Jason Smith.
Then change the player, because every coach in SL will hi-lite what he does and apply his structures accordingly.
Unfortunately our other halves are in dock and we have to stay with him, and I'm sure he will give 100% as he always has.
Has Nicklas blotted his copy book so bad with his tweets that he has been 'cast out' ??

Richard Horne has been a fantastic asset to this club, has provided so many good 'moments'.....he is not to blame for our team performance, but he is a factor of it...IMO

He blamed pitch and conditions and injuries as excuse.

They finished 6 th last year and did nothing in cup, not competitive!

It is a top 4 squad, would prefer our squad to saints for example.

Brian noble is a name. Proven at this level.

You genuinely think you have a better squad than Saints?
Crickey, believe indeed.