And let’s be honest, that’s what fans want to see.
100%. Tbh I don’t really care about making the finals this year, I just want to see us continue to improve. So far this year to me we definitely have, but it will be hard to maintain that belief if we completely drop our bundle for the last rounds of the year. That certainly doesn’t mean needing to win every game, but we at least need to beat Dolphins/Dogs/Dragons comfortably and put our best foot forward against Canberra/Souths/Sharks regardless of results. 3 wins and some extra competitive performance won’t get us to the finals, but it will at least give us some confidence moving into next year considering we were expected to get the spoon this year.
I hear a lot of people say that our squad will be in much worse shape next year but I don’t see it. Yes Dom is a big loss, but at the end of the day a winger isn’t going to determine whether the side plays well or not. A good winger can make a good side even better, but they’re not going to save a bad side, likewise a bad one isn’t going to bring down a good team.
The only other loss may be Fitzgibbon, but if KPP plays to half of his potential he won’t be. We’ll also have the luxury of doing an entire pre-season with Ponga at fullback and we’ll be in an even better position if we can somehow get Brailey through a few more games. I don’t think it’s a sure thing that the squad will be significantly worse next year. It might be better but of course injuries will play a role there.