Just to point out, weve been a mess for 3/4 years but theres still only Saints ahead of us in terms of trophied and finals, us and Wigan come second to them.

That’s not me glossing over anything just pointing out that we do have a solid base to build on

I agree the base is there. the questions are will the new signings raise the standard and isrhe coach good enough. I guess as much as we chat only time will tell

Yep, and even though I think RS is the right man for the job (and others disagree) I think its too early to tell either way, and even though I'll be gutted to, I'll admit I was wrong with regards to Smith if by this pint next year we haven't made decent progress.

I hope he is. I really do. I just don't think he is. we'll see

I like Smith. As others have said we don’t really know if he’s the answer or not yet, but it would be nice if sometime soon, we’re at a place where there’s no longer any excuses that can be made. In short if we’ve had a proper crack at sorting our halves and some of the top end salary cap hangover from Agar out.

I like Smith but I'm still not 100% sure hes the right man to lead us forward, but I think he needs to be given a chance, as he has shown last season that he can motivate a team to success and hes shown glimpses this year that he can get the team playing great rugby.

He just needs to get the team playing consistently well, with another clear out at the end of this season and his mark stamped on the squad i think we will be in a better place to judge him.

Agree on all points.

I wouldn't say hunger, but I would deffo say cutting edge.

Work smarter not harder is the mantra but we really have taken some huge wrong turns and made things far, far harder than they needed to be.

I like Smith and hope he's given time to learn from the disappointments of this season (so far). The inconsistent form is an issue. The coach is only part of the equation though. A missing element since the McDermott era is youth development. There are signs this is improving (especially in the forwards) but Newman aside I'm nervous about the lack of obviously good quality outside backs and halves coming through.

Smith frequently alludes to the policing of the ruck and the flow of the game. I could be well off the mark with this, but it seems that we struggle most against teams using cynical tactics to slow down the ruck when we are in possession, but Smith doesn't want us to resort to the same tactics. It is noticeable how much referees are letting teams get away with laying on in the tackle this season. Clearing up the ruck would make a big difference, but at the same time I wonder whether Smith just needs to adapt better to the way the game is being refereed over here.

My issue with the ruck point, is that he’s just not learning to adapt. The definition of insanity etc. etc.