To coincide with the predictions for 2016 thread (but leaving that solely for predictions and not clutter it up). What are the views on all (or some) of our rivals chances this year?

WIGAN - again will present the biggest challenge. Whilst Bowen did well at times he obviously wasn't Sam Tomkins and that could be the difference between getting them over the line but will Tomkins be the same guy that left after his knee issues. Will be interesting to see if he and Williams work well together or Tomkins' reintroduction as the star of the show impacts on Williams. They lack in a big metre making prop and in centres IMO but they have a style that still works at the DW. Their chances of success though will rely on improving when away from home though as that really let them down in 2015.

SAINTS - big question is with regards to Cunningham. The feeling on the Saints board was that he was taking them backwards regarding style and quality of attack. Luke Walsh needs to dramatically improve his defence as he was so costly to them in that regards. Much is made of the Saints pack but for me it's heavily reliant on Walmsley and Roby and if they lose either of them for a while then they'll struggle especially Roby who it has to be wondered how long can they expect him to do his massive workloads week in week out. Will be interesting to see how they go against us as they really struggled with our style and I think it was only our fatigue that saw them win one and just lose the playoff against us at the end of the season. Not as much quality as Leeds and Wigan BUT are always in the mix so will be close as per usual.

HUDDS - much like Roby at Saints, how long can Brough perform weekly for them? Not enough match winners after that and except McGillivery is their enough quality to win titles, personally not IMO. Some hope from Hudds fans that the Ferres saga will galvanise the team but I think it could leave a hangover. They did seem to be getting closer in defeats in the knockout games under Anderson but took a massive backwards step last year in saving their worst for their two competition exits which might hint at Anderson having taken them as far as he can. Still they do go under the radar a lot and have a lean defence so will be close to making the top 4 but I think they'll just miss out this time.

CASTLEFORD - not fancied last year to repeat 2014 because of squad changes but found their groove as the year went on. Less change going into this year I think will stand them in good stead and Gale is going from strength to strength and sounds determined to prove a point after not getting any game time for England. Managed to beat the big boys more than Hudds did and I think that could see them leapfrog them this year and make the 4. If one of the 'Big 4' don't win the CC then I think Cas are the next 'newest' name the trophy.

WARRINGTON - have a great front row and plenty of backrow options but the backs left a lot to be desired in 2015. Lineham is a quality addition but what the Wolves need is for the HB's and FB to gel and shine and I'm still not convinced Tony Smith knows which position he wants to play a few of his backs. Much will depend on Sandow, can't really judge him on his few appearances at the back end as their chances had pretty much gone by then. If he's a hit then it could be top 4, if he's one of those NRL disappointments then a similar season awaits them.

CATALANS - made good signings but lost a few too to equal it out. As always they'll be tough to beat at home so it's the question of the away form. They finished 10 points off the top 4 in 2015 after winning only 2 away games all year. Can they really improve to around 6/7 away wins to get themselves into the top 4? I don't think so. Potential for away ties and neutral venues means I can't see them lifting the CC either.

HULL - much like a few other teams the question is about the coach. Personally can't see him making the leap to get them pushing for the top 4. At best a slight jump up to 6th but probably much of the same with a fight between their neighbours for the final 8th spot until they show some ambition with their coaching appointment.

HKR - Peacock coming on board is a big plus and whilst picking up some Leeds guys off us I don't think they've recruited enough quality to really push on yet. Beating their neighbours into the 8 and avoid the middle 8's is the best scenario. If they end up in the bottom 4 again then it could be another team looking at the possibility of a new coach to take them to the next level.

WIDNES - quite a few people have them finishing bottom but think they'll be able to avoid that (whilst not really threatening the top

if Kevin Brown stays fit. They have a decent home record and have a habit of taking a couple of big scalps every year there which gives them an advantage over the other bottom sides.

WAKEFIELD - we'll see a much improved effort this year but can't see them having the quality to make a serious claim to avoid the bottom 4. When in the bottom should negotiate it easier this time and hope to avoid the Million pound game.

SALFORD - whilst the likes of Chase and Hock have their obvious issues they brought quality to Salford. Not much to be inspired by on the signing front to suggest they can make the 8 and whilst he says he'll stay out of things you feel the next Koukash episode is never far away. In the bottom 4 and a realistic chance they'll be the SL team in the Million pound game and if Leigh can avoid choking this year then can see Salford going down.

