This cost us #1 spot, the LLS and a a home game playoff to make the grand final - then we went and lost the CC Final anyway. I hope we have learnt the lessons and focus on the league points this year. I could not care less about the Challenge Cup.

Realistically we need to finish #1 or #2 to have a real chance at the big prize. This is why I am worried about the usual wire slump when we come back from Vegas.

It is a worry that we play the newly promoted side the week after Vegas, they'll probably be rubbing their hands together at the idea of claiming a scalp. Like you I don't give a stuff about the Cup anymore, even if I enjoyed my day out to Whitehaven, Wembley is very much a "been there, done that" experience now and I haven't enjoyed it as much the last few times (regardless of results!). What concerns me this year is how we will grow, with very little progression from last year as far as the squad goes, it has to be a mentality and coaching improvement. Sadly I don't see us reaching OT. God I hope I'm very wrong.

This is absolutely not down to the RFL. I’m a huge critic of the RFL on all sorts of things. But this is a fuck-up entirely made in Salford.

They hid their financial problems last season to ensure that they wouldn’t be replaced with the img rankings. Then, when there was no way of replacing them, they effectively held a gun to the RFL’s head by demanding a £500k advance immediately or they’d fold and leave us a team short in 2025. When the RFL granted that, it was with conditions. The main one was that, as Salford’s income was way below the salary cap, they could only spend up to that income. The idea was to prevent them folding halfway through the season, and force them to offload some players to reduce the wage bill.

Salford then played a game of chicken where they refused to sell players, because they believed they had a takeover coming which would provide them with a sugar daddy to meet the wages shortfall.

Then last week, they announced the takeover had gone through, but the RFL, having been burned by their dodgy finances just weeks ago, demanded to see the proof, rather than just take Salford’s word for it, and until that proof was provided, the restriction stayed in place.

This is where Salford really jumped the shark into immature petulant amateurism. The £1.2m limit which the RFL had imposed was still enough to allow Salford to field a competitive team. They actually played a competitive team just last week in the Cup. They absolutely could have played the same side this week. But they *chose* not to. The RFL did not force them to play this side. Salford chose to. They could have had a much stronger side out there, but they chose not to. This seems to be entirely because they were trying to once again blackmail the RFL into dropping the restriction with the threat of this embarrassing TV spectacle.

So let’s not allow these pathetic shysters to offload responsibility for this shambles to the RFL. Their financial problems are their own fault. The restrictions are their own fault. The failure to clear those restrictions before the match was their own fault, and their team selection was an unnecessary act of petulance demonstrating utter contempt for Saints and for the game.

Not a serious club. They want to act like ridiculous amateurs, they should play in an amateur division. Boot them out.

A poster on Redvee, he has got that spot on for me.

Rfl have to take responsibility for allowing this shambles to roll on and affect the league.

The whole league is distorted now for the season with this blow out score.

Also a PR disaster on TV.

No wonder the clubs want the RFL chairman out.

Surprised you got the f word past the censor.

Not my post I just copy pasted it from Redvee. They swear a lot on there.

It will all balance out when us and Wigan put 60 each on them

I know, sorry, wasn't accusing you of it, just surprised it got through.

I’d do the same as Rowley to a degree.
In essence Paul Cullen did a similar watered down version in the season he got Wire into the top 6.

Pick your games, play your strongest team in winnable away games and the majority of your home games…

Rest your best players against teams you know that you’ll not win.
In Rowleys case, rest as many as you can.

No use risking the stars, when their is a survival risk.

They’ll not be a hangover, especially if we beat Wigan.
They’re may be some gloom should we get beaten though.
Even so…
The fight home and the day after off, will be recovery.
The period in Vegas will not be all play and both teams a resourced the best training facilities.

Wire have the ability to beat Wakefield anytime of the season, what is required is getting the preparation right.