Interesting to see on the VT's 2013 prediction thread most people are tipping us to make the Top 8.

Not sure how you get that? Take out the Wakey fans and the majority think we won't make the 8 - although 2 people have us as high as 6th! I'll take that!

Taking out the Wakey fans predictions there are still 15 people who think we will make the 8.
The ones that dont have us mainly finishing 9th.

If you look at the Rhinos forum re: predictions for 2013 most of them have us in the 8

I agree with all your positive points but you are avoiding the negatives too.

1) No one will take us lightly this year so every game will be tough
2) Our wings are renowned for spilling the high ball so expect that to be targetted from day 1 to see if we have plugged that.
3) There is a hole outside Sykes and inside Smith that was used to great effect at Leeds.
4) We rely on Smith to run the show so he will be targetted.
5) Once through the line the full back is unlikely to be able to tackle you.

I'm still saying we have every chance of 8th and even higher, but it is not going to be plain sailing.

I can just imagine Bradford and London targeting us as a win, with Gower and Jeffries already looking forward to bombing us out of teh game.

It will be a miracle if Jeffries bombs us out of the game .
Is he not back in Australia?

Good point well made.
I forgot.....though rumours of his previous exits to Oz have been greatly exaggerated in the past so you can forgive me for not hanging on to that memory.

I'm not ignoring anything - but being a real fan (

) I'm backing us to rise above these issues!

It will be interesting to see how teams handle Tim Smith this season; every SL coach will have seen how important he is for us and how dangerous he is with ball in hand - expect opposition teams to at least attempt to rush, crowd and generally clatter him at every opportunity.

Looking forward to seeing him show a few up!

it is a different thing knowing who is the danger man and stopping him

many teams know cas revolve around chase, yet are still unable to control him (generally the sign of a good player) and i hope it is the same with tim smith this year.

i did notice that schofield made no wild predictions (e.g. another naked run) if he was wrong, especially after been goaded by the salford fans on twitter last night! he might have learnt his lesson.

i think we are a top 8 side, and we will be there at the end of the season.

Will be nice to see teams worried about us and trying to find ways to stop Smith rather than usually us chasing round like headless chickens, Smith is a class act and can handle the extra attention he will get coming his way, he may also thrive of it and use it to our advantage,
Really looking forward to this season and 6th is very achievable

I seem to remember you accusing me of having rose tinted glasses last year and I can't remember the word you used but had a go because I was not happy with those booing Tim Smith.
This year I am not a real fan because I can see we are not perfect.

I get the wink but make up your mind.

He's not really wrong in my opinion, we played a fair few teams at the right time at the end of the season but fair play you can only beat whats infront of you but if we dont have Smith's form for the 2nd half of the season then we would have a real gap that needed filling in.

We are probably just a bit behind KR and Bradford, on a par with London and a bit infront of Widnes, Salford and Cas in my opinion and usually a fancied team under achieves and a unfancied team has a nice run but we should be in the mix for the 8th play off place realistically.

Every team in SL spends a large amount of time doing video analysis of their next opposition, they search for, find and then study the smallest traits in both the team and it's individuals. Tip sheets are produced by members of the coaching staff and every player MUST become familiar with them, they then make changes to the way they attack/defend some are so subtle you might not even notice and some are significant. Make no mistake, our opposition will do this prior to every game this year just as they did last year.
Tim Smith was not a surprise to opposition teams last year, they had studied him and the rest of the team and had a game plan to place him under pressure, they'll try the same this year but it isn't anything new and won't be something Tim Smith and Richard Agar haven't dealt with in every game.

IMO it won't be an extra factor for us to contend with in 2013

Lighten up man!

I never question anyones support as the level is something that cannot be measured and, whether Rose Tinted or not, we all (to coin a phrase) dream the same dream.

It's gonna be a good year!

I thought "second season syndrome" was a generally accepted sporting phenominomininominom? How would you explain that? Granted it's not exactly the same as Smith is a seasoned pro and not a rookie breaking through but I think the wider point remains.

For me, second season syndrome when considering an individual is more about form than it is about being suppressed by extra defensive pressure. Once you've got 5 or 6 games under your belt theres enough video footage available for the opposition to analyse you and pick up on traits that they can exploit. That means you're going into games in your first season already under pressure, you can deal with it and still play well or you can't. if you can't then experience will help you improve but it very rarely, if ever, makes you worse.

