Gale - looked encouraging, injured
Purtell - looked encouraging, injured
Lulia - arrived late, injured, missed pre-season and badly lacking match fitness
Pryce - signed late, injured
Manase - injured in pre-season
Kear - arrived after international duty and hernia op, missed pre-season and looks light

I'm not defending Potter but the above situiation must be a nightmare. You identify the weaknesses in the squad, sign the players quite early in a number of cases and end up with at least 2/3 of the backline missing pre-season and the other 1/3 injured in the first 3 games. We wouldn't have won but both our defensive and attacking structure went to pot after Gale went off on sunday.

There's some sort of curse on us with injuries. Is the new training complex built on a native american burial ground or something?

M@islebugs is of course entirely right, and as I'd said and repeated, with a reasonably fair wind it would have taken (IMHO) at least a couple of months for the side to properly gel and get used to each other. An average number of usual injuries would be par for the course but this is worse than average.

Curiously though it does seem that most of the other teams, Saints apart, are also experiencing a weird surge of significant injuries. There have been some horrible injuries reported this weekend.

Doesn't help me understand why the defence can go from the Alamo to Night of the Zombies, though. If it is nearer to Battle of the Zombies at Belle Vue then we may be better placed. Another good omen is that if we're only defending alternate games this year, this week is our week "on" so I have more than one valid reason for optimism.

Pryce is fit now is he not? As for Manoukafoa, i would'nt be surprised if he takes Joseph's bench spot for the Wakefield game .

We do seem to have an history of signing players whilst they are injured dont we ? It was known Kear needed a hernia op, Pryce is never fit, and wasnt one of the new centres out injured when he was announced. Even when we struck lucky with Hape and Vainikolo they had missed full terms the season prior and kearney when signed had missed 80% of the campaign . Where do we do our scouting sydney rehab clinic !

While i agree it's not ideal, Hull KR seem to be doing just fine without their two half backs, and they've probably got more injuries than us.

They drew 36 all with Saints. We lost 54 - 16 (again) That team was by far good enough to give Wigan a game

Exactly, week on week we listen to excuse after excuse...we've pulled it apart time and again. The problem has got to lie with the current coaching staff and the head coach...The squad on paper should be capable of making the top 8, even with injuries..

Its just not happening with Potter at the helm lets face it. A defeat at Wakefield this Saturday would surely be the final straw? i really hope he (Potter) proves me wrong, sincerely.

But like somebody said on another thread i think,

Its not potters fault with all the errors that are being made on the field and the penalties the players give away which leads to losing field position, you cant blame potter for:- tackling players in the air, holding down, knock ons, forward passes. not finding touch with a penalty or infact when a player gets injured,

Yes potter may of had a game plan but when a PLAYER misses a tackle and other players have to compensate for this it leave gaps ie. Crookes coming accross to stop richards then the ball being passed back over where crookes was no where to be seen,

Personally and this is only my OPINION but wigan made us look that bad cos on the day they really were that good, wigan are a fast team and have learnt how to have a fast play the ball and that is what run us ragged from breaking the line and us having to compensate out of position.

If that makes sense ha

Well the players we have seemed to do ok in other teams, i.e Hargreaves at Saints, Diskin at Leeds, Platt at Castleford, Sykes at London, Kear at Crusaders etc...

Maybe i am jumping the gun and we indeed have been unfortunate to have come across 2 of the top 4 already in Wigan and Catalans? we'll see on Saturday night.

I dont understand people saying 'on paper' we should be able to compete even with injuries. If you look on paper, we are poor imo. Who is proven to be at a level where we can compete with the likes of wigan? I look through our team/ squad and would say Kearney maybe, Whitehead maybe, Koppy maybe just. Heath I think is, Disko is, but the others you really have to question. I think they could enough, but they have to go out and PROVE it.

That's at least 3 threads you have posted this identical post. It gets no more accurate with repitition.

He'll no doubt fancy a supposed weak team like Wakey. The injured again for Wire, HKR & Saints, back for Salford.