To be honest considering the disaster of the coach sacking at the end of Round 5, it was a pretty fair effort to be in contention for the 8 come last round. A few other clubs namely the Tigers, Bulldogs, Warriors or Cowboys would have taken that based on their train wreck year with far less internal upheaval. Definitely surpassed my expectations. Could it have been better... yes, no Johnson, no Graham, no 2017 model Fifita, Townsend gone, alot of things didn't go right. I actually think this is the season we had to have. Darkness before the light. Bit of upheaval with getting the new coach, offloading overpaid players and a general clean out of the joint. Imagine what would have happened if the status quo remained... Morris stays , overpaid players re-signed, scrape into the eight in 7th or 8th again. It becomes a false dawn when you think everything is right and on track when its not. If Fitzy is half as good as what they talk him up to be, then give it a couple of years to build a decent squad that can challenge for the top 4 again because it wont happen overnight. I actually believe the youngsters such as Trindall, Wilton & Metcalf were pretty good considering their inexperience and it was far more enjoyable watching them stuff up than the rubbish from Townsend & co over the past few years. Very hopeful for the future and good to see that management has finally shown some grit to make tough decisions with the view of making the club stronger and not being happy with a 5/10 season.