Second season syndrome when considering a team has more credence IMO, like it or not psychology plays its part even in well prepared, professional elite sportsmen and the mental state of a team is different dependent upon the subconsciously perceived challenge/danger ahead of them. If in 2012 Wakefield are perceived to be push overs then with the best will in the world you won't reach the same heightened mental state of readiness that you will when facing Warrington for example. In 2013 the perception of the threat level carried by Wakefield will be greater and therefore opposition teams are more likely to attain a greater heightened mental preparedness. Remember at this level of elite sport a minute fraction of a percentage can manifest as a significant change one way or the other.

I was going to say IMO but actualy it's all scientifically proven.

With you on this, it should be a great season, especially because of you're first point, much more strength in the starting 17 this year. Agree with you about Smith, he's pure class and I reckon he could be even better this year. Thinking about it our starting pack is quite exciting and lets hope we can keep them on the pitch together as much as possible this year.

Like Portart has said there's also some points of concern but there are many more positives to think about imo.

I think we'll get into the 8 by right this season not just because of Bradford's problems.

While it's technically right to say we only got 8th because of Bradford being deducted their points, you must also remember they were only there because they were spending £100,000 more than they could afford each month (or whatever it was), I'm pretty sure that if we had overspent by that amount we would have been higher up the table too!

I think we'll end up in a group of teams battling for 7-9th this season and I'd be happy with that.

Hopefully with a bit more consistency we can match what we achieved last year.
Its very unlikely that we'll win 7 on trot again therefore we need to hit the ground running, whilst still having plenty in the tank for the end of season.

The things to look forward to on the field (Smith+Pack) and the question marks around the team (ability to defend from kicks+teams knowing us) have been mentioned.

I am just looking forward to competing with most teams this year, and having a chance in each match.. winning some games and losing some, whilst seeing some decent rugby.

Role on bradford away.

Huddersfield with new unproven coach, one of whom took Huddersfield down table? Aren't you forgetting that Nathan Brown who you sem to think is going to be the flavour of the season at saints was the man in charge when slide started. By the way I hope you do have a good season, but hope giants have a better one.

You mean like we did when we kicked your ass on Good Friday at your place.

Just think you guys are carrying too much faith in Mr Agar....second season syndrome me thinks

It does seem that he lost the dressing room, but most coaches do eventually. What is apparent that your improvement was immediately apparent when Nathan Brown came on board, and your mid-season slumps usually coincided with Nathan Brown announcing he was going home at the end the season. Perhaps he just lost his authority when the players knew he was going. They certainly thought they knew best at the semi-final and look where it got them.

I think you might be in the scrap for the 6th to 8th position, but that isn't where you have been the last few years.

This 2nd season syndrome can also be an advantage, just watch any opposition next season who in a close final 10 minutes with the scores equal be running out to smother Sykesy from a field goal attempt, this will then show gaps in other parts of the pitch, We will have learnt from last season & probably put a bit of doubt in to opposing teams minds, in fact on the warm ups before kick off we should have Sykesy practicing 1 pointers !

Some of what Tim Smith does is undefendable - how do you coach to defend that Benji Marshall style, no-look pass he threw on Sunday to put Wildie away for example? He also seems, despite his ungainly running style, to have a step off either foot that will leave a few standing.

The long, cut-out pass might be a different animal - I guess if you're defending outside him there might be an opportunity to intercept, but it takes bottle and has to be executed right; getting it wrong will be costly.

One thing's for sure - if he carries on where he left off last season, he could easily be one of the most exciting players in SL and certainly, one of the best hb's; on song, he's easily as good as Broughy and not far off Dureau and Gower, albeit with different strengths to the latter two - I'd say his kicking game is weaker, but he's a far better passer of the ball.

Tim Smith - the Wakefield Wizard and subject of my new man-crush.

For me the halves are the key. Sykes was a revelation for me at 6 last year, showing career best form and in my opinion a little unlucky not to get International recognition.

Smith was also excellent but my concern with him is he has a history if struggling when the pressure and focus is on him. I think he thrives in the big fish small pond mentality and his form last year will mean he will be under more pressure this.

The fact he is a passing half rather than a line breaker will increase the importance of his team mates and coach. At times during his Wigan career he was targeted and went missing as he had no support runners and this affected his confidence. I hope he gets the support runners this year.

I see no reason why top 8 is not realistic. In my opinion 7th down will be a real dog fight and I see no reason why Wakefield should not be in the mix for that.