I have been critical of Poching this year. I am of the strong view that some people are just meant to be assistants, and mid-season that fitted Willie, with some dreadful performances and weird selections and strange comments before vital games (eg, performance counting more against Toulouse). However, he has done something Chester was unable to do, and that is lift us out of the rut.

When Chester was in charge, once we hit a bad run, we never got out of it. I remember when we had a similar season to this in 2019, we couldn't buy a win and performances didn't massively improve. This year, however, Willie seems to have addressed whatever shortcomings there were, brought on some good young players, and got us playing well and with confidence.

The job isn't done just yet, need either one more win or one more Toulouse loss, but he has overseen a remarkable turnaround at the right end of the season.

So, I'm up to my gills in humble pie. Excellent stuff. Well done to all.

Not to mention beat Cas ..

Jesus wept! Is that the limit of our ambition.
Probably when you let players like Bachelor slip from our grasp

I think some of the recent wins have papered over the cracks. We won 9 from 24 last season, this year we're 8 from the same amount of games so in theory we've got worse. I think the jury's still out and whether he stays beyond next term will depend on his recruitment this winter. And it's been hit and miss so far.

Strange take. The 9 last year included 5/7 under Poching's coaching.

A Coach who as gambled on youth and it as worked big time .

So Willie is on 13 from 31 in Super League
42%

The last coach with a better record was David Topliss!

Im seeing a coach thrown in a v difficult situation who has his team wanting to play for him and showing grit, determination and desire ! Im also seeing teams like Hull , Warrington with more money than we've ever seen playing rubbish and their coaches and Ceo looking distraught and not a clue what to do ......

Who said anything about ambition? but it was bloody marvelous to finally get that hoodoo of our backs.
Regarding Bachelor - he has stated he wants a fresh challenge, you can't make a player stay. Jeez.

By all accounts he’s not the shouty waving arms in the air kind of coach giving players the Ferguson treatment, and I for one am very happy he looks to be turning things around and looking forward to him stamping more of his authority on his team ,especially with new players coming into the mix in the coming weeks/months .He may not be the messiah we all hope for to turn our club into a cup challenging team on a regular basis ,but for that I’m afraid bigger finances go cap in hand .imo If we can get mid table respectability on a regular basis ,which hopefully will help build our fan base along with the new development,I’d say that’s about as much as we can hope for at this present time in the club’s history.As previously said we’ve nearly all to a man said how the team wants a good pruning and freshness bringing back in, but then when that process begins in earnest the condemnations and finger pointing starts in earnest .Those who seek their opportunities elsewhere go with my blessings and hopefully go on to fulfil their ambitions ,this for me gives someone else a chance to step up to the plate and showcase their skills ,and by doing so we just might uncover another gem that thrives in a first team environment,and I’m sure Applegarth will have a few names already shortlisted that he’s confident can do just that .

You don't need to eat humble pie , you were spot on.

There is no right or wrong with this, so put you fork away.

Poching's team up until the Saints game was shocking. Even the Warrington results were nothing special considering what has transpired at the Wire since.

His signings were mixed.

His team selections baffling at times.

Tactics, seemingly non existent at times.

Sure we look great at the moment but it's all a bit late end even now may be ultimately too late, though I doubt it.

Trinity is always a roller coaster, but this year more than most and Poching has played a huge part in that. We can't just forget all that just because we've hit a purple patch.

All teams and this their coaches are ultimately judged on consistency and despite recent efforts it's far too early to say we've attained that.

I'm not being churlish, I'm truly delighted with the way we are now playing, especially the defence, some of the best I've seen. Nor do I subscribe to the idea that we are papering over the cracks, it's a bit better than that. However you go by what you see over a whole season and this season to me has been mostly disappointing, not least because it's obvious we can play but flatly refused to on far too many occasions.

Truth is we the fans have been short changed. We should actually be challenging for top six but we are not and the fault for that lays with the Coach and his players. For me only the degree of who's to blame is up for debate.

If we do this next year we will again be at a huge risk of relegation and we just can't keep riding our luck. Added to that we will also reach a critical point where the fans base shrinks beyond what is viable to keep us in SL (remembering we have no sugar daddy).