Nice summary, pretty much how i see it.

I have gone for Wigan to top the league this year as i see them making the DW a fortress again and fully expect them to improve away this time out which should give them the edge. It's going to be interesting this year, we all know how it works now and sides know where they need to be, and that being off the pace come the super 8s means you won't get a crack at the play offs so i expect some real top games in the regular rounds this year. I have gone for the usual top four sides to be there at the end of the season but it really wouldn't surprise me at all should a couple of other sides gatecrash the party, there isn't a whole lot between the top 7 or 8 squads as far as playing talent goes imo.

Barring the odd, isolated result, I can't see Salford, Widnes, HKR or Wakey causing any earthquakes.

Hull will improve, I think, although won't have enough attack-wise to trouble the top 4. Catalans won't either; I suppose it's possible that their away form might improve though equally their home form could deteriorate. Not at all convinced by the ethos at that club.

I reckon Huddersfield will be a diminished force. Many inexperienced coaches seem to operate to a fairly conservative attacking structure while focussing on defence (see KC, Radford) for their 1st year or two. Anderson is no longer a rookie yet seems reluctant or unable to progress from this (he may not be helped by Brough having such a good kicking game, in so far as they create pressure while forgetting to score the points). Throw the aging process and a few more mental scars into the mix and I only see mid-table for them.

Cas will continue to surprise a few and to be a good watch. Conditioning and squad depth may catch them out by the time trophies are decided but they'll continue to earn admiration.

This is where it gets tricky. I think both Saints and Wire will be better than they were last year and I certainly don't see Wigan being worse. I could see TS inspiring the type of rugby from his side that could win a CC but that won't be sustainable to the season's end. Wigan seem a good bet for the LLS as they can surely only be more consistent than they were in 2015, whereas I'm not sure that we can owing to comings and goings. Saints will, I reckon, make at least one final though I'm not convinced they'll quite have what it takes.

I think Hull will be the biggest dark horse this year. I don't think they will win anything, but I think they will be the biggest improver, and will probably over take Castleford as the challenger to the top teams. Like everyone else I am not convinced by Radford, but do feel their squad is much stronger than given credit for.

I suppose the other question is whether Huddersfield will replace Ferres. He was a top player for them, and quite an asset to take out. If they replace him, then they will still challenge, if they don't then they may falter.

Catalans without the injuries last year, would have had a much bigger say on the placings and trophy's. Can they have more luck with injuries? that will determine their season.

As stated already Wigan can't have worst a[iway[/i form this coming season I'm sure...and will do enough to be top IMO at the end of the regular rounds. However, in the Super 8's I believe the new Leeds team will have gelled sufficiently to snatch the LLS from Wigan (if maybe not in such a glorious manner as in 2015).

Catalans can't have such an injury season again you would think...and in the way they despatched Leeds last season with such attacking (Carney led) aplomb it make me think they will do enough to finish as high as I have forecasted (their away form will stop them finishing higher).

I think Huddersfield have missed their boat with regards to winning anything - can't see them as being anything more than mid table this time around and Hull will leapfrog them in being a top table challenger IMO.

As always though; injuries will have the most impact on anybody's forecasting. You never know....Salford could even finish as high as 7th.

Not seeing the big deal over Hull's signings, if I'm honest.

Pritchard's attitude is going to be all important, is he over here coasting his way into retirement for a nice pension like Asotasi, or has he actually come to play?

Sika Manu is another who looked good in Melbourne's system, but less so once he left it. Slipped out of the NZ international reckoning in the process.

Scott Taylor? How many people on here who had him down as a player that Leeds should have been targeting a couple of years ago are disappointed that we didn't? Last two seasons have given ordinary a bad name. See also Danny Washbrook, a poor man's Westerman.

They'll be bouncing around the 7th-8th spot again I reckon, certainly don't see them challenging the top 4.

That might well be the case, like I said. But the difference is that they will probably pick up more points than they did last year, and against the better teams, which makes the competition closer. This is an improvement on previous.

