And if you like wrestling so much move to the US.

i understand the rules of RL. What we do is control the guy in possession. If you don't like the rules of the game...tough.

No i just don't like wrestling.

I don't suppose you would.

All that and 5 quality first teamers to come back aaswell.

Right, I might be scrapping the barrel of optimism here, but......

Last night we used chase/sherwin/owen/westerman/ferres and were not as good as without them in France. Noone would suggest these are not in our best 17. But does this really mean we have more depth than we expected and there is considerably more competition for places than we first thought.

If these players did not perform sufficiently there is little doubt in my mind they should be contenders to miss out in favour of those who are performing.

Brave decisions often follow successful teams around.

TM is a brave coach IMO

=#8000FFSome say brave some say clueless & inept

I don't. In every season from 2006 to 2009 we have seen considerable progression.

Exactly Tony. Still fans will have ago though. Given up on this season before it's started. Will fill the players with masses of confidence.

On the button.

Nice to see that you're right on the button with these comments. Not that you were trying to do any trolling, of course - quite the reverse. This was an honest post that was not intended to belittle the Cas side at all.

So, now you've had your little rant, it's interesting that you haven't come back and continued this honest assessment of the qualities of the Tigers' side since Friday night. I wonder why that could be.....

It's lovely to see these posts merely a fortnight later.

What a brilliant result on friday, Steve Snitch was my man of match, roll on next week !!

=#8000FFI still think he's a crap coach, beating Leeds doesn't change that one bit.

7th in SL last season doesn't mean anything then?

=#8040FFNo because that starting 17 was good enough to finish 5th and the defence was shocking most of the season.

That being the case, how much attention was paid to that by any of the tipsters who had us down for a below play-off finish before the season started? And indeed, as Shifty and Raz were out injured for a major part of the season, the starting 17 didn't play much either.

TBH, Bradford and Warrington had much stronger squads than we did, so did Leeds, Saints, Huddersfield, and Hull. Where a finish of 5th comes from, I really don't know, but from squad strength I really can't see it.

Give your head a shake, that squad performed well above expectations to get in the play-offs and you are saying we should have finished 5th? I am utterly incredulous, just face the facts, you don't like the man instead of coming up with BS statements like this.

So where were you predicting us to finish at the start of the 09 season?

=#8000FFAt the start of last year I predicted Cas 5th. This year I'd expect at the very least 7th, but if the defence is as good as the Leeds game most weeks 4th isn't out of reach.

It is. It reeeally is.
We'll see

If you lot finish 4th then Matterson should be given a limo for day to day duties

I struggle to believe anyone, even the most rosed-tinted Cas fan, would predict the team that finished bottom to come 5th the next year...

Anyway, there isn't a single coach in the world that would have got last year's squad to 5th position - imo anyway.

^ I agree. When your scrum half and hooker are out for most of the season it's going to be an uphill struggle. We did well to finish 7th. I'd be delighted with 8th this year too.

=#8000FFBut they weren't injured when I made the prediction

I knew Chase would be one of the best players in the league after seeing him play in the NRL while some fans were complaining he wouldn't be as good as Dorn

. The weakest part of the team last year is the same this year - depth, if the squad can stay fit then they should improve on last years 7th.

I do think we can improve. I certainly don't think the squad is weaker, and the young team playing together again means they'll grow together without needing time to gel.

The problem, like you say, is depth. But I don't think that is TM's fault, and I believe that he is getting the best out of what he has. And to say he's taken over an NL1 team and turned us into a playoff side in four years without the financial backing that someone like Justin Morgan has had speaks volumes about his ability.