I agree that apart from that purple patch when we had a settled lineup working like clockwork we have been generally lacklustre, but I think lacklustre-but-plucky might be the best we can hope for now with so many key players gone.
Piscopo will make a difference but it will take him time to get back up to speed and with the tight schedule we don't want to break him again.
We aren't going to see much in the way of dashing football, rather we will be aiming to pinch enough results to get us over the line for the finals. It's like a replay of last season: hoping like hell we are still in the mix for our NZ home games so that the fans get to see the team, the team gets to play in front of the fans and the club gets to make a little bit of cash out of yet another dud season.