Signs a new deal then says 'I'm delighted to stay on with the Don's and with Carl and Richard at the helm we're aiming for automatic promotion' sounds like copy paste repeat to me.

In the light of Carl Halls statement one might of thought there would have been at least one marquee signing to get us there. Also fill the full back and vacant centre roles with quality players. But no it' s just as already stated same old same old. The club is run by charlatans who can't grasp the fact that positive signs of real commitment will sell more season tickets even if the price does go up. I pray for the day when someone with real intent takes over the club.

I always find myself in a tough position before a season because it goes without saying it's normally a failed one previously where targets have not been met and the bluster before the season has not happened but then i listen to Carl and the plans for the following season and I'm on board again giving everybody at the club yet another chance! Without a doubt it's naivety or being gullible on my part. I was absolutely guaranteed we wasn't making the same mistake again and automatic is a must but without a couple of big name signings once again i just can't see it. I do really like Carl both on the pitch and off it and you can see he's passionate about the club but clearly those upstairs who count their money on an hourly basis do not share that enthusiasm, I'm also staggered we go around again with a coach who couldn't inspire me to spend £5 in a brothel! Maybe when Carl ends his partnership with the club (which i hope isn't for a long time yet) he will open up about the owners and tell us just how much his hands we're tied financially.

Is this squad that is nearly a replica of last seasons beaten grand final squad good enough to earn a top two place in next years League? my thoughts are that they should be. They start off where they left off as a group and should not need the customary few games to adjust.

I wish that we could have got Zac back on the books and would still like to see Ben Howe given a further year cos IMO there is a good player in Ben and I like to see the Donny lads doing well in their home Town (City) sport.

In an ideal world half the team would be donny lads but we have to see beyond being sentimental, personally i was split on his performances and if we looking at cutting a wage to contribute to a marquee signing then sadly his name should be mentioned. I honestly can't see where we are stronger than last season and it's always difficult going to workington and think dewsbury will be highly competitive. There isn't 1 signing that's got me excited yet or gonna make me buy a season ticket, despite the bluster of being told it's automatic full steam ahead it feels like we're going down the poundland shopping route.

I honestly thought that with Carl Halls connections to the world cup we were going to have at least one or two overseas signings and that was the basis of his claim about winning the league. Yes we have some new players but they are nowhere near the quality of the signings Keighley made last year to win the league. We are being served up the same old bull once again but I'm sure there will be a section who will accept this for yet another year. However for me it's no longer acceptable and another season ticket is a million miles away. Good luck though to those who do decide to plough the same old furrow.

Let's see what the bookies say....

I'd be surprised if the Dons are in the front two in the betting, very surprised.

I think the bookies will have us as third when it comes out

The bookies always seem to underestimate our chances.
Hunslet , Workington and Dewsbury look strong but after the club made their intentions clear at yesterday's launch , I'm confidant of a successful season.

The bookies won't be pricing up our league anytime soon so I thought I'd have a stab at it.

If you fancy calculating prices yourself, firstly give each of the 11 teams a percentage chance of winning the league. The total win percentage chances for the 11 clubs must come to 100.

To then calculate the odds for each team: take 100 and divide it by the win percentage chance. This gives the decimal odds.

For example, if you think the Dons have a 40% chance of winning the league, their decimal odds would be 100 divided by 40 = 2.50. 2.50 in decimals is the same as 6/4 in fractions.

I found it quite tough to attach win percentages to each team but the thing that struck me was that it could well be quite an open league this season.

The image below shows my calculations.



I've got the Dons at 5/1 to win the league and 2/1 to get promoted.

The bookmakers' prices will probably be shorter than those I've listed as they'll build a profit margin into their book. My book assumes no profit margin for backer or layer.

Bookies aside...we have 3 pundits placing us third ....
That really isn't good enough....

Somewhere in the region of 20% and this will mainly be factored into the first few in the betting.

I intend on marrying Britney spears and have been for a while but not getting far with that currently! We have heard this confidence malarkey ever since the infamous 5yr plan was introduced only to be let down year in year out, what we have at our club is very good salesmen and motivational speakers that convince and get me hooked every season but it's getting to a stage where i don't want to open up just to get conned again, I know the fleecebookers who read this will have the pitchforks ready but seriously we are going into another season in my opinion in a tougher league but with a slightly weaker team so how can we be confident?

The pre-season games we've got lined up are much more sensible than previously. With most of the squad being the same as last year, I don't expect a slow start this time. They're two positives.

Nevertheless, even with a relatively injury-free end of season last time and a team that had got used to playing with each other, we still weren't good enough to beat Swinton.

