MUST WIN. 5 big players back possibly. Time to build on the momentum of the Toulouse victory.

Patience, long-termism and building bottom-up being luxuries only the wealthy can afford is my ‘thing’ at the moment.

Being reminded by fans of successful clubs that they finished fifth one year, but they stuck with it and were patient and ultimately enjoyed the rewards is very much twisting my melon.

Sure, good structures and culture are valuable. But I just feel that chasing something that I increasingly believe is out of reach (emulating much better resourced clubs [I think you may be interpreting ‘buying success’ more narrowly than me]) may prevent us from emulating Hastings-era Salford, Bullyball-era Hull and Powell-era Cas in having some temporary relative success. Since the end of the definitely-not-bottom-up Morgan era at Rovers, we’ve had no end of ‘building for the future’ and 5-year planning. On the pitch it has not gone well. RL folk are super-wedded to the idea that certain virtuous behaviours should lead to success and therefore the plan was sound and it must just have been the execution that was off.

I don’t think Saints and Wigan, for example, have some sort of magical formula or special DNA. Or if they do it is not the key differentiator. They now just have substantial inbuilt advantages that can’t be overcome simply by doing things ‘the right way’.

It’s a bleak truth but I think a club like Rovers could be more successful if it was acknowledged and accepted. Or everybody might despair and give up, that’s another possibility.

I mean fans of Aston Villa or Crystal Palace don’t wonder at what differentiates Manchester City or Chelsea, and wouldn’t be accused of having a chip on their shoulder for discussing it. Tbf, my ‘tiresome and entitled’ comment was uncalled for. I’m just fed up with it - happens periodically. It’s just maybe the periods are getting longer and the gaps shorter.

Gosh, I hope Willie Peters does have a magic formula… or beans or something.

Mate, you've right got monk on, have you dropped all your test tubes or something?
I'll cheer you up, I've had a ludicrously terrible year, get in touch chief.

Sorry to hear that mate. I’ll drop you a PM later on.

I know I’m being a bit melodramatic about the rugby. It’s just stuff like that being our 13th straight defeat against St Helens. They’ve also beaten Hull 14 times in a row. Minds me of the bit from 1984…

For St Helens, always, at every moment there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of the future of SL, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - for ever.

And that’s fine. It’s the holier than thou, ‘you’re prioritising the wrong things’ BS, from fans of clubs that don’t have to prioritise, that sticks in my craw a bit. Like we’re watching morality play rather than an uneven battle of resources.

As I say, bit melodramatic.

As long as nobody says ‘the salary cap is the same for everybody’, I’ll be fine.