Wigan
Warrington
Saints
Leeds
Bradford
Hull
Huddersfield
HKR
Castleford
Catalans
Salford
Wakefield
Quins
Crusaders

That's why I put them in bottom place.

1.Stains
2 Hull
3 Leeds
4 Wigan
5 Bulls
6 Warrington
7 Catalans
8 Huddersfield
9 Hull KR
10 Castleford
11 Harlequins
12 Salford
13 Wakefield
14 Crusaders.

why are people, yet again, tipping shudds for a top 2/3 finish? nowhere near as leeds,saints or wigan over the course of a season for me

I put Huddersfield down as 4th, but pretty confident they will finish above Leeds. It's hardly nowhere near tad. We only finsished above them on the last game of the season just gone, and Huddersfield look like they have improved massively for next year, where the same can no be said about Leeds.

I tip Huddersfield to finish 4th (which is ahead of Leeds) next season as I believe they are a slight improvement on last years squad they had. They also have a good coach. Leeds by comparison now have a bunch of jokers in charge.

I'm also factoring in the additional experience of six Huddersfield players in the England Four Nations squad down under who all performed far better under McNamara than seven Leeds players did under Tony Smith in 2008 when they collectively shamed us all.

Eorl Crabtree's really good too.

Hudders have a settled side and coach and have recruited quite well. Barring a massive injury crisis they should be good for top 5. Leeds suffered from injury a lot last year but that looks set to continue in the early part of the season too add to that a new coaching set up and I think Leeds will finish 5th.

I was going to ignore this for the tosh that it is, but I couldn't resist the bait in the second paragraph...



You're right... the 6 Huddersfield players will no doubt be much much better at White Water Rafting & rock climbing compared to our Leeds lads who sadly missed out on the "experience" of the trip.

And you're right... It's not like our boys gained any experience from '08 is it (like, say maybe, enough experience to go on the succeeding year to top the league, score over 800 points, only lose 6 games, finish 4 points clear of second, and win the Grand Final).


Huddersfield may well finish above us next year (to some extent I do agree), I just wonder why you bother. If following Leeds brings you such discomfort and angst, do us all a favour and don't bother.

Wigan
Saints
Leeds
Wire
Hudds
Bradford
Hull FC
Hull KR
Castleford
Salford
Harlequins
Wakefield
Catalans
Crusaders

Whilst the opinons re-Giants having a settled side and have improved ring true imo people are still underestimating our squad.
It's a huge blow to be missing JP and Mags but we do have a full pre-season to prepare without them.
Smith will have a proper off season break and get back into RL conditioning ,the return of Bjb and Watkins is a bonus imo and the arrivals of Cross and Hauraki will add depth and allow us to rotate more injuries permitting.
We also have the added bonus of only having 1 player away for the 4 nations and we don't have to prepare for a WCC.
I'm happy that most are tipping against us because the wins will be so much sweeter.

There are so many subjectives that could be levied at that post, none of which may end up been true, but still should be taken into account.

Is Cross although probably decent, even half as good as Eastwood?
Will Cross considering an injury prone past actually be fit for the whole season?
Will Hauraki have second season syndrome in this country?
Is Watkins still proven yet for this level?
What about just how old Senior is now?
Could Clarkson have second season syndrome?
Will Ali manage 50% of games?
Will Peaock return on time with no setbacks?
Will McGuire return on time with no setbacks?
Will the half back pairing we go with work?
Will the players gel to a new coaches methods?
Will JJB go back even further or will he improve again?
Is Kirke a given again?

I am sure there will be more. But it's quite easy to just say it will all be rosy and an ideal world, but maybe some of the others have taken the above into account and gone the other way.

Change the names in the above mate and that can be aimed at ANY squad in the league.
I'm a glass half full person and think we can do better than many have tipped and i'll stand by it.

In my opinion, I think it could be different again this season. a few teams have had quite a few changes, and you can never tell how the referees are going to decide how to let the game be played from one season to the next. I think some of the only certainties are that crusaders and quins will be at the foot of the table.

Leeds should be getting a good off season with a lot of players having small bits of surgery. The rest and change of coaching set-up could set the team up for a good start to the season.

Agreed. I've put us 3rd. Mainly because of the new backroom staff, and JP & McG missing.

I personally have a problem with Smithy on the wing. To be honest I'm not really a fan of Smithy at all. Just my preference. I'd rather throw Hardaker in at the deep end and get rid of Smith but can totally understand the arguments for not doing that.

Other than that, I'm pretty happy with our squad (counting JP & Mags in it).

I can see no reason why we won't be challenging for the major honours (including League Leaders Shield) next year. Best of luck to everyone! It's going to be a cracker!

Why do all your comments have to have a dig at Leeds. What's the point? Could be quite anoying to some but I then think I shall just enjoy my life that I have and shall completely ignore all your posts, and just feel sorry for you because it all seems a little sad

6 giants players have been away while all but one of ours has had a full pre season for the first time in many years, and all have had minor ops to tidy up niggles.
last year we were battered by injuries but still finished above shudds and i firmly anticipate us finishing above them again next season

Yes I agree it can't be a bad thing that most of the squad have had a good rest, cleared up niggly injuries and had a good pre season together

Don't be fooled by 'Keith' - he is a Leeds supporter and also the most seasoned and subtle troll to frequent these boards.

Just take what he says with a large pinch of salt and don't let him get under your skin.

I am also optimistic for next year. They key factor for me will be the effect the new coaching set up has on the team. Last season I felt we didn't play well as a team and went backwords in our team skills and tactics. IMO we finished higher in the league than our form deserved and that top three finish was down to some outstanding individual work by a certain few players, Danny McGuire in particular, rather than the overall team performance.

So I an expecting (hoping) the new coaches to overcome the loss of the injured stars by concentrating on the regaining the team skills with good backing up and offloading and having a better tactical game plan.

The addition of a fit again DM and JP in mid/late summer will give a huge boost and be like two new star signings. Also Sinfield will have had a good rest for the first time in many years and if he plays at 6 for the first half season, which I expect, he will have had less tackling to do and his attacking flair will be all the sharper for it.

I agree, I felt for alot of last season we were playing without any real structure or purpose and were mostly relying on the likes of McGuire's individual brilliance to win matches. We know we have the quality available, it's just getting everyone firing together. I Reckon if we can get back to basics and start playing as a proper team with attacking lines and defensive structure, we have more than enough quality to make it successful.

I agree last year we did seem to rely on individual brilliance with the odd game appearing to all gel. I am excited regarding the new season but looking forward to boxing day for the first glimpse of possible new structures play etc

i'm going for a regular season sl table finish of
1:wigan
2:saints
3:warrington
4:rhinos
5:huddersfield
6:hull fc
7:hull kr
8:bulls
9:castleford
10:salford
11:catalans
12:crusaders
13:wakefield
14:quins

Wigan
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Leeds
St Helens
Warrington
Huddersfield
Bradford
Hull FC
Salford
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hull KR
Catalans
Castleford
Crusaders
Wakefield
Hralequins

1 Wigan
2 Wire
3 Saints
4 Leeds
5 Hull
6 Huddersfield
7 Bradford
8 Hull KR
9 Salford
10 Catalans
11 Harlequins
12 Castleford
13 Wakefield
14 Crusaders