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I have heard from a reliable source that O Loughlin is fit to return and will be playing on Thursday!

Whoopedy Doo!

Ive heard Luke Davico is also going to make his comeback. Sauce HP.

He really needs a game before the playoffs.

For 10 minutes, or a bit longer?

Sorry to sound cynical, but we need to get used to the idea that there is life without Lockers ... we're transitioning into that right now, whether we realise it or not.

We have played without Lockers and still won are learning to adapt.

I think the team and coaching staff have already made the leap. It's some fans who haven't.

Very true, but as brilliant the young trio have been, winning at Old Trafford will probably be a bridge too far for us if we don't have at least one or two of the senior players fit and firing.

Agree with the wider point though, we're coping without him in a way that a few years ago we simply looked incapable of doing.

Cynical or not it’s a harsh reality some have to face. Personally I’d like to see Smithies being given the #13 shirt in 2020 with Lockers slowly but surely being phased out, similar to how Warrington have phased out Ben Westwood.

We are building for the future with this group of players and those inbound for 2020 and beyond. I hate to say it but Lockers just isn’t part of that playing future. His future lies in the back room coaching staff.

I mentioned this at the game on Friday. Up until this season, whenever Lockers was out injured, or just off the pitch during a game, we struggled. Struggled badly, in fact and I used to think here we go again, the Andy Farrell syndrome, once he retires we’ll struggle for a few years until we find a suitable leader. The fact that Lockers was out seemed to transfer a sort of doubt to the other players.

It’s great to see now, though, that this is no longer the case. The younger lads like Williams, Powell and Gildart have matured and I think Liam Farrell, whilst not very vocal, leads by example. In Zak, we also have a recognised star in the ranks, he is playing well and has made that transition to being one of the lads. In short, there are plenty of other ‘mini leaders’ on the park.

Lockers is still the main man. I think he will ‘go again’ next season, playing fewer games but remaining the king pin of the team before, hopefully, becoming an integral part of the coaching set up.