Greg Florimos Boots wrote:
In my opinion Bradford wont be anywhere near but Haven and Oldham will be far enough of the pace for them to stay up comforatbly. I don't see Fev reliant on DR unless Im missing something? I think Fev with good use of dual reg again have the strongest squad in the league. Id probably go Fev top followed by Toulouse and York if I had to be pushed on it.
Leigh have probably signed enough to make the play offs without troubling the top 2 but will probably spend again closer to the playoffs. London I reckon they could change position with Leigh but if anyone will be a surprise omission from the top 5 it could be them although I dont see Fax or Widnes as strong enough to make it in reality.
Sheffield are a tough one to predict after last season but comparing squads they shouldn't make the top 5 so they could end up in the group of Widnes and Fax in missing out.
I think that will leave a group of Swinton, Bradford, Dewsbury and Batley, Swinton again always play good rugby and if they pick up some wins early doors then they will be fine. Bradford obviously massively weaker after losing so many players but with Leeds and Hull feeding them players to gain experience they will be fine. Leave Desbury and Batley and other than Lunt signing for Batley both teams recruitment has been pretty poor and they will be thankful for having 2 weaker teams in the division. Haven is tough to go to which should get them some points but I doubt it will be enough and I expect Oldham to get a few spankings, they look way off the pace and struggling for players.
Agree with just about everything in the above.
Not necessarily predicting like GFB that Fev will finish top as there are definitely a few questions to answer - can Webster be more effective as a Championship coach than he was in SL, how will the veteran forward signings Ferguson/Ferres perform, how close to his best and how often will Chisholm be etc - but on paper we have a squad that should challenge for top 3. Yes we will use DR extensively, and if we get McLelland for extended periods that will be a big boost, but as GFB says it's wrong to say we are very much dependent on DR - some of the fringe Leeds players would struggle to get a game if all our alds are fit.
I'm not as down on London as I was a few weeks ago as the starting pack looks really good but the backs and, especially, depth are big question marks. Ward clearly remains a positive though.
Leigh have done a fair bit of recruiting but they looked a bit iffy defensively sometimes last season yet seem to have concentrated more on attack (Sammut etc).
I watched Toulouse in their pre-season game yesterday and they looked the better side for chunks of the game against Catalans. Toulouse are sure to be up there again, they do seem to lose form somewhere along the way though every season, but if they play to their potential with consistency they might be the team to beat.
York have recruited well and what's more they have done it in positions of weakness. Teams will see them as a "big game" this year that they have to get motivated for, but I'd still be surprised if they aren't top 5.
