....In danger of sounding like the Wire but, I really think we can be the dark horses next season and bring something home. Looking at the squad for next season, along with the new coach and coaching staff which will see massive improvement IMO, (even without my bias), I see us as the biggest genuine threat to breaking up Leeds and Saints next year.

Im a bit disapointed in the fact we've only signed deacon (who imo isnt a fantastic signing but will do a job), but the more I think of the potential of some of the lads coming through, some of em are already pretty decent players, another year of development under their belt, with a proper coaching team, I really get the feeling we could be onto something.

If we can get another 10% in terms of development out of the developing players like both the Tomkins ,Ainscough, Mossop, Prescott, O'Carroll, Hansen etc, get riddell, pryce, and feka fit (which i dont think this new management will stand for anything else), I can really see us challenging. Add to that we should have some tactics from the head coach this season, and a coach who realises we cant afford to lose 7 of our first 10 and make it up at the end of the season



Can we be challengers this year? IMO we can.

No Wire IMO are the dark horses next year.

We will be lucky to finish in the top 4 and I will be happy with just that.

WARNING!!!! OVER OPTIMISM ALERT!!!! AWOOGA!!! AWOOGA!!!



You know that's not allowed round here

Yeah but wire are always the dark horses......its always the year of the 'wolfs' until April











PS. Ok i might be optimistic in saying we might win something but honestly looking at our squad is there really 4 teams better than us in SL......IMO NO.

Stains are on the decline and I think next year it will be 50:50 on who finishes above who in respect of wigan stains.

HKR over achieved last year and with their losses are weaker next season, Huddersfield likewise over achieved IMO and I would be expect to be above them. Even if they both do as well as last season, providing we start correctly and dont lose 7/10, if we only play as well as the remander of last season we will finish above them.

From the rest of the league the only changes i can see this season is Catalans, Wire, and Hull will finish higher. However even with their signings hull arent as strong as us IMO, and without bird as are the catalans.

Id be pretty certain the top 4 will be Leeds, Wigan, Wire, Stains. tbh i recont it could be in that order, but whatever order it is im fairly confident that will be the top 4 next year.

I'll be happy with a top 4 finish.

I've been optimistic about next year but I keep reminding myself that we've got the same squad as last year. If we can get another 10% out of them then that should get us somewhere near the top 4 but I'm not sure we'll be challenging Leeds just yet. Eastwood will be a great addition to their squad. Saints are a little unkown as to whether Eastmond and Pryce can play together. If they can, they'll be up there and will be a difficult team to beat. If Bradford click, they'll be strong. They've obviously improved their squad this year as have Warrington.

Basically what I'm saying is, yes we can probably improve but our season will depend on how much everyone else has too.

Things look to be shaping up nicely but I just hope we're not heading for a fall. I'm confident we'll be challengers to Leeds and Saints again pretty soon but it may just take one seasons worth of Maguire and Wane putting things in place before we start to see really good results.

Alright Chris!

I know, but I think this is their best chance this year for a long time, especially after winning the Mickey Mouse cup last year and Smith's 1st full season in charge.

Let them continue to be the dark horses because ever since they have been known as that their league season's have fell apart

Mickey Mouse cup, I think not. Best trophy going IMO.
I used to want us to win the Challenge Cup as we have a long history with it but now I want to win the GF so we can play an Aussie team in the WCC.

A consistent season playing good rugby with an eventual top 4 finish and I'll be chuffed.

Plus a successful introduction of a few youngsters would do nicely.

I predict another dullard season of SL with teams kicking on the 3rd and 4th tackle, defenses constantly on top with tries only being scored from kicks and off penalties and in between Leeds will run away with it leaving the rest in their trail.

Well, someone had to.

A season of playing to potential will do me, where ever that takes us. I happen to think it may well take us to a major final if we can do it.

No. A season too soon I think.

A sprinkling of quality signings next year and who knows!!

I hope we can make our home ground a fortress and not have cr*p early season displays like we've done in recent years.

Whatever will be will be tough. What's the point in predicting anything?

Hull FC mite be a team worth watching next year, last term they made a very good start but went off the boil but with a few new recruits they mite finish in the top 4.

Two stunning wins at home is what's required to get the season off to a flier, no excuses, no baby and bathwater, it's been too long!

It's about the game started talking about Wigan for the right reasons....!!

Yeah I said that the other day. Crusaders should be cannon fodder. Professional job, no excuses. Get them beaten first twenty!

I don't fancy them to do too much tbh.

They've signed players on reputation imo even though they've not been at their best for a little while. I can see Fitzgibbon being pretty good for them but I can see O'Meely shooting his mouth off a little too often and becoming a target and I just don't see Sean Long being the same player away from St Helens(were he's not cracked any pot for a year or 2 anyway).

I can see them battling for a spot just about in the 8 but could finish as low as 10/11th.

I think we need to be a bit more realistic about our chances next season.

To get any improvement we are relying on the new coaching set up to extract an improvement out of what is basically the same squad and to do that in [ujust one short off season[/u.

For us to be dark horses means to me that they would be able to get enough improvement to put us in with a chance of GF success. I think that is a tall order given other sides have not stood still and puts a lot of expectation on the coaches given they have got what they have got to work with.

Some sides still have on paper better packs than we do and even if the coaches can get the side fitter and mentally tougher ultimately that can't make up for any lack of quality.

If we take the cherry tinted specs off never mind going for the usual scapegoats such as Riddell and Feka, is TL a good enough no. 7 or Phelps a quality no. 1 for example? In how many positions can we say we have one of the best players in the league?

We certainly have the potential to improve and should not be getting beaten by the Crusaders and should be able to put away any injury hit sides we may face (instead of actually losing!) but being cautious I think that is all we should expect improvement-wise from the squad. To win the games we should win instead of failing to turn up expecting an easy ride.

If we get it then all things being equal to last season that could still get us a top four place but as we know all things won't be equal and I would at least expect Tony Smith at Wire to get their poor league form sorted out.

So for me we will actually do very well to get into the top four but if we miss out on that but see the kind of improvements I expect than that is a step in the right direction.

Dave

Many saints and leeds fans I spoke to on the train on the way home from the GF thought that Wigan are the biggest challenge to them. I agree.

I was hoping to reel in some Wire fans with what I said, unfortunately you fell for it

i think all this season will bring us is a more consistent league campaign with mayber a top 4 finish. i still think we'll lose in the semi of the playoffs. You never know with the CC. Wire did it last year but the draw was very favourable to us all with some big teams going out in the early rounds. 2011 will be the benchmark year for us when wane and MM can start bringing the players they want when we have cap space available, ie bailey and fielden.

I'm hoping for an improvement on last seasons finish - 6th.

Leeds and Saints will still be very strong. Bradford have recruited well but their backs are awful, Sam Burgess will be a big miss & they have a new halfback combination - as do Warrington (although they have also recruited well). I think Les Catalans will go well next year and Hull FC will make the play offs. Hull KR and Huddersfield do not look as strong (On paper) as the previous year.

Looking forward to the season.

Why not?

I think KR's team just doesn't look quite as good (and tbh I think even last year they performed better than expected even by their own management, it will be tough to replicate that), and I feel Hudds benefited from a few teams struggling with their tackling style - this season I expect people will be a bit better adjusted to it so they'll have to come up with something different. I also think Scott Moore was important for them (ok he kinda bottled it later, but was a big part of their success) and they'll miss him this year.