Regarding injuries I think it inevitable that most teams will suffer at various stages so squad depth is an important factor. Whereas several years ago you'd get 2/3 teams who had bad luck with injuries it seems nowadays that only 2/3 teams escape an injury hit period.

As I've said in previous years the cup is the big X factor and even more so now with the Super 8's. As we've seen in the last 2 years it can cost you several league points which could be the difference between missing out on the LLS, or home field advantage or even the top 4 altogether, and I can't see the cup finalists avoiding that hangover with the toughness of the Super 8 games.

I'd pretty much go with that except I don't see the board love-in for Wigan. For mine they have over-achieved for the last few years. Their pack is average & will largely depend on how long O'Loughlin can keep his body going. They will be top 4 as Wane knows how to get the best out of them but would be surprised, & gutted, if they made top. I see Hudds struggling to keep up, with Anderson possibly a casualty, & Cas over-performing again, their 3/4s are much stronger this year.

Love-in for wigan? I'd rather bathe in kebab fat. But they were only a fag paper's thickness away from their own trophy double last time and it's very rare for any team to over-achieve over a period of years. You may be underestimating them, even if I hope you're not.

I see a LOT of the opposition clubs with coaches in the last chance saloon.

It's been a dull off-season for them with very few talking points regarding signings - they've just had to suck it up as Leeds piled up the plaudits. Sensible squad expansion to adapt to the new reality of the league structure would have been a good plan, but nobody else seems to have evolved in this way.

I predict a mass extinction for dinosaur SL coaches.

I'm fairly confident that Leeds have done all they can to cover the loses in personnel from last season so looking forward to at least one final appearance this time around.

I think it will be Wigan pushing us once again, their home form is annoyingly good and cant see that changing too much. 1 maybe 2 losses at home maximum. Interested to see how Saints go, but as has been mentioned if they lose Walmsley and/or Roby then that may severely derail their season!

For me Warrington look too light in the front row. A huge reliance on Hill to do big minutes and not much else after that. I'm not sure Westwood's body is up to stints at prop if that is what Smith does as a few seem to think he will.

Roll on February.........

I would already say Hull FC and Catalans will be looking for a big improvement and pushing for the top four at least, Those are the two most likely to fire the gun mid season if they start bad. If Warrington don't make the top 4 Smith will be vulnerable, as will Anderson at Huddersfield if they don't. The Salford job is a merry go round anyway, and i don't think Hull KR will settle for anything less than a top 8 finish so Chester is under pressure. Cunningham will be expected to at least make a major final this year or he will come under real heat after a season of mediocrity by Saints standards. I think Betts has done a fine job with what he has at Widnes over the years but they don't really show any signs of kicking on (not that i feel they have the team to do so) but how long until the board feel he has taken them as far as he can and they need a change?

So yes i would agree, the only coaches i feel could have a mediocre/ below par season and still be in a job for certain next year are Mcdermott, Powell and Wane. Could be interesting.

From what he said to my Dad at the gym, he is after smashing it over here as he wants to be in the Samoan World Cup Squad. He seems to be settling in and the group of Mahe Fonua, Pritchard, Sika Manu, Talanoa, Feka and Tuimavave spend a lot of time together and seem to be good mates which give him a good environment to get to his best

I thought similar however I would say IF Wane goes a 3rd straight year without the GF or CC then they'll be some rumblings of discontent over in Wigan.

Strangely, perhaps, I think Wane's the most vulnerable of them all. The limitations of his guile-free systems are now fully exposed and the Wigan club are the most psychologically disrupted by Leeds' supremacy.

I do agree that a fair few Wigan fans would be a bit disgruntled by a poor showing this year if it happens, they normally are if they aint winning silverware, but it's hard to argue that Wane hasn't got enough credit in the bank to be able to survive the chop off an average season. He has a double from 2013, 3 consecutive GF appearances and almost snatching top spot last year until the last play of the regular season to point to and all that with a squad that wasn't the best in the league going in imo.Ironically, bringing Tomkins back on the assumption he is the same player he was when he left (which i don't think he is, but we will see) could be his eventual undoing if it goes t@ts up, with expectations high.

