this ^

Given a 'normal' run of injuries throughout the year I think our prospects are almost entirely dependent on how good Parcell turns out to be.

I'm not expecting Segeyaro like performances from him, but if he ends up at or above the level of Ainton then IF Magsy also comes back to form, I think we can be up there challenging for top 4 but most likely 5th or 6th and have a good CC run with luck in the draw.

If however Magsy is 'done' AND Parcell turns out more like Falloon then I think we are near certainties for the middle 8's again

I think people lie are over estimating Cas's chances 5 or 6 at best,they will have to improve on last year just to stand still, and other sides like wakey,us, Catalan will all be looking to improve last years league placing

I probably was the only one. But it doesn't mean much I say it every year

Be absolutely amazed if we got top 6, too many teams better than us. Will stick with my 8th position, but can really see us in bottom 4.

They finished in the top 6 with a huge injury list & they have recruited better this year i think they've more than earned their rating.

Cas were 9th with only a few weeks of the regular season left, they only jumped up because Catalans, Wakey and Widnes took the final third of the year off.

Exactly this.

Definitely feel castleford are the team to watch next season, recruited fantastically and a good coach in Powell. I think that they'll win the CC.

What part of that is untrue? The only game any of those 3 won in final 12 rounds that WASN'T against each other was Widnes' lone victory against Wigan. Shocking form and the only reason Cas got up to 5th. The final 9 point gap to Saints a true indicator of how far away they were instead of people saying they were 5th as if if they were anywhere close to a playoff place. They were further away from the Top 4 last year than they were in 2015.

The table doesn't lie does it? They finished 5th that's the only true indicator you need in a results driven sport.
Also they got a top 8 play-off slot comfortably so how close do you need to be?
By your suggestion we or Huddersfield only stayed up because HKR & Salford took the final 12 weeks off???
Who did what elsewhere is irrellevant Cas got 5th missing their 1st choice Prop 1st choice Centre/Captain their 6 missing loads of games & a fair whack of the squad missing throughout the season.
Interesting you take this stance when you are so determined to defend Mcdermotts achievements if it's suggested the standards of the rest of SL have dropped

Didn't Widnes beat Leeds within the final 12 rounds?

can the mods change the thread title to William Eve Prophecy rather than Memorial thread, i keep thinking the old boy has croaked it every time i see it

Because McDermott has won titles, that's much different "achievement" than finishing outside the playoff spots comfortably. True the table doesn't lie that's why I pointed out that it read 9 points adrift.....that doesn't lie and it's a big jump for them to make.

Once again I notice how the violins come out for Cas' injuries on here. People say we'll get them again with the age of out players but they may well suffer similar again as they have a similar chunk of their squad at the 30+ years old mark.

Should've read 10, not 12.

No violins whatsoever from my pov exactly the opposite i use it as proof that with a good "Flexible & adaptable Coaching set-up that Teams can still play some good RL & make the top 8.
As for them getting injuries to their 30+ players who says they won't? What we do know is they have improved their squad further & proved they can adapt we haven't.
Also 9pts isn't that big a jump they are quite capable of beating the top 4 once each then beating Leigh at home (last years equivelent if losing to HKR)& its done.

Are they capable of beating the top 4 though? Even we picked up more wins over the top 4 in the regular season than they did.

And people keep going on that we can't cope with injuries. We clinched the treble with Aiton, Ward, JJB and Sutcliffe all missing and Leuluai reduced minutes due to his heart issue. We didn't cope well last year because of our preseason, something no other team had to deal with with their injury situations aren't comparable.

this is Powells 4th year at Cas and they haven't broken through, there is a decent chance that Powell has taken them as far as he can.

They didn't need to, they simplay took the points off us with ease. Another easy 6 points for them this season to come. Bet they wish they could play us every week.

Another season like last year (particularly against Cas) and this fixture will become Leeds Cup Final.

They do need to though if they're going to make the Top 4. Again how Cas will do isn't solely dependant on what they do/rate against us even though you just keep going back to that.

I don't keep going back to it. I have stuck my neck out and said they will be top 4. Simply because they have a far better squad, a far better coach, and are far better prepared than 8 other teams in Super League. What their results were during an injury crisis the year before as zero relevance as far as I am concerned.

As for winning silverware to prove themselves, is just complete and utter rubbish too. How many times have Cas won silverware during there existence? Infact people do realise there is only four teams that have won a super league title since it started? do we write Warrington off aswell because of that?

And I really think they could face floods as bad as noah, and would still finish higher up the table than most others.

They only managed to take 4 points from us last year