Re: Grand Final Saints v Salford : Tue Oct 08, 2019 6:02 pm
As long as we put the effort in I'll be happy.I think the best two clubs (playing wise) are contesting it. Saints deserved favourites and been strong all year. Salford only losing one game narrowly in the last eleven and peaking at the right end of the season.
I think if both teams play their best it will be very close. If either team has an off day they will almost certainly lose.
I know Salford are getting a lot of press this week, which will suit Saints I dare say, but you can't understate our story this season. Smallest squad. Smallest cap. Team of everyone else's cast-offs. Including Hastings, with a smattering of homegrown talent. On paper, Saints should walk it and they might. While a lot of other clubs like Saints, Wigan, Wire, and Leeds have expectation, Salford reaching the GF has massive financial repercussions for a club that struggles by searching for coins down the back of the sofa most of the time. Win or lose, the club will benefit massively from the financial aspect, and more importantly gain a little more respect from its peers.
While on the face of it it seems like we've massively over performed this season, but over the last few seasons, barring a poor year last year, in the last four seasons we've finished fourth, third, and would have finished in the play-offs in 2016 if it wasn't for the points deduction. The signs have been there that we are knocking on the door, it's just that our experience in play-off RL was limited and it showed the last time we were their. Watson has learnt from that and corrected it this season, that's the difference.
It may just be a one-off freak season for us, but I'd put money on us making the play-offs again next season now we've got a taste for it.