[PopTart]

Re: Leeds away first up. : Wed Nov 20, 2024 8:17 am  

Eastern Wildcat wrote:

I think they will be stronger too.

I know I shouldn't read too much into it, but I saw a video on SM, showing Ken Davy go into dressing room at the end of their last game of 2024, and he gave the team a bit of a pep talk, and said basically, that they are a club on the rise. There was just something in his body language.

There were 5 teams vying for the last 3 play off spots last season, I think there will be more.

I also think those that finish bottom will pick up more than London last year, and us the year before

I'm pretty confident Ken will do that every year.
I'm sure they'll improve though. They've made some decent signings.

Re: Leeds away first up. : Wed Nov 20, 2024 10:17 am  

PopTart wrote:

I'm pretty confident Ken will do that every year.
I'm sure they'll improve though. They've made some decent signings.

I personally think Hudds will miss playoffs and be around 10th next season. They are going backwards from a few seasons ago. They’ve made a couple of decent signings though so it wouldn’t surprise me too much for them to be within touching distance of playoffs end of season.

There’s a lot to improve on though. They were poor when I watched them a few times last season.

Re: Leeds away first up. : Wed Nov 20, 2024 10:44 am  

The Avenger wrote:

Huddersfield will be a much different and tougher proposition in 25

I'd be happy to wager a bit on Huddersfield finishing 11th. They've lost their best back (Marsters), best forward (Hill) and signed poor man's replacements in Jacob Gagai (28-year-old who's played 17 NRL games) and Tom Burgess, who struggles to play more than 40 minutes. They've also lost Connor (maybe for the best), and Russell, leaving them with Lolohea and Clune as their only recognised playmakers. It's looking like Gagai will play fullback - a position he's never played at senior level. I live on the other side of Huddersfield and their fans are completely dejected ahead of next year.

Cas 12th - until they signed Rimbu I felt they might only win 4 or 5 games.

It would be the shock of the season if Leeds finish in the top 4. It's not that their squad is particularly bad, and Arthur will get them playing well, I just don't think they've got the talent in key positions to finish higher than Wigan, Saints, Warrington, and Hull KR.

Catalans are a nit of an unknown and could finish anywhere between 4th and 10th. Leigh and Salford will drop off. Hull FC will improve but not enough to finish higher than us. That's what makes this season pretty exciting for Trin - the pressure's off, and as the top 4 is sewn up we could finish anywhere between 5th and 11th. I'm a believer!

Re: Leeds away first up. : Wed Nov 20, 2024 12:05 pm  

Butcher wrote:

I'd be happy to wager a bit on Huddersfield finishing 11th. They've lost their best back (Marsters), best forward (Hill) and signed poor man's replacements in Jacob Gagai (28-year-old who's played 17 NRL games) and Tom Burgess, who struggles to play more than 40 minutes. They've also lost Connor (maybe for the best), and Russell, leaving them with Lolohea and Clune as their only recognised playmakers. It's looking like Gagai will play fullback - a position he's never played at senior level. I live on the other side of Huddersfield and their fans are completely dejected ahead of next year.

Cas 12th - until they signed Rimbu I felt they might only win 4 or 5 games.

It would be the shock of the season if Leeds finish in the top 4. It's not that their squad is particularly bad, and Arthur will get them playing well, I just don't think they've got the talent in key positions to finish higher than Wigan, Saints, Warrington, and Hull KR.

Catalans are a nit of an unknown and could finish anywhere between 4th and 10th. Leigh and Salford will drop off. Hull FC will improve but not enough to finish higher than us. That's what makes this season pretty exciting for Trin - the pressure's off, and as the top 4 is sewn up we could finish anywhere between 5th and 11th. I'm a believer!

Agree with a lot of what you say, however I think Wire are going to be the team to slip down the ladder. I think their recruitment has been poor to average at best.

Saints have improved their backline but their forwards still look average too.

Wouldn’t shock me to see Leeds above both those 2 come the end of the year.

Re: Leeds away first up. : Wed Nov 20, 2024 12:19 pm  

First few rounds are always difficult to call as most teams are 'bedding in' new players and combinations. I hope that our pack can perform as well in this league as they did last year, and I'm pretty confident that they will. That'll hopefully give our new halves and backs time and space to really get going. I think we'll be a force to be reckoned with from day 1, I'm looking forward to a SL season for the first time in ages!