It does look as though it could be a tougher league in 2023 and we don't seem to have strengthened enough to be confident we're the best team in the division. However, we should be competitive and stand a reasonable chance of winning promotion.

Jemmo, Wanderer and I have stated where we think we're at. What chance of promotion does everyone else think we've got? Have we got a better or worse chance this time around?

Given it looks like Watson Boas is having a full off season with us this year and will be fit for the start of the campaign (fingers crossed for the friendlies) I’m going to say we have an improved chance on last year. A settled squad at the start of the season with Watson in it I hope means we won’t misfire early and spend the rest of the season playing catch up.

We will have a fully fit internationally recognized half, who would I'm sure not be out of place in any Super League side returning from a serious injury, this will be like a new signing alone and with the addition of Elliott Hall a proven Championship full back they both have pace to burn, I guarantee they will be racking up the points.

I work with two diehard Batley fans, and they could not believe they had missed out on Hall's signature as he was very highly regarded at Mount Pleasant while on loan from Bradford, scoring some spectacular length of the field tries along the way.

I feel that after retaining most of last year's team they will know the structures the coach wants to play and with a few quality additions we will go one better than last year.

The club are making the right noises but as we all know talk is cheap and now, they have to deliver.

Bradley Knowles, Brad hey and a 35yr old forward who has not played in a long time due to injury concerns is hardly bums off seat stuff, i agree Elliott hall could be very good for us but joining the hype train is dangerous as a quite a few of us have been on it for a while! Unless we add 2 big quality signings i honestly don't see us stronger because Ruan will he a big miss. Also agree Boas is our standout player as for him being able to pick his super league team that's a bold statement

Knowles is highly regarded as a tough nonsense Championship forward, Hey and James both have plenty of Championship experience and while at the latter stages of their careers will no doubt add to the group if they stay fit.

Your comment about Ruan makes him sound like a world beater, he never impressed me, and I thought his work rate was poor as were his defensive qualities, ....................... yes, Leeds must have seen something in him to warrant a three-year deal but saying he will be a big miss is questionable.
There is always the possibility we have him back on loan as I can't see him breaking into the Rhinos side any time soon and a spell playing regular football in the Championship or league 1 could be route Leeds follow as they did with Liam Tindall.

I think they have seen potential in the lad and working in a full-time environment will only help see what he is capable of.

The very minute after the hooter at swinton we we're promised definitely no more play offs and that automatic was the only option, a simple yes or no answer does our signings up to now have us in the automatic places?

The very minute after the hooter at swinton we we're promised definitely no more play offs and that automatic was the only option, a simple yes or no answer does our signings up to now have us in the automatic places?

No - I don't see us having strengthened enough to win the league.

Elliot Hall is a solid signing that will improve us in the backs and give us a recognised quality full back something we've been missing for two years.

Knowles is well regarded and will no doubt do a job for us. I see him as a direct replacement for Ruan.

The other two do not inspire confidence Hey hardly played last year and bringing someone out of retirement is never ideal, we lost Storey and we haven't picked up a new centre I can only see the play will be to play Hall there or Misi - while I admire Misi for his dedication, he is in a place now where he should be a bit part player, not the major focus. We seem very light in the backs I think we only have 2 wingers and 2 centres on the books. We lack any form of a punch in the forwards I don't feel the two we've brought in are going to be anything more than "solid" and are not going to set the division alight with tackle-busting runs or great offloads.

Its been proved over 3 seasons now that Horne has no plan B if were not dominant in the forwards he is lost and has no other way of playing. I know I keep coming back to it but after we defeated the Cougars 2 years ago they took stock and went hard on recruitment we lost in two finals and rewarded failure, I personally think the side we had when we lost to Town in the final was better than the side that lost to Swinton, we have gone backwards not forwards.

Other teams seem to be recruiting better - you cannot be critical on Bookface you have to be a happy clapper.

Very good and well balanced assessment, it's like zombies on facebook if they get in your head or bite you then you become one of them! If your honest or question the top brass you are villified, we absolutely are not stronger currently than last year and i do believe the league will be harder this season. Once again we're looking at 3rd despite the promise of no more play offs

Don't forget you need to go every week and also have played previously to have a valid opinion

The seasons launch and the bluster spoken on the night are a smokescreen to another failed campaign, every fan in that room will have been conned into thinking 'we have got it right now and this is our year' these nights are designed to sell season tickets and nothing more! I've been to so many of these only to be left robbed at the end of the season, if people are happy with false promises good luck to them.