Looking at the table after 9 rounds we are going to be 10th in the table on 5 points. Teams like Saints who are currently 1 point in front (with a game in hand) are going to extend that when playing us in a couple of weeks.

Leigh have Widnes next week so are going to extend their gap between us. Catalans will probably beat Wakey and have Cas this Sunday (We need a Castleford win desperately)...Cats also have a game in hand on us.

That leaves Wakey, Us, Widnes and Warrington in the bottom 4 and leaves us 2 points behind Catalans in 8th with a game played more than them so could be 4 points if they win their game in hand.

While ever the gap between us and 8th is 2-3 points we have a chance of making top 8 once the point difference gets to 4 points + we don't have a chance of making the 8 as our goal difference is so bad we would need to win an extra game.

I see us finishing the regular season with no more than 15 points in total. Were not really the team anymore that could go 3-5 games unbeaten and while the middle of the table is more open than it used to be you can't really see other teams losing 3 games on the bounce can you?

Table looks about right to me- we've only beaten teams from the bottom and have been beaten by those above us. Until we start showing any creativity at all when challenging the line rather than just passing it right to left, with and occasional short inside pass I can't see that changing.

Need a good run of no injuries to key players and we might escape the M8's.

Suppose we are waiting on star signing Mamo now to inspire us.RS said he might miss the first couple of rounds,that turned out to be highly optimistic.

We only have 3 players injured who will be in the starting 17 now. Other teams above us a much worse off than we are with injuries.

Regarding Mamo I just don't know what to believe....Stone said a couple of weeks last week then on the radio last night before the game he said he won't resume full training for another 2 weeks but is running now which makes it more like 3-4 weeks from now until he will play - half of the season already gone and we could already be that far from a top 8 spot it wont make a difference. What are we actually doing signing a player who will miss half of the season? That said he could end up to be our best ever signing.

I think if Mamo turns out to be a poor signing I can see Rick Stone taking the sack or resigning. I think if Wakeman doesn't improve and we end up in middle 8s struggling again and don't improve defensively I don't really see any other option.

Its going to take 2-3 years to get out of the bottom 4 for me unless a miracle happens.

Sam Rapira is the only player whos contract is up this season.

Hinchliffe , Murphy, Ferguson, Clough, Ormsby etc all have contracts up at the end of next season and atm should all be moving on for me if not sooner...but knowing the Giants they will all get new 3 year deals in the name of "player welfare"

Ill judge Shannon Wakeman after he has had a pre season and the same with Jake Mamo - regarding these 2 they should not really get a holiday back to Australlia at the end of this season they should both stay in England and make sure they are 100 fit for next season.

Move them on and replace them with who exactly?? isn't the main gripe with our squad is that we haven't improved the squad with players we've brought in?
So what makes you think we can do that this/next year when we have more or less the same finances we have this/last ?
Good players cost money, we don't have much and yet our fans still think it's as easy as 'letting people go and getting better in' if it was that easy don't you think we would have actually done that?

Fact is we can't afford higher calibre players, or they are choosing not to come to us, either way we need a squad and we can't just 'move them on'.

That's not true daz- we can afford exactly the same as everyone else-we are spending up to the cap which is the limit for all teams.. We don't have the money to spend on marketing, facilities, back room staff and our u19s but we aren't at a disadvantage in terms of spending on playing squad. The problem comes when we are paying average championship players silly money. And we are.

dont under estimate the effect the injuries have had on this team, not had a settled team at all

still what i am watching is woeful stuff

oh how we have fallen

That's what i'm saying, we are spending the same as everyone else but if we 'move those players on' we will still only have the money we we're paying them available anyway to replace them with = like for like probably.

daz wakey and cas can do it

With who? Wakey signed 3 players our fans couldn't wait to get rid of - how's that doing better than us recruitment wise???

daz look over the past couple of years for both clubs getting stronger and stronger where we have been going down hill faster than franze clamer and after last night cant see things getting any better any time soon

Wouldn't say Wakey have got stronger at all, who would you take from their squad?
also i think a lot of people have put Cas' recent upsurge down to having a great coach who gets the best out of his players not necessarily better players, they probably are now they've been coached better.

