They're here www.rugbyleaguechampionships.co.uk/rlnewera

They're here www.rugbyleaguechampionships.co.uk/rlnewera

I thought it was quite simple until I read that!

Considering we should on paper have hammered Bradford twice last year and lost both games, one heavily, I don't think we should be taking them for granted at all.
We should be better prepared but there is a risk that has to be considered.

I can't say I'm ever confident of a Trinity victory when they are purportedly the favourites. Unfortunately experience has taught me that's when they serve up their worst performances.

Quote ="The Avenger"They're here www.rugbyleaguechampionships.co.uk/rlnewera'" Quote ="Bullseye"I thought it was quite simple till I read that'" I wished I hadn't asked myself, Think I'll wait till the end of round 23 it must be simpler. Thanks anyway.

Quote ="The Avenger"They're here www.rugbyleaguechampionships.co.uk/rlnewera'" Quote ="Bullseye"I thought it was quite simple till I read that'" I wished I hadn't asked myself, Think I'll wait till the end of round 23 it must be simpler. Thanks anyway.

Nice and clear that then i don't think! So lets say hypothetically we finish in the bottom four with the two Hull clubs and Widnes and the championship top four in order is Bradford, Leigh, London and Fev. I think it would work like this...

If the bottom of Superleague finished..
Hull
Hull KR
Wakefield
Widnes

Then our fixtures would be

Home - Widnes, London, Hull KR
Away - Hull, Bradford, Leigh, Fev

But if us and Hull KR were to swap places it would be..

Home - Bradford, Leigh, Widnes, London
Away - Hull, Hull KR, Fev

All guesswork as to where clubs may or may not finish obviously but shows the importance of not resting players purely focused on the super eights. Finishing 9th or 10th could make our job a whole lot easier by not having to travel to the fulltime championship clubs home grounds.

Good explanation Theboyem

So if we finished 10th we would get an extra home game and it would cost season ticket holders no more, but if we finished 11th or below we would get an extra away game and have to pay for it!! Doesn't really reward loyal fans dies it?

Edited for personal preference

Quote ="MOPSEY LIVES ON"my main concern is fitness again if your not the most talented then work twice as hard as anyone else in training.'" There may be something in the issue with our training methods which according to Shaun Wane are not as intensive as at Wigan. We need to be the one of the fittest teams in the league to get more out of our players. “......whenever we have played Wakefield I have admired Taulima and he has always troubled us. He is a big, athletic guy and will fit in with us perfectly. “They way we train has been a bit of a shock for him and Larne, because it is quite intense and different to what they have been used to. But they have both relished it and are already giving us so much more. www.totalrl.com/2015-preview-wigan-warriors/?

Quote ="MOPSEY LIVES ON"my main concern is fitness again if your not the most talented then work twice as hard as anyone else in training.'" There may be something in the issue with our training methods which according to Shaun Wane are not as intensive as at Wigan. We need to be the one of the fittest teams in the league to get more out of our players. “......whenever we have played Wakefield I have admired Taulima and he has always troubled us. He is a big, athletic guy and will fit in with us perfectly. “They way we train has been a bit of a shock for him and Larne, because it is quite intense and different to what they have been used to. But they have both relished it and are already giving us so much more. www.totalrl.com/2015-preview-wigan-warriors/?

Quote ="asmadasa"There may be something in the issue with our training methods which according to Shaun Wane are not as intensive as at Wigan. We need to be the one of the fittest teams in the league to get more out of our players. “......whenever we have played Wakefield I have admired Taulima and he has always troubled us. He is a big, athletic guy and will fit in with us perfectly. “They way we train has been a bit of a shock for him and Larne, because it is quite intense and different to what they have been used to. But they have both relished it and are already giving us so much more. www.totalrl.com/2015-preview-wigan-warriors/?'" The shock and intestity may be more related to Wane's requirement of thuggery and intimidation as seen in the Grand Final.

Quote ="asmadasa"There may be something in the issue with our training methods which according to Shaun Wane are not as intensive as at Wigan. We need to be the one of the fittest teams in the league to get more out of our players. “......whenever we have played Wakefield I have admired Taulima and he has always troubled us. He is a big, athletic guy and will fit in with us perfectly. “They way we train has been a bit of a shock for him and Larne, because it is quite intense and different to what they have been used to. But they have both relished it and are already giving us so much more. www.totalrl.com/2015-preview-wigan-warriors/?'" The shock and intestity may be more related to Wane's requirement of thuggery and intimidation as seen in the Grand Final.

We clearly aren't as fit as the other teams in the league as evidenced by the fact that last season quite often a number of players are blowing out of their arris after 15 mins.

This issue is the responsibility of the conditioner and it is my opinion that our current conditioners methods haven't moved on with the developments in the field and hence our players are not getting the right advice and programmes.

If the conditioning issues are not addressed then in my opinion, we will continue to struggle to compete for 80 mins and be soft defensively, meaning a number of large losses.

My observation of our conditioning from what I've seen on training days, during games and the injury list is that it's more reliant on weights and strength than actual physical fitness.

I recall a few years back the fitness of the side was criticised for being heavily cardiovascular based and not enough emphasis was based on strength meaning teams powered through the defence due to shear size. As ever their needs to be a happy medium.

Out of interest what's Geoff Evans upto these days?

When he was the conditioner it's the fittest I've seen the team in the SL era. The long run of home wins in the second half of the season was down to us blowing teams away in the final quarter.

Obviously not still at Shudds because Wane says Lard Patrick is struggling too.

Looking at the other squads, which SL teams do you think you'd beat in a play off situation?

We've proved already, with this squad, that we're capable of beating anyone on the day.

Next season the difference between us and Bradford for example, is that we'll be competing in the higher intensity of SL on a weekly basis.

He needs to work on his left hook!

The fact is you won't be competing with most of it. Objectively, on the basis of your squad, the bookies have you tipped to finish bottom and you'd likely be second favourites against any of the Hull clubs, Widnes etc in the play offs. That means you'd have to travel away to two of Bradford, Leigh, London - all MUST win games against full time sides after a tough, demoralising season with the inevitable casualty list.

Go have another look at Wakey's squad and tell me you fancy that.

Same as every season then. Just remind me how many times we have finished bottom of Super League...

I'm not saying our squad is world beating but we've had much worse squads and still managed to avoid the wooden spoon. It's a long season and nobody can predict the twists and turns that will inevitably happen. To predict the league order based on a lazy bookies tip before a ball has even been passed is nothing short of stark staring bonkers barking madness.

Besides, have the bookies actually tipped league position or just shown their liability list in ascending order?

The middle 8 will be tough, and in effect the same teams will be competing in that group year on year. Should a championship gain promotion they'll be in the middle 8 the following year suffering the same 'demoralising season' as the SL clubs have this year.

I certainly didn't finish last season "demoralised"!

There was a bit in mid season pre Webster that had me staring into the clouds in my coffee but that lifted well before the end of the season after wins over Warrington, Salford, Widnes Hull FC, Wigan, Leeds etc

Any team “going up” will have to strengthen quite a bit if they’re to stay there. It’s all very well having a much bigger SL salary cap but you need to have the money in the first place to be able to spend it.

I can see quite a few of the same teams meeting in the middle eight for the next few years.

Which in effect will create an 8 team Super League and the calls to contract the league even further will arise.