I think some people on here have posted some stupid stuff.
Bearing in mind the top five have been settled for some time now, what separates the top two from the other three? Injuries. Wigan haven't had any, bar Fielden and the odd one here and there (which are to be expected in a contact sport). Warrington started off badly with four in their first match and then were fine until their game against Wakefield two weeks ago when they found themselves with another four injuries. Meanwhile, we have been totally decimated with injuries throughout the season. The Dragons and Hudds have both had injuries to significant players towards the business end of the season; the Dragons wobbled and Hudds fell over as a result.
If the top five teams had been as injury free as Wigan, there would not be the gap that there is at present. I am 100% certain of that. People spout that injuries are no excuse. No, they aren't. They aren't an excuse for dropping the ball and giving away stupid penalites like (mostly) the senior players in Saints have done too often this season. But they are a damn good reason for under achievement because of the disruption injuries cause to combinations, in attack and defence, and the burden they place upon those players who have lasted the longest without injury.
Only Jamie Foster and James Roby have been ever present this season but both of them have had to take time out from matches due to injuries incurred in those matches.
I'd say it was a testament to the skill of our coach that we are still in third place. We just need to win one more match to secure the spot. But it would be great if we could finish the season on a high by winning both of them.
I'm very happy with our coach so far. He has brought on our young players and has seen things in our senior players that have previously been missed. Who would have thought Sia could have performed so well at prop? Or Meli (in attack anyway) at centre? Lomax has developed a very nice grubber kick this season and his defence is awesome compared to last season. Gaskell has grown in confidence to the point where he opted for a drop goal against Hudds to kill off their comeback. There are other good signs too.
I hope the club sort out the injury problem in the off season and that next year, with our exciting new signings and more young players coming to the fore, we can find out just what this team is capable of. Bearing in mind that Simmons prefers a more expansive attacking style of rugby, I hope he gets the chance to develop the plays and the players next season in a way that he has been unable to do this season due to the constant adaptations he has had to make to allow for the injuries.
And I haven't even mentioned the disruption caused by bereavement, Eastmondgate, Mooregate, Widnes/new stadium, three significant players handing in their notice ...
