Just how bloody good was that. More of the same today please. I dont think i have celebrated a try against Saints that much since the Farrell last minute try. I celebrated and then laughed uncontrollably. What a day of rugby.Any first timers there will be itching to get back.

It was a day that showed how good the game can be and at a time when everything feels negative around the sport, it was much needed.

McManus just put the cherry on top.

I missed the first game, but saints vs cats and hull vs leeds were both really high quality games made even more exciting by golden point. Still not sure i am a fan of having it for every game but yesterday showed what it can bring to the table. Really jealous to not be in the stadium for saints vs cats though, atmosphere sounded unreal when everyone was rooting for cats near the end.

I do think the fixtures have been balanced pretty poorly though for this weekend, day 1 overall looks much better then day 2 and i have no idea why we are closing out with kr vs leigh?? Surely the biggest game of the day in wigan vs warrington was the obvious choice. Day 2 got alot to live up to.

I don’t mind them closing out with a lesser game tbh. The middle game gets the best crowd and the crowds dwindle away during that last game, so the balance is about right for me.

How good is Harry Newman BTW…we haven’t seen a “traditional” classy centre here anything like him since Gleeson.

Very good. It’s his attitude that really sets him apart, he’s clearly a winner. I was thinking about the young lads who beat the Aussies in that academy series last night actually and I had a list in my head of who the best players in that series were. I recall the ones who really took most of the plaudits were Newman, Welsby, Holroyd, Havard and Harry Smith. All 5 were absolutely excellent through the series. I think the fact Newman and Welsby are the two who really have developed at a rate of knots shows a couple of things.

1-it’s easier as an outside back to come in and really make your mark. I know Welsby has done a couple of games at Stand off but he’s been eased in playing centre, wing or fullback. It’s much tougher as a young middle forward or as a young halfback to come in and just go up and up in your performance level. It takes time and patience. In the two young props cases it could take another few seasons before they’re near their best.

2-it’s so important to have the right quality and experience around them. In that regard it’s been an absolute doddle for Welsby especially. He can just concentrate on his own game and let Coote, Lomax, Roby etc lead the way and play on the back of guys like Walmsley and Paasi. It’s absolutely chalk and cheese to what Harry Smith is being asked to do and he’s being asked to do it week in week out from halfback. It’s why any criticism of him I feel is harsh and it’s way too early to pass any huge judgement on him.

It's a sobering thought that, despite KR's assertion post forum that we'll have a really strong squad next year, we won't have a single international in the backs, halves or front row next year*

* Maybe Hardaker if he stays and gets picked, neither of which I'm convinced about at the current time

Brilliant day of rugby league. Just imagine what this sport could be if our leaders were half competent

I’m not saying I don’t believe we only have 73k of cap space left but with that being the case you do have to ask questions about who is being paid over the odds because some players must be. There surely is a premium in a players contract for being an international level players, especially an England one and comparing us to Saints and Wire next season is pretty sobering on that score. I’d probably say there are regular international players and fringe ones. The regulars have probably been in most squads in the last few years and most match day 17’s and the fringe lads have been in some and not in others. The fact of they’ll be in future ones is irrelevant on how they’re being paid currently.

Wigan

Regular international-Bateman
Fringe international-Hardaker and Farrell

Wire

Regular International-Williams, Widdop, Ratchford, Clark and Hill (if still there)
Fringe international- Cooper, Currie, Jack Huges and Philbin.

Saints

Regular internationals-Makinson, Lomax, Roby and Walmsley.
Fringe internationals-Percival.

I’d say Saints and Wire have more players than us who are very close to that international level as well, such as Toby King and Morgan Knowles.

Looking at that Wire and Saints list and factoring in them adding in guys who won’t be on buttons next year like Matautia, Ollie Holmes, Hopoate and Sironen and we’ve clearly got some work to do on how we’re negotiating deals.

Absolutely. I think we're miles off getting it right if I'm being honest. The situation is even worse when you consider which of our "paying what they're worth" youngsters are likely to break through to international level in the immediate future. KPP maybe but after that I'm struggling to see anyone. All our main rivals manage to fit multiple internationals under their cap which means our pay structure must be completely out of whack.

It doesn't get any better when you dig deeper either. Ask yourself this: Been French is one of our best. Would he make the England team ahead of, say, Tomkins? Marshy, as much as I love him as a player (and definitely one of our best) has numerous players ahead of him for an international berth. Then we get to Thornley, Bibby, Hank, Miski etc. With all due respect to those players I don't see international call ups coming any time soon. We'll lose a further 2 internationals (or fringe international if you like for Hastings) and possibly a former international in Tommy next season. Where are the equivalent incomings?

Imagine if we had been the game after Saints and were starting to file into the ground when Catalans comeback started......

It’s tough to see how it stacks up at all without their having been an horrendous amount of bad decisions made regards contracts and if that’s the case there really needs to be changes. The only way it feels like it can is if you put the question at Warrington or Saints door rather than ours and ask how they can fit all these players in but why should we do that. Even if we look at Mago and Ellis coming over, they’re fringe NRL players and shouldn’t be on anything like guys like Hopoate and Sironen, who have been playing on a regular basis for a few seasons. Miski and Thornley should be on pretty low contracts as well. We’ll see how we go on a halfback signing and if anyone else comes and goes but there is so much work to do over the next year or two.