ah, the bastian of fact that is the Guardian, only bettered by The Sun, Star and The Huffington Post.

no way will SL drop to 10 teams, Sky wouldn't have enough games for a start, and a lot of players wouldn't get a job if it filtertered down the leagues.

After reflecting on last night in all honesty I think what I saw last night was probably to be expected. We played high intensity Derby with 12 men for 71 minutes then a very tough contest against a good Wakey. Sts had a fairly tough game against Wigan but a fairly comfortable game against Widnes.
We looked very much like a team that were playing 3 games in 8 days.
My main criticism with our team is our poor attacking play and options. When we're close to the opposition line we just look static and very predictable. This is an area we have been lacking for years and we need to address it.
We still lack any real angled/dummy runners, support play and pass back far too deep so make very little ground at times as the ball has gone back so far.
When we get quick ptb we look totally a different team but teams have realised that and now slow us down to stop that threat. So we need to work on our attacking play.
Loosing Watts may well prove to be good for us long term but presently it's hurting us.
Still not all doom n gloom as think we will still be there or there abouts but we can not let the gap of 2nd/3rd get much bigger.

So many drama queens on here! For the last week most people have been saying the Saints game is a “free hit” but now we’ve lost it some of those are saying we’re heading for the middle 8’s - we’re not! At the end of the day we’ve lost our away games to the top 4 and a slip up to Salford. The next 5 will really tell us where we’re at when we start playing them at home. Do I think we’re as good as last year? No. Do I think we can make top 4 still? Yes.

Very disturbing mixed metaphors there. Are you OK?
The reality of course is that, like it or not, Radford is our most successful coach in a generation and is giving loads of game time to develop younger players (as you've been requesting him to, a lot). We could well be in the Middle 8s, and it's arrogant and disrespectful to state it's a given that we make the top 8 IMO at this point.

Which numpty said Hull are middle 8s bound? While they will struggle to acquire a top 4 slot, they certainly won't be kicking their heels with the deadmen like KR etc come the back end of this season.

Think he meant , we will be that far off the top four come the split, season will be over . Which is the biggest problem with the current format

OK, I'll explain it to you as you're too stupid to work it out.

At the split we'll either be in the top 8 or the middle 8. If we're in the middle 8 then we could get RELEGATED so how the hell would the season be over? We would have a massive prize (Superleague 2019) to play for.

However, if we're in the top 8 but way off the top 4 then we're treading water and the season is effectively over from the perspective of us winning anything. This is what I meant and everyone but you understands.

As for the cup, I guess if we get weaker teams at home we're in with a chance but any top side, particularly away from home is looking like a step too far

The cap is live so anyone who played before watts left was within the cap. Who has debuted since? Maybe lane who will be on peanuts anyway

... even Lane played the week before Watts left the club.

The stats tell the story of last night.

saints made 1601 metres from 222 carries while we made 1177 from 200. They completely dominated our forwards and made the most of the quick PTB it allowed. With hadley, mini, manu and watts missing from the pack we started the season with it's no real surprise.

Add in 56 missed tackles and 14 errors and the score probably flattered us. We could definitely do with another forward if there is an opportunity to bring a back rower in. I think lane and washy both played the full 80 last night due to the injuries