Overall I think if you want to view this season positively then you are in your rights to do so, the discovery of Murphy and Hall alone makes for that.

However if you want to view it as a disaster with a lucky last minute reprieve that is just stalling the inevitable, that for me is equally valid. It's been that kind of a year and it's one that will not gain a consensus amongst fans.

For the record, I'm still not convinced by WP. He's either a genius or very fortunate, it's too soon to tell for me.

I think the most successful coaches have a liberal sprinkling of both genius and good fortune

Team development takes time.

We've had 3-4 disasters. With Cas, Leeds and Salford coming to mind.
But we've had a lot of near misses too.
Small margins to take us from our position now to fringe playoff.
Chester couldn't do it and just ran out of options with his team. There may be others who can but who knows. Even the lauded Powell couldnt turn around a team on the slide without spending money. Poching has shown enough to me that he can do it. It's not an overnight thing and we'll probably have bad days ahead too but I think there are enough signs to know we can do it.

Wow, It doesnt feel like 13/31, although we did finish last season quite well.
Assuming that the wheels dont come off in spectacular style and with Toulouse' best player now out for the season, I really cant see them willing their last 3 games, it's now all about recruitment and what type of budget Willie has for next season.
We have the makings of a decent side but, with a number of players on their way, can we replace with equal or better.
Miller has been playing the house down recently and on current form he will be difficult to replace and Fifita would also be hard to replace.
It seems he will be in the UK next year but, will he still be at Trinity, there were rumours that he may be on his way to, of all places, Leeds

Vasty that's a particularly long bla bla, hopefully diverting people's interest from your own Poaching thread.
It didn't work

Pop Tart got to agree think he as done a good job considering most of sallery cap had been spent for this year .Willing to give youth a chance ,

It's his first full season in charge FFS!

Every man and his dog pre season (outside of Trinity) had us finishing 11th or 12th so those claiming we should be top 6 must be seeing something everyone else in the game isn't!

When people make predictions pre season they are basing those predictions on full squads that are put together...when you consider we've missed nearly our first choice three quarter line for at least half the season we're about where we should be IMO.

Two so called better, established coaches in Ian Watson (Hudds last season) and Daryl Powell this season haven't done much better.

He's made plenty of mistakes, that's not in dispute but too many fans are quick to jump on people without giving them chance...on the whole I think he's done really well as the season has gone on...for the mistakes he's made he's also done some real big things that have worked out.

Taking everything into account I'd rate his first season in charge 7/10...

Overall there are a few negatives to point at poching but far more positives. Lets be fair he was handed over a right crock of left behind by Chester. He was left with some poor signings to suck as well. Not only that he has to work within the limits of a strict budget. Obviously he wanted to retain Batch and Miller otherwise they would not have been offered contracts. Now he has to find replacements at least as good with the money those two turned down. Plenty of other players to recruit as well. So the guy will probably not get the team he would like and have to make do with less. It would be nice to win a few more next season and finish higher up the league. However ,if he manages to keep us up again within all the constraints he has, we cant realistically ask for more.

Why not debate like an adult or is that beyond you?

I’ve made my opinion clear but I’m open mind enough to accept those of others. Try it, it’s quite liberating.

Vasty you give your opinion and that's it when have you ever been up for a debate. Your dictatorial manner would not invite debate.
Its also interesting how you constantly belittle other contributers..
Open minded you are not

You started that lampy. Leave it alone please.
Either debate the point or leave it alone.

I wasn't a fan of promoting Poaching, simply because of the environment he was involved in.
He did a good job at the back end of last season not sure if that was his coaching ability or because of a new face.
This season because of the Chesters recruitment he's struggled to put his own stamp on things and probably found the going difficult.
Next season will be his opportunity to hopefully mould the club his way providing he can obtain full backing, if not it will be more of the same.

Unfortunately Willie might still be having to deal with some of Chesters signings next year, unless somebody comes to take them off us.

It's unfortunate that Wakey Trin, not an ideal situation.

Not all Chesters signings are rubbish.
But there are a couple that would be good to move on.

But for me, Willie's biggest opportunity is to replace Tom and Bill. Not their positions particularly but their senior place in the team.
Unfortunately he needs to know where he stands with Fifita and Miller first.