1. Wigan under-achieved last year. Too many games where they just didnt fire, especially away. Its odd for them because over the last few years they have been the best in SL at just grinding out results. If they dont have a good year this year, Wane's position will become very precarious. Return of Tomkins will be a spark, just dont know how much

2. Leeds, lost Peacock, Kylie, Sinfield and Aiton, but Falloon is a fine replacement, Galloway, Garbutt, Ferres, Mullally leave us possibly with a better pack even if we have lost a great individual player. Sutcliffe has big shoes to fill, but Burrow and Mcguire are still there and the outside backs are still as good as ever

3. Warrington Pressure is on T-S, seems to have taken Warrington backwards over the last couple of years. I said last year that they reminded me of Leeds in 2006 so i think they will kick on. DOnt think they are good enough to win anything though
4.Hudds, another year on Broughs legs, another year they will ground out results. Rapira is rocks and diamonds, Hinchcliffe solid if unspectacular.

5. St Helens, Were up and down last year and got worse as they went on. Had severe defensive issues and their halves were anonymous at times, notably terrible at others. Think Josh Jones was a good youngster, and they will miss Masoe's impact even if it does tighten them up a bit. Peyreaux is decent not great, Fages is a work in progress and neither Owens nor Tasi have set SL on fire.

6. Les Catalans The unknown quantity. Overloaded in the backs, Myler and Carney if they click will be comfortably the best halfback partnership in SL, Horo and Stewart will go well. If Dave Taylors head is on he will tear super league up, if he is there for the food and wine, he will be an expensive player to carry. Have done the best business this off season imo. They will miss Taia and Whitehead, Henderson was as smart player too, and Garcia is a great young talent, but they have also dropped the hugely disappointing Tonga, Dureau and Oldfield

7. Castleford-they have over-achieved over the last few years, Powell has done brilliantly to find some rough diamonds, and built something bigger than the sum of its parts. But its a policy with diminishing returns. Think this season might be the one that might catch up with them a bit.

8. Salford the exact opposite of Cas, have conspired to disappoint, underachieve and be less than the sum of their parts over the last few years. However, they have shipped out some clearly bad influences and have a more balanced squad in my opinion. They are good enough to make the 8 as long as they dont self-destruct, though there is no guarantee of that.

9. Hull FC decent squad, poor coach, too old, not enough depth. Will flatter to deceive, suffer a huge injury crisis, drop out of the 8 then destroy the sides in the middle 8s

10. Wakefield, far better than last year, have a little something to prove, but still arent very good. Will be desperate not to finish bottom. Will start off like a house on fire and surprise a few people, will look for a while like they will make 8. Wont. Will go in to the middle 8s in poor form and will play the million pound game again.

11. Widnes just don't seem to be going anywhere. Average players, average players brought in

12 Hull KR Another odd one. They can be a very exciting side going forward, lots of speed and talent. Can also be atrocious, if Chester sorts out their consistency they could even get in the 8, if he doesnt they will struggle hugely. A lot depends on Campese (who is made of tissue) and Kelly (who if rumours are to be believed has hardly had the best off-season) but the squad looks light on experience, light on quality and if injuries bite, i think they will really struggle.

Quote ="ThePrinter"To coincide with the predictions for 2016 thread (but leaving that solely for predictions and not clutter it up). What are the views on all (or some) of our rivals chances this year? WIGAN - again will present the biggest challenge. Whilst Bowen did well at times he obviously wasn't Sam Tomkins and that could be the difference between getting them over the line but will Tomkins be the same guy that left after his knee issues. Will be interesting to see if he and Williams work well together or Tomkins' reintroduction as the star of the show impacts on Williams. They lack in a big metre making prop =#FF0000and in centres IMO but they have a style that still works at the DW. Their chances of success though will rely on improving when away from home though as that really let them down in 2015. '" Both Gelling and Sarginson made big metres (over 2,200) last season, but suffered injuries www.superleague.co.uk/matchday/player/20446 www.superleague.co.uk/matchday/player/11190 The team I think will improve most this season is Catalan. IF they can get to 8 away wins they could be real threat. Getting and keeping Carney fit is a must for them, if they do we'll all have problems.

