Re: First game vs Bradford : Thu Dec 07, 2023 9:22 am  

Highlander wrote:

I don’t think you quite get the advantage staying full time gets you. The last 5 competitive years in the Championship, the full time team finishes 1st. 100%. If there are two full time teams, they finish 1st and 2nd. 100%. Playoffs are a different matter (see last season…) but basically you’re in a head to head with Toulouse over 1st & 2nd place. All the part time teams will take points off each other fighting for third.

Quite right, as they say “it’s not how you start it’s how you finish”, after watching trinity for 70 years I never take them for granted, I’m optimistic we’ll be a top 5 club in the championship, but even then promotion doesn’t happen on the field, the battle for promotion points takes place off field.

Re: First game vs Bradford : Thu Dec 07, 2023 9:29 am  

Highlander wrote:

I don’t think you quite get the advantage staying full time gets you. The last 5 competitive years in the Championship, the full time team finishes 1st. 100%. If there are two full time teams, they finish 1st and 2nd. 100%. Playoffs are a different matter (see last season…) but basically you’re in a head to head with Toulouse over 1st & 2nd place. All the part time teams will take points off each other fighting for third.

I do. But I think we have a further advantage, or at least we do if our new owner is as good as his word. We have the ability to strengthen the team in the last third of the season, the business end as they say, and it's a lot easier to get quality players to join a full time squad than a part time one.

If we fail it's our own fault, all the balls are in our court.

Re: First game vs Bradford : Thu Dec 07, 2023 11:06 am  

vastman wrote:

I do. But I think we have a further advantage, or at least we do if our new owner is as good as his word. We have the ability to strengthen the team in the last third of the season, the business end as they say, and it's a lot easier to get quality players to join a full time squad than a part time one.

If we fail it's our own fault, all the balls are in our court.

That’s the Leigh way. They started the season with a top quality Championship side and finished the season with a mid table SL quality side. And a lot of spare players that they loaned out

Re: First game vs Bradford : Thu Dec 07, 2023 11:24 am  

Dunkirk Spirit wrote:

Quite right, as they say “it’s not how you start it’s how you finish”, after watching trinity for 70 years I never take them for granted, I’m optimistic we’ll be a top 5 club in the championship, but even then promotion doesn’t happen on the field, the battle for promotion points takes place off field.

Quite right. You can put a list a mile long of why we could win any game/cup/league BUT the single item in the negative list is that this is Wakefield we are talking about, the modern day perennial big stage bottlers.
The preparation and continued improvement of the off field fabric of the club will be our salvation.

Re: First game vs Bradford : Thu Dec 07, 2023 11:50 am  

Dunkirk Spirit wrote:

Quite right, as they say “it’s not how you start it’s how you finish”, after watching trinity for 70 years I never take them for granted, I’m optimistic we’ll be a top 5 club in the championship, but even then promotion doesn’t happen on the field, the battle for promotion points takes place off field.

I'd narrow that to top three, I'd be a bit disappointed at lower than that. Not in terms of play offs placings or IMG, but for the general momentum at the club, and the feel good factor. Without that, I don't think SL via the IMG route alone will be enough to get people to buy into the SL dream as much as we'd like, or at least not at the start. Basically it would suit the doomoungers, who will say that we are not there by right, and we could do without that.

Finishing top and winning the play offs may not be vital to us getting a SL place. But for the players, the club and especially the fans ,it would be the far superior outcome.

[PopTart]

Re: First game vs Bradford : Thu Dec 07, 2023 6:32 pm  

Dunkirk Spirit wrote:

Quite right, as they say “it’s not how you start it’s how you finish”, after watching trinity for 70 years I never take them for granted, I’m optimistic we’ll be a top 5 club in the championship, but even then promotion doesn’t happen on the field, the battle for promotion points takes place off field.

You are right, the battle for promotion is off the field mostly, but the points for the Grand Final win are pretty important. We could really do with those.

And would help with the promotion of the team in terms of support the year after too.