Smiffy27: I think it was one of the most disappointing game that we've been in for years. At the start of a season when there tends to be optimism we have been blown away. At one point I thought they might get over 60 points. The shadow of Wigan will hang over us. If we want silverware we will need to beat them and I'm afraid that looks unlikely.
Agreed. What worries me the most is not just the game in isolation, but the damage it could do to us psychologically in the longer term. On the evidence I have seen so far this season, we not only appear to be a long way behind Wigan, but also inferior to Hull KR, Saints and Leigh. I would currently put us in the bracket of teams that will finish somewhere between fifth and ninth. Of course, it's still early days and we have scope to improve greatly over the coming months. In my heart, though, I feel it's unlikely that we will be serious challengers this season, and we are going to need some impressive recruitment for 2026 and beyond. Wigan are hugely impressive and are going to set the benchmark for the foreseeable future, so our owners and management need to ask themselves the question - are we seriously up for the challenge of trying to match and surpass them?
