Well after 10 games in seems good time for a mini review.


Pros;


60% win ratio. Sam’s as last year.
4th in table and should really have won 2 other games.
Pack really good, mostly this year. 
Connor, miller, lumb all going well in injury hit backline


Cons;


Frawley
Injuries generally 
Ackers (injury and form)
Croft as with Ackers.
Uncertainty on coaching front


Good run of games coming up were we can maybe go on a 4-5 match winning run.

Agree with a lot of that and to add to it:


Pros
Enhanced competition for places - BA not afraid to either relegate to the bench like Bentley or drop entirely like Fraudley.
Threat on the wings -Siva a blow but going well in attack with Hall and Riley as opposed to the deadwood of Mom and Fusitua.
Defensively we are a different proposition with the right coach and recruitment


Con

Lack of a top-class goal kicker will cost us a few wins I fear


Got to win all in May to be serious contenders this year.

It's been interesting to see the team develop, built on solid defence and hard working forward play. The training wheels seem to be coming off the conservative gameplan of the first few matches. A number of the mistakes against Saints were offloads and passes which weren't quite executed correctly. If those start to stick then we will start running up scores.


In defence our stats are up there with Wigan and KR, the attack still some way off but improving. 

Riley , 

Needs to go to ground earlier as has cost us three tries this season by being tackled in to touch and also needs to learn the art of scoring a try as has bombed a couple and nearly bombed a couple more . 90% of Super League wingers would have scored that one on Saturday.


Not sure who is going to do all the tackling if you get rid of Bentley.


Agree on the goal kicking 

Biggest positive is the change in attitude of the players, leading to a much greater commitment to hard work. When I was “moaning” last season that they thought they were working hard, but actually weren’t, this is what I was referring to.


Biggest negative, a lack of leadership and composure in the big moments in games. This has already cost us games, and against a better team it would have cost us on Saturday too.


Overall I’d say we have made big strides forward from where we were, but we’re only just over halfway to where we need to be. Losing BA will be a big blow if he isn’t adequately replaced.

I'm largely happy with the steps we've made so far. It'll be a great shame if we do lose BA, not least because despite us doing many things we'll there are a couple of squad places that we could strengthen. Not sure a new guy would be sufficiently ruthless to make those calls.

Pretty pleased. We might have the same win ratio as last year, but in 2024 the stats really were papering over the cracks. If memory serves last year we had scraped by London in extra time, got booed off in victory against Hull, got demolished at home against Wire, and collapsed against Hudds. In 25 we are fundamentally a different beast, playing a tough and improving brand of Rugby, which should really start to click when Croft returns. Full credit to Blease in assembling a squad that has real competition for places ( for the first time in years I couldn't tell you our best side) and if he does manage to lose Frawley and pick up Hastings, we should be bona-fide top 4 contenders. Up to Arthur to get the best out of us now. I'm sure he won't dissapoint.

huge progress. next coach its vital we get it right

We feel like a totally different team for the first time since the brief glimmer of GF-making form when Rohan took over. Even if results haven't been massively improved vs this time last season, we genuinely feel like we're in with a chance against any team we play.

Some of the big weaknesses of the last few years have been addressed. The surgery on the pack seems to have finally paid off after years of disappointing signings (Tetevano etc). We're playing as a team a lot more (even Lisone has improved dramatically in the last few games). Connor brings us genuine threat in the halves, and there is a good reason to hope we'll have another string to our bow when Croft returns.


We haven't eradicated all the issues. We're still making too many mistakes when we try to put opposition sides away; instead we frequently end up inviting them back into the contest. Leadership is still needed, especially to close out the games we're winning against the top teams with 10-15 minutes to go. Further surgery on the squad is needed, albeit less drastically than before. We need to sort out the hooking role if Ackers continues to be underwhelming when he returns. We also desperately need a competent goal kicker to replace Rhyse Martin.


Personally I'm hoping Arthur decides to stay for another season. His replacement should be easier in some ways because the team seems to have found a successful groove, so drastic changes may not (hopefully) be as necessary as they were in the past. But I do think I would be more confident if we appoint another NRL-based coach in the style of Arthur, instead of someone with more SL experience.