I'd take Grix and Wood back!
Maybe you're right about classy Cas... perhaps you're not.
I'm sure Castleford fans aren't complaining about their squad. I'm sure 100% of there fans think they are getting value for money for there season ticket too.
They will be challenging for trophies and we'll be fighting in middle 8's.

There's really no point in having a good set of players if they aren't being coached to play to there best ability. Maybe we'd win more games if we was let off our leash.

so can we then surmise that we don't have a great coach and he doesn't get the best out of players? Hmmmmm.....

I know you like rick stone, honest, yada yada, but can you honestly say that he has improved our problem areas?
Issues last year, fitness, poor game management, lack of creativity, poor defence
Issues this year, fitness (its improved yes but still not convinced as in the last 15 minutes we seem to have still struggled), poor game management- still pushing the pass, poor decisions on last play options etc, lack of creativity- still can't score when camped on the opposition line, poor defence still have a terrible record in defence- worst in league in fact although we've played one more game than some. .

So as I keep saying what exactly other than an average prop, an average second row and an injured player yet to play has Stone brought to the table. I honestly don't see anything much has changed.

rick stone saved us from relegation last season

far too early this season to be judging, we have 5 points more than we did last season so far so thats an improvement!

but i agree its not looking too promising

he has had massive injury problems though and unsettled team to deal with, some arent fit not after injuries like mcgillvary and ferguson (rusty)

Did he really? Because we didn't really improve very much last season to me- and a drop goal missed could have made things very different. I don't think he can take the credit for that as I don't think we would have been in a different scenario had he not joined us. He didn't prevent us from finishing bottom in the regular season or avoiding the MPG by the skin of our teeth.

yes really he did..we are playing sl this year!

now his next task is to get us into the top 8. not looking good but mitigating factors at the moment, currently 1 point away from the target

Well if you want to compare Rick Stone after 8 months to Daryl Powell's 5 year tenure fair enough then no not yet but did Powell make Cas into the flair attractive side they are now after 8 months? (they finished 12th and 13th in his 1st 2 years). Rick said straight away the mess at the club would take ages to sort out, 8 months is not a long time !!

Like i've always said we have to take a fall to enable us to rise again, whether Rick is the man to help us do that i don't know but if we don't give him the time he has said he needs how will we ever know ?

Castleford gave Powell 2 1/2 years before he finally started to get it right, you can't expect 1 bloke and 3 or 4 signings to change everything in such a short space of time, let's have a bit of patience and plenty of trust in Rick, the club obviously see him as a man for the future and are hopefully letting him get on with doing what he said he would.

I like Rick personally and as a supporter of the club i will be one of those that give him time, he hasn't been given an open cheque book to go out and buy us success, any improvement that comes will be through hard work from everyone.

This club is re-building, it takes time !!

Stone has inherited a squad so will take a while to bring in and change personnel where he sees fit.
Culture again will take time to change
He has to work out best combinations ect with a squad he didn't know much about before he came.
He has identified the issues we all passed comment on. He seems honest and genuine certainly refreshing from the usual scripted comments

This has to be a wind up.............you wouldn't take Johnstone for Murphy or brendan Ormsby???............or bjb for that matter.........Fifita for Rick wakeman or Clough???...........Ashurst for Ferguson????...........I'm pretty sure the majority of your fans would take wood back.........a few would even fancy grix and Huby back.........I think you seriously overrate a lot of your players............Jools reckoned last year was a mere blip.............I can't see it..............id take iftiwhatshisface and tai from your squad............maybe Mcgilvary could come as cover for our wingers...........the rest you can keep............including Danny boy who's now 2 years past sl level............

Awww trin, you've missed me so much on SLfans you've stalked, sorry come to find me, on here instead.

Yes jools............I've avoided the much easier route of joining you and your 3 mates on that borefest site......and joined here..........just to see you. ..........

Thought Powell took over mid-end of 2013?
2014 his first full year in charge he went to Wembley and was one match away from LLS?
Please correct me if I'm wrong.
I'm almost sure he got a five year deal in his first full year in charge

names not a strong point of yours

widnes were top of the league this time last season?