In terms of the thread topic, I agree with a few of the other posts in that it’s too early in the season to give much of a judgement. We’ve played some really good stuff in the league over the last couple of years but prior to the Salford GF, we’ve struggled to produce the same level of performance in the big games so opinions now are fairly limited.
My thoughts now are similar to how they would have been at round 12 last year in that we’re playing well, we’re currently top of the table but all the big games are still to come. We’re showing some good signs under Woolf, particularly defensively where we’ve looked outstanding and we’re playing a game that suits us and suits the rule changes really well with lots of push and options around the ball. We’ve obviously lost a quality player in Thompson but it’s looking like Graham’s leadership and experience have added a fair bit to the team, as has the decision to bring/keep Bentley into the back row.
Wasn’t overly concerned with how we started the year. I thought he made a few selection mistakes bur injuries, poor conditions and the WCC were all factors. McManus made the point earlier in the year that lots of the clubs key players were either away with Great Britain until late in the year or were having surgery and that the start of the season came a bit early for us. I also thought prior to the season starting that the majority of teams in the league had strengthened, were either fully fit or were close to being fully fit and given the fact that we weren’t and had the Roosters game to deal with, it was possible that we were going to lose a few.
Also think that one of the big differences is and has been Lachlan Coote. As good as Makinson, Percival etc are (and we’ve missed them since they’ve been out), Coote is the most influential player at Saints IMO. His all round influence on the team whether it be organising his defence at the back, his kicking game, his support lines, his decision making and deception when he jumps on the edge of shifts, he’s so important for us in every aspect of the game.