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Thread: The Short Term Future

  1. #76
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    Which big name/money signings are people wanting us to compete with them on? Widdop was garbage last season and we'd have had God knows how many Widdop out threads on here, Austin has been trash for 80% of his time with them and GI is bordering on retiring injured again by all accounts.

    In a salary capped sport its less about the big name signings and more about the right signings for the right positions at the right time. Occasionally you'll get someone like Barba who was all of that and a big name to boot... incidentally choosing us over Wire... but the rest is more complicated than signing big names.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Private Pyle View Post
    Which big name/money signings are people wanting us to compete with them on? Widdop was garbage last season and we'd have had God knows how many Widdop out threads on here, Austin has been trash for 80% of his time with them and GI is bordering on retiring injured again by all accounts.

    In a salary capped sport its less about the big name signings and more about the right signings for the right positions at the right time. Occasionally you'll get someone like Barba who was all of that and a big name to boot... incidentally choosing us over Wire... but the rest is more complicated than signing big names.
    Probably none of those to be honest. I was more trying to make the point that it's a level playing field amongst the big boys as we all have the same finite salary cap (£2.1m I believe).

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cyprus View Post
    i just think Wire are very creative. The GI clothing range possibly earns its model a load of dosh, yet his playing terms are maybe 80.99 a week. Bit like the GOONS when Uncle Mo and DW tried to blow us out of the water.
    I doubt the profits from the GI range extend beyond the hundreds.

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    It is for the model if he is on 20 grand an hour. Creative accountancy you cant knock it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Infamous Grouse View Post
    Possibly because the Challenge Cup is not important as it used to be, but that's a whole different discussion.
    Give me the Grand Final any day before the CC. Although the cup would be a nice bonus and im hoping the club can make a bit of cash from it, although i don’t expect it to be as much as a usual Wembley trip with reduced capacity. Going to Wembley used to be the highlight of the season, but with it being shoved around at different months of the year it just doesn’t get fans as excited now.

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    Bentley's agent (aka ShowMe) was on the Full 80 podcast last night.


    Bentley move was discussed. A few headlines

    4 clubs in for Bentley

    All four offers were within £5K.

    Move to boyhood club was the difference.

    Rush disappointed but understood.

    Rush commented on the difficulty in recruiting players of equal quality to Saints this year
    which compounds the loss of Bentley.

    Clearly Bentley's agent is going to bag anyone and bite the hands that feed him but interesting
    nonetheless.

  7. #82
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    Quote Originally Posted by pramtown View Post
    Give me the Grand Final any day before the CC. Although the cup would be a nice bonus and im hoping the club can make a bit of cash from it, although i don’t expect it to be as much as a usual Wembley trip with reduced capacity. Going to Wembley used to be the highlight of the season, but with it being shoved around at different months of the year it just doesn’t get fans as excited now.
    For me, the Cup comes first this year. 13 years is a huge millstone and it needs removing from our neck. Once it's won, then the Grand Final goes back to being the most important.

    I do also feel that the Cup might be our last chance to win something for a while. We NEED to win.
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    Quote Originally Posted by DD View Post
    For me, the Cup comes first this year. 13 years is a huge millstone and it needs removing from our neck. Once it's won, then the Grand Final goes back to being the most important.

    I do also feel that the Cup might be our last chance to win something for a while. We NEED to win.
    Most years, I’d agree. This year, I want the Grand Final to do the “threepeat”.
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    The argument about Cup vs Grand Final would only really matter if this were January and we didn't have a squad equipped to challenge for both. We're in the Cup Final, that is the priority, win the thing, then the Grand Final becomes the priority. Winning the Cup Final doesn't alter our chances of getting to another Grand Final one bit, they aren't competing with each other. Win the next big thing we can win, then focus on the next big thing we can win, pretty simple.

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    I'm not so pessimistic I believe the future lies in playing with a more attacking style. I get the hard to beat defensive game that KW likes to play but I firmly believe if we open up we will be 50% better and considerably more entertaining. I actually trust the club to bring in good players.
    Learned comment from The Don

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    Quote Originally Posted by Scouse Don View Post
    I'm not so pessimistic I believe the future lies in playing with a more attacking style. I get the hard to beat defensive game that KW likes to play but I firmly believe if we open up we will be 50% better and considerably more entertaining. I actually trust the club to bring in good players.
    The club already know that most of our attacking pivots are no longer consistently effective, the likes of Dodd and Dufty would remedy a lot of that.
    Last edited by STIDDY; 1st July 2021 at 19:19.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Scouse Don View Post
    I'm not so pessimistic I believe the future lies in playing with a more attacking style. I get the hard to beat defensive game that KW likes to play but I firmly believe if we open up we will be 50% better and considerably more entertaining. I actually trust the club to bring in good players.
    The problem is that the current rules and interpretation of the rules mean that attacking rugby is immensely difficult to implement.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dos Cervezas View Post
    Most years, I’d agree. This year, I want the Grand Final to do the “threepeat”.
    Not a chance. The league isn't even worth bothering with this season. It's borderline farcical.

    Challenge Cup one and only priority. I have a feeling Cas will be thinking the same and I am thoroughly expecting a very tough afternoon

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ralph Fridge View Post
    Not a chance. The league isn't even worth bothering with this season. It's borderline farcical.

    Challenge Cup one and only priority. I have a feeling Cas will be thinking the same and I am thoroughly expecting a very tough afternoon
    As was last year’s, really. Didn’t stop any of us celebrating it, though. You can validate the worthiness of each win but I’d rather it say St Helens, St Helens, St Helens when it comes to the list of winners.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ralph Fridge View Post
    Not a chance. The league isn't even worth bothering with this season. It's borderline farcical.

