Re: Wigan v Sts discussion - THIS THREAD ONLY PLEASE : Sun Sep 29, 2024 12:12 pm  

MattyB wrote:

I agree, looking at that team sheet it was a strong one. Maybe they need to realise they aren't that great anymore, majority of their senior players are the wrong side of thirty and not getting any younger. Also I'm not sure any of their announced signings will change any of that.

Big few years for Saints management, will they come strong again quickly (history says they normally do) or will they go the other way like Leeds are doing with a decade in the wilderness. Both teams have a strong youth system in place (Saints arguably better than Leeds lately) and getting this right is paramount.

I think their backline is much improved going into 2025.

Forwards are very much in transition though and I’m not sure that issue can be resolved in one offseason.

Re: Wigan v Sts discussion - THIS THREAD ONLY PLEASE : Sun Sep 29, 2024 2:08 pm  

Phuzzy wrote:

It's funny how people see things differently. Last night showed exactly why I've been saying all season that they weren't our main threat. Even with the majority of their players back and putting in the best performance of their season they still weren't good enough against the team that finished 3rd. Kudos to Saints for managing to put in a season's best performance when it mattered most but when that performance is yet another loss I think it says everything about where they currently are.

Saints were never our main threat in 2024 as they weren't in 2023. This "never write off the Saints" needs binning alongside "The Entertainers" tag. Neither are correct any more.

They'll be back. I have no doubt about that whatsoever. Whether that will be next season or not remains to be seen but there was never any doubt in my mind that it wasn't going to be this year and that proved to be spot on.

But the way some people spoke going in to the play offs was as though they were going to be easy beats. It took a huge effort from Warrington to squeeze past them, in golden point. They're not the side they were, we all acknowledge that but they were always going to be extremely hard to beat in any play off tie. They've got to rebuild but I can't help respect them for being able to be extremely competitive, make play offs etc even at their worst. I'm happy to enjoy our success, while giving them that respect,which is world's away from what some of their fans could bring themselves to do during the 4 on the spin.