: Sun Dec 07, 2008 9:00 pm  

Durham Giant wrote:

if all of these things go for you, you could finsh about 3rd.
if not and some of the things mentioned above go wrong for you you could finsih as low as 8th.

Been said a lot of times before, for eg before the 2007 season, when a side widely tipped to miss the play-offs chalenged for top spot throughout the year despite one actual and one virtual (cheers Ganson) points deduction. Despite this consistent under-tipping, Bulls' lowest SL finish remains fifth.

: Sun Dec 07, 2008 11:59 pm  

6Iestyn6 wrote:

Deacon is a quality halfabck, its just up to the 1 to 6 guys to prove what they can do, theres big raps coming from Nero, Jeffries, Tupou ect if they can do what they say there going to do we will be up there.
.

If Deacon can remain injury free and Jeffries can establish a good rapport alongside him in the halves (which after all they didn't get much of a chance to do last season with Deac's injuries and with Harris still around), then Bradford will have a stable platform upon which to build next year.

Compare that say to Wigan, who are going with a new half-back combination (virtually), and a new hooker. Teams who are successful build around a solid core that gels together. Teams who constantly replace players in core positions on the other hand have a tendency toward inconsistency.

Remember the team has really been in a rebuilding phase over the past couple of years, but with the old guard now gone things can progress steadily.

[Bullseye]

: Mon Dec 08, 2008 10:33 am  

redeverready wrote:

At least a 3rd place finish is the minimum we should be aiming for. If we eradicate the silly mistakes which plagued us last season, improve our consistency and actualey have some tactics this is easily achievable.

I think that's a bit optimistic. I don't think our backs are good enough to secure 3rd.

I'd say that 5th is the best we'll manage.

If we have a better record against the likes of Saints, Wigan and Leeds, see some youngsters come through and avoid as many embarassing slip ups then that will be an improvement in my eyes.

Re: Realistic expectations for next season............. : Thu Dec 11, 2008 11:13 am  

[quote="Tartanbull"]In an ideal world we would finish top and win the Grand Final, but in the real world we know that aint gonna happen......yet!

So where do you realistically feel we will finish next season, with a good run without any injuries, and if we can avoid the silly early season loses that have blighted the last couple of years, I can see us getting fourth??

Over to you.............................[

I think that we will finish 3rd get to wembley but get knocked out in first round of play offs

: Thu Dec 11, 2008 7:47 pm  

Being realistic the Bulls should aim for a top 4 finish, but imo they will finish no higher than 4th at best, most probably 5th

Teams that will definately <imo> finish higher than the Bulls are:
Saints, Rhinos & Wigan

: Thu Dec 11, 2008 8:10 pm  

UnleashKeith Carnegie wrote:

There are more than three teams who are better than Bradford in Super League.

There aren't.

At the moment, every team is exactly level on 0 points.

: Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:10 pm  

Ferocious Aardvark wrote:

There aren't.

At the moment, every team is exactly level on 0 points.

I meant player quality wise.

In the ponts sense then everyone is level.

In the quality sense Bradford are around 7th.

: Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:22 pm  

UnleashKeith Carnegie wrote:

. . . . .

In the quality sense Bradford are around 7th.

Hmmm. . . . .

You happy to take a bet on the Bulls proving you wrong on that position in terms of their standing at the end of the regular season then.

: Fri Dec 12, 2008 10:07 am  

a lot of noise is being made about wigan being good next year

At the moment, every team is exactly level on 0 points.

aren't we top alphabetically?

: Fri Dec 12, 2008 10:36 am  

In terms of players I think we can expect a lot more from Nero

Vidi, Vici, Veni!