The problem is that the Baltimore Ravens seem to suffer with terrible injury problems every year and invariably choke at the business end of the season. Perhaps there's a link between that and how hard they go in pre season?

I thought he was a young Richard Swain given the clamour for him to play!
(I'm only having a joke before anyone flies off the handle)

Signing players gets harder the lower down the league you are and we all know the hours drive from anywhere to Hull puts some domestic players off.

Even with a growing NRL to SL pay gap some decent overseas players may fancy a trophy win at Wigan or Saints or a spell in the sun at Catalan, but here?? Nah

Leigh did it. Catalan have been to more grand finals than us despite only being in SL since 2006

It was a friendly against the best team in SL but to concede 40 points at home and not score doesn't augur well.

All I want from this season is a steady improvement. In truth with the squad we have assembled I cannot see us finishing in the top 6. We have to be realistic. If we are at least competing for a play off place come the final rounds it will be progress.

For me the most important measure of progress is how many of our young home grown players get a chance to prove they are capable at excelling at this level. That's the only way we will be competing against the top teams in the next few seasons.

Catalans have a bit of leg up when it comes to signing overseas players you must admit.
Leigh have done it, yes, but you have to wonder how sustainable that is going to be for them.
We've managed a couple of periods of being quite good but it's never lasted more than 2 or 3 years at a time and I suspect Leigh will follow a similar pattern tbh.

That is what makes me rue the opportunities we had to make the GF , with players of the calibre of Ellis, Sneyd, Mini, Tag, Watts, Manu, Fanoa, Talanoa and Kelly, they could have been the years that marked us out as a truly top team, whereupon recruitment and investment would have been easier, than that of our current situation. I agree that quality youth production is now the way we will compete again, unless I win the Euromillions, so we will all have to show patience, loyalty and a huge case of celebrating the modest highs that will happen until we are back in the mix. A win against Rovers would help some way in that, I know they aren't our benchmark but who'll remember yesterday, if that happens?

2016 feels like a huge missed opportunity. Plus that year Cas made the GF then had the Hardaker fiasco, we just got pipped by Leeds in the play-off. If we'd scraped through instead I'm convinced we'd have won the GF.

I’ll happily forget yesterday GB.

Yeah the post Wembley fall off was a a wasted chance of a Grand Final win. Had we beaten Warrington in the last round of the Super 8s instead of it being 1 Warrington 2 Wigan 3 Hull we would have finished top on points difference over Wigan and had a home play off for Old Trafford.