Realistic aim for 2018 based on the roster that we know and the Maguire-factor 6th-8th is achievable, and higher if a quality scrum half can be enticed to Rovers.

Keeping the nucleus of the 2017 squad should provide momentum, and hopefully the likes of Shaw, Minns, Heffernan, Atkins and Johnson can kick on. We will need back-up to support these players.

I'd like to see a specialist 9 brought in to support Lunt to allow Lawler to develop in the back row - what a player Lawler is, you build your pack around players like him. It will be interesting to see how Donaldson shapes up, and Quinlan, who were both dogged by injuries but when fit and healthy they bring so much to the team.

It will be very interesting to see how Sheens' approaches recruitment. I don't envy his task.

And you have spent exactly twice as long in Super League and have won it the same amount of times as us.

If you stay up then its a good season regardless of how you do it. I do quite like the squad you have put together (presumably with more to come), I rate it higher than the one Leigh brought up with them. But realistically, there aren't many weak sides these days. Top 8 isn't unrealistic, but its unlikely I would say. If you can finish 9th/10th and negotiate the middle 8's without too much drama that's about right for the squad you have. Anything better is a bonus.

I think that's a decent summary, the one thing I think is wrong is that there aren't any weak sides. I think overall the league isn't that strong. The big hitters have been misfiring of late, Wigan, Wire and Saints for most of the season were poor, Leeds won the GF and finished 2nd in the league and never really looked convincing. Even your lot were inconsistent and covered what was generally not a great league campaign with the CC win.

Wakey and to some extent Cas showed what can be done with good organisation and a well balanced squad, depth seems key to the teams that did well and this is something we have addressed in our year out of SL.

Survival will be the aim with the target being 8th, I think this is achievable but difficult.

You forgot another big hitter in hull Fc winning them cup and being in the the top 4

edited for accuracy

that's made my morning.

Nice one , still does not change the fact Hull FC are in the top 6 .

I’ll reply even though it will be proven to be a pointless task.

Hull had a disappointing end to the season and I would assume that the target would have been to have reached the GF, with the way the other teams were performing and the standard that had been set throughout the year this was probably the best chance anyone outside of the traditional ‘Big 4’ had of winning the GF. Cas were the only team to show any real form all year and Hull had the better of them, so I would assume Pearson and Radford would have been at best satisfied and maybe even disappointed with the outcome of the 2016 campaign.

Next year will have a number of variables in the mix, can Wakey kick on, will Salford be able to compete. Will Wire and Catalan struggle again or can they do a Leeds. How will Leeds go without Burrow and McGuire. Hull have to replace Ellis and Fonua and deal with a trip to Oz as do Wigan. Can Cas replicate this year or are they a flash in the pan. St’s look to have a good squad and look to be preseason favourites.

Each year we do a prediction league, I’m yet to get close with my predictions

I will have to be careful here as i may end up agreeing with you , Hull got beat in the semi by in my opinion the best team in superleague as much as i hate leeds and your new singing who's name i refuse to mention was head and shoulders above both Hull and Cas.As for the big four they no longer exist only in the eyes sky Tv. Last years superleague was probably the poorest so far Castleford being shown up twice in big games by Hull and Leeds.
As for Hull , Fonua has been replaced by a player just as big but with pace and Ellis having only played half the games through injury is replaced by Abdul , Hadley , Fash or Turgut all young guns waiting to take there place.

That was strangely coherent.

Forget which login you used for a minute there?

Now if we could just teach it to use the quote function correctly...

No chance Stan it would be like me winning the Lotto no chance, or like a bus selling Bisto even if they do advertise it on the side of the bus

I don't think leeds were the best team in SL but they probably played their best 2 games of the season in the play offs and therefore deservedly won the comp. We were pretty poor in the game at headingley but only lost by virtue of a missed goal kick and had we played anything near our potential on the night I think we'd have lifted teh trophy as cas were never going to win it

Sheens won't do what Chester did with pre-season 2015-16.

The horror of 2016 means complacency won't seep back in for a good long while, I reckon.

Rovers nailed 2017 - like something you nail to something else.

I want us to have a bit of swagger again. A few good signings and we can bruise quite a few egos in this league, IMO. And stamp, metaphorically, on its weaklings. Demoralise the ********s.

A lot of having a decent season in SL is about having a big enough squad and staying relatively injury free. If you do that you'll probably make the 8 as there will be 4 teams who won't.

Realistic aims for this season?
1. Kill Bill
2. Get Jake banned.

I set the bar high. Morally high.

My aim would be to stay up by hook or by crook I do not care were we finish in the top 8s just do not go done again

This board would be a desolate wasteland without my involvement

thought Sheens would be doing his buisness early snapping up the wantaway players (the ones that you don't have to pay over the odds for) the longer we go without getting these players the more chance there is of getting into buisness of trying to prize away players and dangle the golden carrat, thought we would be smart and do it all early.

I take it you have trouble reading Tim has said he is looking at certain players in the world cup but that does not start till next Friday so wait and see

Maybe you and 'Tim' should work together clevercloggs, completely missing my point.

Agree 100%

Not really just pointing out what he said

Very good, I like it