    Challenge Cup one and only priority. I have a feeling Cas will be thinking the same and I am thoroughly expecting a very tough afternoon
    Only if we don’t win it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dos Cervezas View Post
    As was last year’s, really. Didn’t stop any of us celebrating it, though. You can validate the worthiness of each win but I’d rather it say St Helens, St Helens, St Helens when it comes to the list of winners.
    Agree completely.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dos Cervezas View Post
    As was last year’s, really. Didn’t stop any of us celebrating it, though. You can validate the worthiness of each win but I’d rather it say St Helens, St Helens, St Helens when it comes to the list of winners.
    I take the point, but I have to be honest, of all the Grand Finals we've won I cared the least about last years. It was basically another game in an empty ground after a season where the league table meant next to nothing. It was a glorified war time league which someone had to win, and I doubt anyone in 20 years will look back on 2020 as anything but a joke season with a fantastic last ten seconds at the end.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ralph Fridge View Post
    Not a chance. The league isn't even worth bothering with this season. It's borderline farcical.
    Agree mate. Winning the Cup at Wembley with the biggest TV audience RL will have all season is a big deal IMO. The Cup has been legitimate and has been taken seriously by all clubs, and at least the Semi Finals had crowds. The league is just plodding along in the same war time league scenario as last season. When you're being awarded default 24-0 wins and half the league make the play offs based on win % and not points it just leaves me rather not bothered about it all. Someone will have to win it, I'd love it to be us, but like last season I dont think it will be looked back on as a great league title season if we do.

    A bit like football. City deserved their league title last season but has a league title ever meant less than the one they won last season after a year of glorified training ground games in empty grounds.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gray77 View Post
    I take the point, but I have to be honest, of all the Grand Finals we've won I cared the least about last years. It was basically another game in an empty ground after a season where the league table meant next to nothing. It was a glorified war time league which someone had to win, and I doubt anyone in 20 years will look back on 2020 as anything but a joke season with a fantastic last ten seconds at the end.
    In your opinion, however, it states St Helens, not some asterisks and explanation about how it was this or that.

    Personally, I thought it was quite a big one to get in the cabinet given all the stuff that went on last year.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dos Cervezas View Post
    In your opinion, however, it states St Helens, not some asterisks and explanation about how it was this or that.

    Personally, I thought it was quite a big one to get in the cabinet given all the stuff that went on last year.
    Don't get me wrong, far better us than anyone else, someone had to win it and there's never a bad league title. I'm merely giving my opinion on how much the league actually means right now given the nature of the season and the diluted aspect of it all.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dos Cervezas View Post
    As was last year’s, really. Didn’t stop any of us celebrating it, though. You can validate the worthiness of each win but I’d rather it say St Helens, St Helens, St Helens when it comes to the list of winners.
    I take the point, but I'd rather see St. Helens, St. Helens, AN Other than have the other major trophy winners list not have a mention of us in the last 13 seasons..
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    I’m hoping all bets for the league campaign will be null & void, so i can get my cash back on the bets i put on.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gray77 View Post
    I take the point, but I have to be honest, of all the Grand Finals we've won I cared the least about last years. It was basically another game in an empty ground after a season where the league table meant next to nothing. It was a glorified war time league which someone had to win, and I doubt anyone in 20 years will look back on 2020 as anything but a joke season with a fantastic last ten seconds at the end.

    Two points:

    1) I think you're being a bit harsh about the 'glorified wartime league' thing. Clubs had their full rosters of players and, whilst we only had crowds for about 15% of the season, it was still a season of clubs versus clubs.

    2) Any final against the piescum is important - and the manner of the victory was sublime (although if it had been a routine 18-6 win after the onfield bore-a-thon, I doubt I'd look at the Gf so fondly )

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gray77 View Post
    I take the point, but I have to be honest, of all the Grand Finals we've won I cared the least about last years. It was basically another game in an empty ground after a season where the league table meant next to nothing. It was a glorified war time league which someone had to win, and I doubt anyone in 20 years will look back on 2020 as anything but a joke season with a fantastic last ten seconds at the end.
    I was thinking on similar lines for the League Leaders Title but once we got into the play off games they were full blown affairs. Beating Catalans 48-2 in the semi final was a massive achievement compared to our performances at that stage in the past. The final was absorbing for defences not giving an inch, after 60 mins of play it always looked as thought something dramatic was going to happen to settle that game.

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    I suppose that history will not record the circumstances, although there will be people looking at the honours list in decades to come wondering why the match was at Hull and there was nobody there. Unlike the War Leagues, it was official, though, and that notch on the honours list will forever remain.

    In reality, it didn't mean as much to me, as I can say the same with City's title, purely because of the fact that I was merely an observer from a distance. It might have meant no different for those who watch from their own homes under normal circumstances anyway, but when it came to Grand Final day. I ate my tea, read something completely unrelated to RL and sat down in front of the TV with two minutes to kick off, which was pretty much the first I'd thought about the game all week. Granted, it all got rather exciting and I was shaking like a leaf at the end, but even watching that try doesn't greatly entertain me now, because bedlam in the crowd is a fundamental part of watching these moments. If there'd been a crowd there, I'd have done what I did with Sergio Aguero in 2012 and watch it a dozen times a night for the next three months.

    This year's Challenge Cup is a real watershed moment for all of us. It won't be full, but it will feel like I'm at a real occasion for the first time in 16 months. If we win, we can celebrate it properly (assuming you've booked into places. :-) )

    I'd just advise everybody to disable their NHS Covid-19 App Bluetooth for the next two weeks, because the way cases are spiralling, there wont be a one of us not being told to self-isolate on the day of the game, and just two days later, it's likely that those of us double-jabbed will no longer have to in any case,
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