WE are in the thick of the action for 2016 but our attention is already on 2017 as well.

We have already launched our membership packages for 2017 and it has been going well.

It is obviously better for us to launch from a position of strength in terms of a successful season on the pitch.

We have been in the Challenge Cup final and hopefully we can secure the League Leader’s Shield on Friday night at Hull.

And we still have our eyes on the ultimate goal, an appearance in the Grand Final at Old Trafford.

Off the field we are also in a much stronger position with plenty of positive feedback from all the fan engagement we have had.

After three years of falling ticket sales, we managed to buck the trend in 2016 and our aim now is to be back above the 7,000 mark for the next season.

Particularly big for me is our junior membership. We are hoping it is under every family Christmas tree this year.

For £49, juniors can get into every Super League game home and away in 2017. If you go to just three home games, you have made your money back so it is unbelievable value.

Elsewhere we are also gearing up for 2017.

We will be launching our new home and away kits at the Christmas light switch-on in Golden Square in mid-November.

We also have our first pre-season game to look forward to, the traditional Christmas clash which will be at Widnes on December 27.

The main advantage of having the game in Widnes is the pitch as it means we can almost guarantee it will be played.

We are already planning for training ahead of the new Super League season.

The World Cup means Super League starts a week later and there is an England training camp in the first week of January so it has changed our plans.

There is also the World Club Series to be aware of. If the games were held in Australia, it might make sense for us to do some training there rather than flying around the world and back for one game.

But as it stands, we have warm weather training booked for 10 days in Tenerife in early January.

Before I go, I really want to thank the fans.

The support at Wembley for the Challenge Cup final was incredible. It really helped the boys and we especially appreciate the fans who went to Catalan the week after.

We will need you these next couple of weeks.

Wire fans really are the best in Super League and everyone at the club really values the support you give.