Interesting comment from Chester after the game. "If we keep signing the same players we will get the same results"

They may/may not have been fitter but didn't win any under Smith.

It's not stopped widnes the last few games

But we started losing momentum well before the 8's started.
How many games did we throw away, to ensure we finished comfortably in the top 8?
It's the conditioning that's fallen away.
You don't go from playing the rugby that they were playing when CC first arrived, to not being able to string two passes together.
You put the same Wigan side out that we beat 62-0 now, against the same Wakey side now and the score would be a lot different.

I have in the past swapped shifts lost money to go watch them play but to go watch games with no meaning I cant afford to sorry.

I agree, good post, I think the score lines are suggesting we are in a lot poorer position than we actually are,
1. As stated the Super 8,s will never be fully supported unless at that stage all points are scrapped and all 8 teams have a genuine chance of the top 4
2. We may have been a victim of our own success, our squad was a vast improvement pushing us from bottom to the Super 8,s , but no to take us to the next level, I would say we are still 4-5 players away from competing for top 4.
3. Let's face facts we have been savaged by injuries of late , and even with players returning, Super 8's arnt as forgiving,
Let's just take stock of the whole season, we have made a good foundation of moving the club forward, Improving fitness coach, good signings, removing dead wood, next season will be the proof of did we take advantage of this seasons over achievement and show consistency of another Super 8's finish and good cup run or was it a case of good while it lasted and we slump back into the basement.
One thing is for sure teams will be back stronger, no one will rest on past achievements, it's always a case of requiring continued investment without that past dreams will fade,, can we get the investment to take use to the next step?? Maybe not there lies the problem, we loose best young talent to meet the lack of investment, it's a viscous circle, and I take my hat off to MC how he's got the club where it is at this moment in time,, after Smith popping smoke after 5 games, just a bit of food for thought for some of the more negative posts.

100% agree

Dont really buy into this tag of meaningless games.

Granted we were never going to make the top 4.

What we should have bought into is the financial rewards for finishing higher. Were not a cash rich club but an extra 25k or whatever could be used to pay bills durlring the winter when revenue is lower or it could be put to use towards improving tge squad for 2017

It's hard to take these losses which are coming our way since the Magic Weekend, especially as we know that this group of players has the potential to do so much better.

A derby game should be something special which the lads should always be up for, sadly, it seems like they don't bother in the first half then leave themselves too much to do to bring it back in the second.

I'm sure everyone is over the moon that we're in the top 8 and made the CC semi final, but we'd also like the season to end on a bang instead of a fizzle. Some big changes to condition and players attitude are needed for us to be able to replicate the success of this season.

CC comments last night and in his pre match interview suggest that there will be quite a few changes in the pack next year.

I wonder if that is playing on some players minds?

If it is then so be it. You'd they may step up but we're not seeing a response. Granted we are playing busted but I'm expecting a lot of squad movement this summer, put faith in CC & MC to build on this years successes.

Bearing in mind that during the course of this season we have extended deals. I would be very surprised if there were a lot of changes. We would have to agree player compromise deals which if there were a lot would be very costly to the club.

Replacements for the outgoing players, a top quality 7 and a proper out and out centre.

With Walton going we have lost a 100% tackle machine. With that in mind would look to retain Howarth.

According to CC in the post-match press conference, Scott Moore dislocated his shoulder and is out for the remainder of the season and likely some of pre-season too, so Sio will have to step up, but he made no mention of Howarth.
TBH I had forgotten about him as he hasn't played for us for so long, can we recall him from Bradford, or is he there for the remainder of the season ??

Loan till end of season. But nothing permanent. Though dont think we can recall him.

Moules went well for us when he played. Is it worth giving him a run for the last 3 games leaving Sio in the back row?

If you zero the points after the first 23 rounds, there becomes little point in playing them.
Just because clubs like Trinity cant get close enough to the top 4, doesnt mean that everyone should start on zero.
Imagine if we had finished in 4th or 5th (I know it seems unlikely) and we then started on zero in the Super 8's, we would be up in arms.

The point is to try and compete with the top of the league and whilst we have almost been consigned to 8'th spot since the start of the Super 8's, you have to remember how the table looked a few weeks ago.

Catalan 26 points
Castleford 21 points
Widnes 20 points
Trinity 20 points

And the table today

Catalan 28 points
Cas 27 points
Widnes 24 points
Trinity 20 points

The system is not at fault if the top of the table has pulled away from the other clubs.
We have simply struggled to perform when hit with an injury crisis and loss of form.

You could argue that the bottom 4 of the Super 8's are all in exactly the position that they finished in the regular season and if this is the case, Chester is absolutely right to protect his injured players and blood the youngsters but, similar to last season (when Webster said that we had nothing to play for until the last part of the season, the message that has been transmitted to the fans has been extremely negative and with all the uncertainty over where we will be playing next season, something positive needs to happen to inspire the fans to part with their hard earned cash to attend the remaining games and perhaps, more importantly, put their hands in their pockets and buy a season ticket.
It's critical that we dont drop supporter numbers below where they have been this season and it's going to be a hard sell when S/T's go on sale in the near future.

It's worth noting that, of all the clubs in the Super 8's, only Trinity have failed to register a win yet.