Yep, won 7 from 8 against the rest of the top 5.

We've lost 6 games this year:
Home - Cas, Wigan, Leeds
Away - Widnes, Huddersfield, Leeds

All play apart from knocks, Ellis and the lads all want to play and rightfully so we need to get as high up as possible we don't want third

I'd have snapped your hand off for 3rd at the start of the year, but targets change and would be slightly disappointed with 3rd particularly being comfy in the top 2 with the bottom 4 to play.

Only rest those with knocks, finish top and build momentum for the semi and the rest of the year.

This is what our fixture list would look like based on the current tableFinish Top (as it stands now)
HFinish 2nd (Assuming Wigan come top, Warrington 3rd)
HFinish 3rd behind Wigan & Warrington
H: Saints, Catalans, Cas, Widnes
A: Wigan, Warrington, Wakefield

I'm not sure finishing top after R23 is that important to be honest. At the moment, a third place would mean we avoid trips to Catalans, Widnes & Cas and still have 4 home games.

if we end up 3rd, win those four home games and its semi final time!

Our aim at the end of the super 8's or whatever they are called should a top 2 finish so that we get home advantage in the semi play off. If we beat Salford then we have two extra points towards that and better fixtures to achieve that.

Got to go for the two points IMO, which means play the strongest side.

The race for a top two spot (and hence a home semi-final) starts this Friday. It looks like two from three in this particular race. Two points dropped on Friday could be the difference between playing Wigan or Wire at home or away come October. This is the first of eight games in which all points are vital in the final reckoning.

Players like to play, especially when a side is going well. It's impossible to wrap players in cotton wool, injuries are an unfortunate consequence of sport, particularly in a high contact sport such as RL.

Play our best available side, go out for the win (winning breeds ever expanding confidence) and let's start thinking about Wigan on Saturday morning.

This squad of players, both in terms of quality and quantity, has been assembled for precisely moments like this. This team has done us proud so far in 2016. There is no reason why they cannot continue to do so. Let the players get on with the job they clearly love doing and let us give them the support they deserve in the coming, potentially climatic, weeks.

Of course, if we win the semi, we'll have another problem to worry about -
...resting players in the middle of the super8's, at a time when 6 clubs will be preparing for a 2 week break.

Problem is I guess its all a matter of opinion and for me as far as resting players is concerned so good are the incumbents, that we have no real cover for Shaul, Sneyd or Houghton. well no one who is any where near as good in their positions anyway and we really do need all three fresh, fit and 'knock free' for the semi! Its a difficult one really!.

SQUAD:

1. Jamie Shaul 2. Mahe Fonua 5. Fetuli Talanoa 6. Leon Pryce 7. Marc Sneyd 8. Scott Taylor 9. Danny Houghton 10. Liam Watts 11. Gareth Ellis 12. Mark Minichiello 13. Jordan Abdull 15. Chris Green 16. Jordan Thompson 19. Steve Michaels 21. Sika Manu 22. Josh Bowden 23. Frank Pritchard 24. Kirk Yeaman 30. Danny Washbrook

Everyone's IN, at the moment.

i can see a few dropping out - but, if that's the squad that we go with then I would go with:

Shaul
Talanoa
Yeaman
Fonua
Michaels
Abdull
Sneyd
Bowden
Houghton
Ellis
Mini
Pritchard
Manu

Taylor
Watts
Pryce
Washbrook

Salford:

Evalds, O'Brien, Caton-Brown, Johnson, Sa'u, J. Griffin, Jones, Lui, Dobson, Kopczak, Krasniqi, G. Griffin, Murdoch-Masila, Hauraki, A. Walne, J. Walne, Flanagan, Kenny, L. Tomkins