As some, including Jamie Peacock, predicted pre-season, it looks like squad depth could be our saving grace this year. When you look our long-term injuries, retirees, loans out and departures, and then factor in the players missing any particular game through suspension or ‘minor’ injuries, that we can still put out a decent, mostly experienced 17 is remarkable. I think we’ve probably had it worse this year than 2016. To think that our season-starting back line of Quinlan, Shaw, Minns, Heffernan and J. Carney are all now unavailable, it shows what a job Sheens has had on, and the value of being able and willing to recruit during the season when a team is in our position.

If we stay up, it’ll be interesting to see how the squad is reshaped for 2019. This approach probably means we wouldn’t have enough quality for a top half finish but it does limit the risk of the season falling apart spectacularly.

Well said MR agree with you

Our nearest and dearest took a different approach. Finished in top eight but now falling apart.

Yeah, I mean i’d still swap our gut-churning run-in for their desultory trudge to season’s end. However, while they have been unlucky too, I think their mistake this year vaguely resemble’s ours in 2016 when we overestimated how much relatively unproven youngsters could kick on and contribute. In some ways you could look at Leeds too - capable of winning the GF if their squad isn’t too stretched, but badly exposed in two seasons either side of that.

With it only being one straight down from next year, I think some of the clubs who target silverware every year might be tempted gamble on slimmer squads for 2019, in the belief that even if it goes badly, it probably won’t go that badly. On the other hand, if a proper reserves league is in the offing for 2020, clubs need to think about starting to add depth ahead of that, I reckon.