Quite right , so why are they not complying ? , and why are refs allowing it ?

Posted often that Danny Buderus was incapable of standing at ' marker ' without leaning on the player playing the ball , a penalty every time , and yet he was never penalised for it

If they decide that its an area to tighten up, like always, we would see "silly season" for a few weeks and then a settling down (to a sensible) level.
We've seen this with various rules over the years, most notably with the obstruction rule at the start of last season (which for a while, was just bonkers)

But that's the problem , you only ' tighten up ' a subjective rule , at the moment it's down to individual refs to decide on how much extra grabbing/touching/time they are willing to allow , change to no change of grip and after release no touch then it takes away any judgement , that would then also allow the ref to penalise the constant stepping forward of the mark we now see

As I said, IF the RFL decide that they want the ruck area cleaned up, it can happen without a rule change.
It's cleaner in the NRL, with the same rules in place, just that they (the NRL) have decided that that is how they want the game to be played.

I've said it many times - but there is no change of rules required to clean up the ruck/ptb - just a ruthless and consistent application of the current rules, which the RFL seem reluctant to do; the obvious result being that coaches and players keep pushing the boundaries, and we end up with the current, almost unwatchable mess we are subjected to now.

It would take 3 weeks of heavy penalty counts, maximum, before they got the message and instructed their players to do something different.

I'll be certain that no one gets these predictions correct

Well then

Half way point.....

Cas and Salford top 2. Leeds, Hull and Wakey fighting out 3rd and 4th currently but a strong run from Wigan or Saints could change this.

Dont think nobody expected the current table to look like this after 15 rounds.

Been a refreshing year really, no easy games and only Cas are looking unbeatable. Some massive shocks and some great rugby coming out of Wakey, Cas and Salford.

Should be an interesting end to the season

So have we finally got what everybody wanted , an NRL style competition where anybody can beat anybody else on any given day ?

Or is SL now just nearer Championship level ?

A cas,wakey & Salford top 3 would be great in any order. Anyone think the salary cap is finally working?

A bit of both I think. There are more stars evenly distributed now, rather than say 10 years ago where they were all clustered at certain big clubs.

I think there has been a sacrifice of quality at the top but in exchange we've made the league much more competitive. Obviously as a Wakey fan, I think this is a good thing - not many teams that haven't had a tonking or a big win yet.

Probably anyone other than fans of the big guns.

No, as per , well since 50 years or mmore IF any of those clubs win it will be a one off for a few years. There are many reasons other than the SC why certain teams dominate.

Hats off, so far that's pretty close - so far



Everyone got Wakey wrong except me and a few other Wakey fans. The only other fans who seemed to twig how well we bought were Cas fans much to my surprise.

Never mind Wakey, how many tipped Salford for the top ?
Cas are doing superbly well, although, many predicted them to do well.
Wakefield are where their most optimistic fans predicted but, Salford had fooled everyone.

So far, they are the team of the season and deserve massive credit.

Koucash seems to have calmed down and allowed his "team" to get on with things and it appears to have worked.

Of course the big boys aren't happy but, that's a good thing.
Having said that, nothing has been won or lost yet and we should withhold judgement until after the split.

I had Wakey in the 8.

Knowing a fair few of your ex-Salford players I suspected you'd be capable of scoring a few points this year and getting in the 8. Anyone that had Widnes outside the bottom 4 needing their head checking and Hudds just looked weak after p1ss poor pre-season recruitment. Catalans are virtually impossible to predict as, when they can be ar$ed, they can be unplayable. It seems this year tho they really aren't "at it" 80% of the time. And whilst Leigh have been competitive in pretty much all their games I think 90% of those expecting them to finish outside the bottom 4 were Leythers themselves who think that 3 or 4 years of tonking semi-pro teams is a pre-requisite for SL (and world) domination.



Leeds have probably done slightly better than I expected although on paper last year they were far better than their form and league position suggested. What a difference having a training ground makes eh?


Wire have been an utter shower of e (which prob means they'll turn us over today!

) and Cas and Hull are exactly where I expected (tho Hull have had some absolute spankings which doesn't augur well for the playoffs). Wigan's injuries have hit them massively and are probably the only team capable of a mid-table finish with so many 1st teamers crocked. As for Saints, lots of quality on paper and maybe getting rid of KC will help us see the real Saints?

As for my team Salford, I predicted a 6th/7th place finish (seeing as on performances alone we were nowhere near bad enough to be MPG contenders last year) and hugely impressed with the team spirit and togetherness that Watson has put together. Bar the slapping we got at Catalans which can be put down to the short BH turn-around) we've been competitive in every game this season (tho Wigan did blow us away 1st half) and arguably should have won at both Wakey and Leeds. Can't say we've been lucky in any of the games we've won either so we're definitely not in a false league position. Loads of the "big 4"fans complain about the lack of quality in SL this season but I couldn't give 2 shiny es tbh.

After 28 years of watching Salford "take it easy" on the opposition the demise of any other clubs is the last thing on my mind.



Gonna be an extremely interesting end to the season at both ends of the season. With KR looking strong a few fans of the bottom 4 will be starting to get very nervous indeed....

What are you on about.

Go bother reading what I was responding to, if you lack the capacity to figure it out that's your problem.

The whole Super League competition could look completely different by the end of the regular rounds. That is because three clubs -- Wigan, Hull FC and Catalans -- have been suffering terribly from injuries. If they can overcome the injury deficit in the remaining eight weeks then the competition table could start to look completely different. More important the Super 8 rounds could see a whole new realignment, with the added factor of Benjamin Barba boosting St Helens enormously.

Strange how all the clubs with excellent rated academies are using injuries as an excuse. Will just point out Salford with no academy or reserve side had Welham, Jones, Dobson, Mossop, Tomkins, Griffin, Adam Walne and Jordan Walne all missing.

Not a valid argument.

All the teams in SL are suffering injuries. Factor in two 'Easter' weekends and it's a wonder any team has anyone left. It's simply not an excuse.

You could try a bit of honesty, Jean, and just say that those teams have been poop. Or have had periods of poopness.

The fight to get into the top 8 looks like a straight shoot out between Catalans,Giants and Wolves IMO and with only one club going to making it into the safety of the Super 8's

How do you guys think that the remaining games will pan out and which sides will have to play in the dreaded middle 8's?

Not sure Wigan and Saints are safe yet, I'd be worried if I was a Wigan fan and Leigh beat them on Thursday.

Once St Helens get Benjamin Barba on the field, to link up with Theodore Fages, then St Helens will be almost unstoppable.