Re: predictions for 2014 final sl finishing positions : Fri Jan 31, 2014 1:15 pm  

Old Feller wrote:

Most people favour the Rhinos to win the cup with Saints to win the Grand Final.

Would be quite something with Leeds having lost their last 6 CC finals and Saints having lost their last 5 GF's.

Re: predictions for 2014 final sl finishing positions : Fri Jan 31, 2014 4:10 pm  

Wigan
Leeds
St Helens
Warrington
Huddersfield
Catalan
Hull
Salford
Hull KR
Wakefield
Castleford
Widnes
London
Bradford

Re: predictions for 2014 final sl finishing positions : Fri Jan 31, 2014 4:22 pm  

Juan Cornetto wrote:

Wigan
Leeds
St Helens
Warrington
Huddersfield
Catalan
Hull
Salford
Hull KR
Wakefield
Castleford
Widnes
London
Bradford

I might need to revise mine, given Bradford's latest flirtation with the administrator

Re: predictions for 2014 final sl finishing positions : Fri Jan 31, 2014 4:31 pm  

Clearwing wrote:

I might need to revise mine, given Bradford's latest flirtation with the administrator

Don't bother.

Their iconic status as a SL club shall be protected by their landlords (the RFL) no matter what.

It was the "former holding company" which went into administration today anyhow, and not the new holding company... bwahahahahaha.

Re: predictions for 2014 final sl finishing positions : Fri Jan 31, 2014 10:31 pm  

Don't forget to leave your entry William - several posters in the past have set their personal benchmark against it.

Re: predictions for 2014 final sl finishing positions : Sun Feb 02, 2014 10:53 pm  

Phuzzy wrote:

Just to add fuel to the debate re: Warrington. I have it on good authority that the upper echelons of the club themselves don't expect to be challenging for silverware for at least 2 seasons. That doesn't mean they won't, of course, as evidenced by Wigan in 2010 winning the GF a couple years ahead of the perceived wisdom from inside the club. I think the difference between the two situations could be that Warrington are in a genuine rebuilding phase, whereas Wigan were not. Interesting that many posters still see them as big contenders given their record without Morley and, in particular, Briers which has been generally poor and given the fact that they haven't actually replaced them with anything approaching 'like for like'. I suppose it comes down to whether the players they already have can step up this year without them; something they were unable to do last season. Either way, it will certainly be interesting to see how it pans out.

Phuzzy I dont believe a word of that. From what I have heard they are bullish about next season. Smith has openly said that he has been building towards this new team. Moran our chairman has known to back us financially whenever a new player is needed. I think you are way off the mark imo.

Re: predictions for 2014 final sl finishing positions : Sun Feb 02, 2014 11:08 pm  

Phuzzy when you say the upper echelons who do you mean moran, gatliffe,broomhead, smith?

Re: predictions for 2014 final sl finishing positions : Tue Feb 04, 2014 12:36 pm  

Billinge Wires wrote:

Phuzzy when you say the upper echelons who do you mean moran, gatliffe,broomhead, smith?

Nope. Seinor tea lady, retail team manager and a guy who stands at the bar in his local who is pretty old and seems to watch RL if it's on and the landlady isn't wearing anything revealing.

Re: predictions for 2014 final sl finishing positions : Tue Feb 04, 2014 1:10 pm  

1 Saints-some good signings, decent outside backs, decent halves, World Class Hooker, big pack, need step back up to the big leagues after a year or two fo rebuilding
2 Giants-still hungry, wont place as much importance on finishing top but aren’t experienced enough to manage the season to the degree of other clubs
3 Wire-too good for many teams in the league, will miss Briers in the big games
4 Leeds-great backs, not enough up front, but easily capable of beating anyone, need to manage the season more than others with rotation, especially up front
5 Wigan-will simply try and do what they did last year
6 Catalans- simply the 6th best team in the comp imo, stuck in a little bit of no mans land in quite a bit better than those below, not close enough to those above
7 Cas will start off strong, gets some big wins under their belts and hope to hang on
8 Salford-Will do the opposite of Cas, nobby will do what nobby does.
9 Hull-another season of under achievement, will look one week like they can beat anyone, look like they couldn’t beat a school team the next
10 Hull KR Will define mediocrity. Bang in the middle, too good to go down, not good enough for the 8
11 Bulls- Will stay up may not be anywhere near their best squad, still got some decent players and experience
12 Widnes-looked to be building for the last few years, haven’t added anyone haven’t added anyone game changing this off-season
13 Wakefield- decent squad which will keep in touch, just doesn’t have the depth for me
14 London-not that bad a squad, but simply has not time to get together or gel and will lose early games, possibly denting confidence, possibly getting left behind.

Re: predictions for 2014 final sl finishing positions : Tue Feb 04, 2014 2:37 pm  

SmokeyTA wrote:

7 Cas will start off strong, gets some big wins under their belts and hope to hang on.

I was very tempted to put Castleford in the top 8 as I thought they'd be dark horses and saw their season going similar to what you describe with a good start and decent chunk of the season in the playoff spots, except I thought they might just slide out of 8 by the end (ended up putting 10th). Kinda wish I'd listed them in the Top 8 now though.