Quote ="ThePrinter"To coincide with the predictions for 2016 thread (but leaving that solely for predictions and not clutter it up). What are the views on all (or some) of our rivals chances this year? WIGAN - again will present the biggest challenge. Whilst Bowen did well at times he obviously wasn't Sam Tomkins and that could be the difference between getting them over the line but will Tomkins be the same guy that left after his knee issues. Will be interesting to see if he and Williams work well together or Tomkins' reintroduction as the star of the show impacts on Williams. They lack in a big metre making prop =#FF0000and in centres IMO but they have a style that still works at the DW. Their chances of success though will rely on improving when away from home though as that really let them down in 2015. '" Both Gelling and Sarginson made big metres (over 2,200) last season, but suffered injuries www.superleague.co.uk/matchday/player/20446 www.superleague.co.uk/matchday/player/11190 The team I think will improve most this season is Catalan. IF they can get to 8 away wins they could be real threat. Getting and keeping Carney fit is a must for them, if they do we'll all have problems.

Yes and that's to be expected given how many carries Wigan give their centres, doesn't mean you couldn't do with a stronger signing in that department if that's your go to area for a lot of your metres.

And their numbers allude to Wigan's problem for me. Those two centres played 18 & 19 games respectively yet still made a couple of hundred metres more than your leading prop Mossop who played 26 games.

We managed to get over 3,000 metres from Watkins but Peacock and Cuthbertson both made more. Walmsley over 4,000 at Saints and Hill over 3,700 at Warrington and the most a Wigan prop could do is just over 2,000.

Possibly why the away record was so poor last year that you arguably need to do the hard yards down the middle more away from home and can't get away with spreading it wide to the centres as much as you can at home. Not just whether it's home or away but other factors such as weather and opposition should really see more games when your props give you more metres. A Walmsley or Hill eating up metres in your side in the GF in that 2nd half when our middle were clinging on by their fingernails and that might've seen us off and the trophy go to Wigan.

www.superleague.co.uk/stats/club_stats some interesting reading on there many seem to right fc off, which people are entitled too, im not expecting top 4, would be great but 6th is achievable, second to leeds in a few areas such as metres made and average gains and amongst the top clubs in other areas, quite clearly our problem last season was scoring tries! solve that and we may suprise a few

www.superleague.co.uk/stats/club_stats some interesting reading on there many seem to right fc off, which people are entitled too, im not expecting top 4, would be great but 6th is achievable, second to leeds in a few areas such as metres made and average gains and amongst the top clubs in other areas, quite clearly our problem last season was scoring tries! solve that and we may suprise a few

I think we might be the team that could go either way.
The key changes in players and the positions/ rolls they took in the team need to be filled.
Who will replace Peacock as pack leader ? Who will replace Sinfield's kicking / organization / leadership ? .
How will Sutcliffe / Ward /jjb go after their respective injuries?.
Will McGuire step up more ? Etc etc.

If we get it right early and the confidence grows we could do very well,if we struggle at HB or poor 5th tackle options etc we could have a bit of a rough time.

The additions we signed have all been spot on (on paper) and filled the holes as best as we could hope for and we seem to have more depth and have imo a player to lose in Achurch.

Wigan will be less interesting,their grind it out mentality will work as it always does at home where penalty counts tend to be higher but can Samkins win the away / tough games for them ? How will he go after injury and the NRL failure? He will want to prove he's still a top player and I'd expect nothing less.

Still can't see Wigan getting top spot tho.

Problem is a potential trade off. Whilst at Leeds we racked up points and improved our attack massively from what it was in 2014, we shipped in 219 more points in defence last year compared to 2014 when we had the leanest defence (granted 3 more league games in 2015).

Leeds clearly dedicated a lot of time and effort into improving their attack and the defence took a bit of a hit. What will be interesting to see this year if any coaches have watched Leeds last year and it's caught on and they've decided to loosen the shackles in attack a bit.

I dont see our defence a problem, only 3 games last season, 1 in the super 8s, where we were well beaten

Scoring tries has been our downfall for the last couple of seasons, mainly due to radfords safe rugby gameplan, we need to play like we did in the 8s where we were played some entertaining stuff

I would agree with you, i didn't watch Hull a whole lot last year but when i did you didn't feel like a try was around the corner even when the team got repeat sets in the opposition 25.

For me, Castleford have shown the way for the less fancied sides in how playing an attractive, fearless brand of rugby can pay off.