We're definitely traveling better than last season. We weren't humiliated last night, merely pipped. We look like a top 8 team, but that's about it.
This isn't likely to be our year, but that's not the major concern: it's that we're not building to succession next season. Our weakness - as ever - is Reynolds' fading star, with Hunt maybe even further along the retirement curve.
Their paucity of mental and physical energy, manifesting in a string of hasty bombs and sketchy communication, means we rely on Walsh to provide the power plays. He's fantastic at that, but the more we rely on him the more he's targeted, the more he overplays his hand, and ultimately the more time we spend in our own half.
We seem to be building towards an implosion next season, with two floundering former legends weighing us down, and yet another set of high value extensions looming.