If we'd have won the double, we'd be confident going into next season.
We didn't think Wigan were going to be as good in 2013 as they were in '12, losing the likes of Leuleuia (sp), Finch and Lima, but they were even better.
The'yve recruited well in Bateman and Bowen, but losing Tomkins is obviously a massive blow. Richards and Mossop I think they'll replace easily enough.
The only thing I think Wigan should be worried about is that, the way their squad is changing, there less and less room for error. At the moment, Wane seems to have them jumping through all the right hoops, so that's not showing now.
We've made a lot of positive moves to start becoming genuine competitors again. A well stocked pack, a good hooker, a good scrum half, a good full back, pace out wide. However we have a gaping hole at 6 and a little problem at centre.
Our margin for error is minute. Should
*snigger* Wheeler
*chortle* get fit and stay fit
*sides splitting* and play a season at 6 for us and young Percy gets that little extra beef to manage a proper season, then we could look like the dogs danglies, but the chances of that are frankly a million to one.
We also still don't know if Brown can get us motivated on a regular basis. We know that Wane's teams will always turn up when it matters, but not the same for Saints at the moment.
The final danger seems to be sentimentality over senior players.
Wellens shouldn't be anywhere near the starting 17 and I wouldn't pick Wilkin or Boof in my first choice pack, but we know they'll be knocking about in front of the likes of Flash, Thompson, Walker, Greenwood and Clough.
