If it's any consolation it seems Leigh did as well as we did against SL opposition....

Today's results just reinforcing the gulf between the two leagues. All the CL clubs scrapping for that 5th spot.

Leigh were competitive though and had a few things go against them. Wakey at home is a big one for them!

I have no doubt, I bet you hear it a lot!

Salford 46 Leigh 18 [despite Paul Cullen's assessment that "Leigh are the best team in the champ [iby far[/i"seems to suggest that there is a little more in play here than just Lowes [and presumably, Rowley being poor coaches.



The context of both our defeats is the fact we play in a league which, in general, is way below our [iactual [/i standard, let alone our potential standard and prevents us playing, week by week, under the sort of pressure which we need to allow us to compete at the higher level.

Maybe we should just play Leigh every week. It seems to fire everybody up.

Apart from our support staff, who behaved impeccably.

The bookies, as I pointed out as soon as the odds came out, are the unbiased realists and the odds of Wakey making the 2016 SL were 1/12. Which was greater than the other SL clubs. The bookies had Leigh as the leading candidate from the rest (at a miserly 6/4) but I assume that that is because the bookies know one Championship team wil be in the playoff final, and so anything could happen on that day. Barring that factor, the bookies always call it pretty close.



As for Lowes, as I have said, he led a team oto the field that on the day were flat, nervous and basicallly standing around in awe. Of Wakefield ffs. No disrespect, but our lads should have been full of fire and confidence and if they had come out and up and at em, and had a right good go, then i for one would not be complaining. But they didn't. And they didn't meekly surrender either. They just looked nothing like the team we have been for most of the season, instead verged on the shambolic for much of the time, and the blame must ultimately lie with Lowes.



"It's just one game"? Hmm. For me, as I also said, it was our biggest chance to try for SL this year. So far as I am concerned that result killed our chances stone dead. Pity, as I honestly believe that team could run Wakey very close if we played the right way, but Wakey did nothing extraordinary or frightening, they just stuck to their task, and yet we seemed unable to offer any response. So on the strength of that (and a couple of other recent results) you'd have to conclude that for whatever reason, this team doesn't have the dog or the heart to force its way into SL contention. God help us if they come out against the other SL teams in a similar beaten frame of mind, but anyway it doesn't really matter as we just blew our season.

Just seen the scores



Salford giving Leigh a good thrashing.



Maybe we aren't the only bottlers?!







If it finsihed now, we would be in the big game against Wakey. Even I wouldn't bet on us in that!

Leigh have a good go against Salford. A

Couple of things went against them. Wouldn't write them off next week at home to Wakefield.



Us on the other hand, if we give Rangi Chase as much time and space we gave Tim Smith yesterday, he'll put 50 past us on his own.

It is starting to look like all of the 23 rounds and these play-offs are pretty irrelevant as what will happen is the worst SL team will play the best CH team in a one off game at the end. That £1m game was planned to happen from the beginning. The rest of the games are just a build up to it.



It will all come down to the Leigh Vs Bulls game and then a game with a SL team. So, looking back those 23 games meant nothing as Leigh and us were always going to be in the top two and one of us is going to be in the last £1m game.



If fans see that happening again next year Mr Green may regret saying it was the longest pre-season in history as those fans may decide to pick and choose which of those 23 pre-season games to go to next year. Why pay £220 for 11 warm up games.



That is the problem for the RFL if it becomes obvious that everything is meaningless until the last few games in the play-offs.



This is why I said weeks ago that these play-offs are good but the the top CH team should get automatic promotion and bottom SL team get relegated. The other 6 could then play-off for additional up and down places. 6 team play-off not 8 teams.



That would make all teams push right to the end in the normal 23 games as one goes up / down each year and stop such as Wakey preparing for play-offs half way through the season. Once you are guaranteed in bottom 4 or top two what is the point in trying any more till the play-offs.



I think this would be a better idea as two teams would get what they deserve and other 6 would still have something to play for.

A very dissapointing result yesterday but not a disaster. Wakefield have brought in one of the greatest and most experienced coaches in the game. If they had lost yesterday they would have been going to Leigh next week with their SL place under serious threat and with it their contracts. That was all the motivation they needed and probably inspired them to get on the front foot from the off.

As for us it was only the second SL team we have faced this season. The players will know now what they will be up against in the coming weeks and level of performance required in order to compete. Hopefully they will learn from yesterday and be more competetive next week.

There's still a long way to go and a lot might rest on Gaskill's availabilty. If Tim Smith had left the field after 12mins instead of Gaskill then who knows how it might have played out.

Certainly not time to write them off yet even if the odds are against them.