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he wont be far off with that

It's interesting isn't it. Apart from Leeds being top I honestly can't judge the next 9 teams.

Robbie Paul has Hull 9th. I suspect this may be because he can't fit them in anywhere else and not because he thinks they would be pants this season. With the singings they've made and the pack they have they could end up 2nd, or 10th. Hard to call.

Like you say bar Leeds being top it'll be rare to see many people predictions match up. That can only be good for the league as a whole.

I'd personally have Saints in 2nd and then 3rd to 8th could literally be anything. I really like the looks of Catalans line up and they could get back upto that 3rd spot but then they could be 9th or 10th and you can say that sort of thing about 7 or 8 teams.

I don't think Cas will make the eight and I think Wigan will be higher than six.
Catalan I expect to be top four.

We had this discussion in work. We tried to pick our top six. We all (4 of us) had 8 or 9 teams in our six and none could commit to it.

It should be a great season with alot of close games. I too couldnt pick between 2-9. Leeds, Wigan, wire, Saints, Hull, Cats could all easily make the top 4. I think the botton 5 is easier, i predict
10 Cas
11 Wakey
12 Quins
13 Celtic
14 Salford

Didn't Wakey finish 5th last season? You are predicting a big drop for them.

I think Saints will come either 3rd, 4th or 5th. We still have a big lack of pace in our team, and I think that while Eastmond will eventually be a brilliant halfback, he's still going to be inexperienced at first and it'll take quite a bit of time for him to click with Pryce.

For me, this season, nothing is certain. Anyone could beat anyone and most of the teams look well-matched, with the exception of Leeds.

I know. Leeds look poor, don't they?

yep, sold their best player and 5th was overachieving

I reckon Wakefield could do well again this season. They've signed some very good players in Newton, Morrison, Millard and Tronc. Despite them losing Atkins I think they'll still make the 8.

Tronc i'll give you is a good signing, but the others were past it 2 yrs ago

I was impressed with Wakefield in our pre season game against them tbh.

They looked very good in attack and some of the young lads like Murphy and Morton looked very handy. I thought Tronc was a real handful at prop and Newton and Morrison will add some experience. They both looked re-energised from their spells at Bradford.

It was only a pre season game I suppose but i'll be suprised if they don't make the 8.

Its not as if they're a bad squad, more like others are better.

Thats the beauty...it's just so hard to call.

I can see one of Hull or Bradford falling flat on their faces after such big prediction for them. I'm not overly convinced by either teams signings because in a way they remind me of the desperate moves we used to make under Lindsay.

i'd agree with that too, neither are young squads either

you have more in your squad over 30 hth........

And both clubs have very ordinary coaches.

Pundits seem to focus on a few players or maybe a starting 17. In SL a squad with some depth and a smart coach are better predictors of league position. With quite a few teams the starting 17 may look impressive but the squad is 'skinny'.

I'm not sure we do, now?

For what it's worth I think we both have 5 players over the age of 30.

saints have 6 hull have 5....

Although as I said in my last post 'For what it's worth',Who are the six over 30?
Anyway, in my veiw It doesn't really matter on the age of the player, it's all about quality. If teams got rid of players as soon as they hit the 30 mark that so many people seem concerened about, the game would be missing out on some brilliant players. We wouldn't be watching the likes of Peacock, Hodgson, Morley, Long, Senior, Gidley, Cunningham, Lauititi, Menzies etc. week in week out.

Over 30s
Gidley, Meli, Fozzard, Cunningham, Puletua and Fa'asavalu.

Add to that Wellens who is 30 in February and Flannery who is 30 in June.