As we look forward to tonight's Super League Round 14 clash between Salford Red Devils and a youthful Wire side, columnist and fan Rob Watson - aka Spirit of '55 - reflects on the win over Catalans Dragons and the story so far

IS anyone else starting to feel like they are doing better without us?

It is a bit like seeing an ex-partner having so much fun without you.

While I am longing to be in among the crowd once again, I am greatly enjoying watching the team progress while I am at home on the sofa.

Not only have they stretched their winning run to nine matches, they are becoming an entertaining side to watch too.

Catalans put in an aggressive and competitive performance on Friday, but Wire’s offloads, speed and agility must have left them feeling like they had been caught up in the storm winds that their plane was trying to avoid.

Wire produced around 25 offloads and two aspects of that approach were particularly pleasing.

Firstly there were also plenty of times when players were looking to offload but realised that it was not a good option on that occasion, so they held on to the ball and showed that they were in control of the decision about whether to release the ball or not.

Secondly there always tended to be players around the ball expecting the offload, giving the impression that it was part of a team plan, rather than one random player taking a chance to throw the ball out of a tackle in the hope that it will go to one of his teammates.

With so much speed and agility in the team, and lots of players who are at their most dangerous in broken play, I do believe that a top quality offload game could be crucial for giving Wire the edge needed to win trophies this year.

There were a few times when the right side of the defence looked disjointed when near their own try line, but that should be a relatively easy fix.

Overall though once again the defence was good, with a great desire shown to defend their line.

Widdop and Austin are starting to look more comfortable playing with each other, moving the team around the field while also spreading the ball around as well. Both are also likely to create tries out of nothing too, either with their footwork, a pass, support play or a kick.

I still feel like we waste too many tackles when we have the ball near the opponents' try line, but hopefully they are working towards perfection in the last game of the season.

With so many players performing so well it would be interesting to know what Steve Price’s 17 would be if everyone was available and what position everyone would play.

Given the fixture congestion between now and the end of the season we are unlikely to find out the answer to that question until Wire either reach a cup final or a play-off match. By that time, he might not have everybody available for selection, so it is great to be having so many playing well currently.

I would expect the starting line-up to change over the next few weeks as they try to manage each player's workload. Given that I am a big believer in the theory that speed kills in Rugby League I would like to see a left side of Currie, Mamo and Ashton at some point to see if they can create some havoc in opponents' defences.

The ending to this season is far from written, there is still plenty of time for plot twists and new heroes to emerge. I for one am thoroughly enjoying the story so far.