: Fri Jan 02, 2009 8:30 am  

These threads always make me laugh and just to prove it......

How anyone can predict final league standings before a ball has been kicked is beyond me. Salford and Celtic will be unknowns, Catalans have a new coach as do Saints and Hudds (who also have some very good new signings) so who knows how they will go. Rovers might go bankrupt and FC might have far better luck with injuries and play to the form they have shown in the past.

FWIW at this stage I would say Leeds are strong favourites for the title with Saints about 4-6 points further back and the rest could literally end up anywhere. If putting money on it I would be backing Salford, Celtic and Cas for the bottom 3 obviously but the rest could finish anywhere depending on circumstances.

: Fri Jan 02, 2009 10:22 am  

Robbo4 wrote:

These threads always make me laugh and just to prove it......

Jan 2nd and the best post I've read this year.

: Fri Jan 02, 2009 11:19 am  

leeds
saints
Hull
warrington
catalans
wigan
bradford
huddersfield
cas
hull kr
harlequins
wakey
salford
celtic

: Fri Jan 02, 2009 11:56 am  

Big Dave T wrote:

leeds
saints
Hull
warrington
catalans
wigan
bradford
huddersfield
cas
hull kr
harlequins
wakey
salford
celtic

Ever the optimist

: Fri Jan 02, 2009 12:28 pm  

Gordon Gekko wrote:

Ever the optimist

Always am mate!

: Fri Jan 02, 2009 1:03 pm  

Leeds
Saints
Warrington
Catalans
Wigan
Huddersfield
Bradford
Hull FC
Hull KR
Wakefield
Castleford
Quins
Salford
Celtic

I hope that I'm wrong and that RA and JS have some seriously big white rabbits in a hat somewhere but I really can't see anything other than a finish of 7th - 9th.

In reality, our front row IMO is one of the weaker/most average in SL and certainly weaker now that it has been for a while and most packs will dominate us with ease, even more than they did last season.

We still haven't got a SH and no matter how many times we call Thorman "our new scrum half" he isn't and never has been one. Whether he is good enough at all, is yet to be seen but IMO he is a good SO or a very poor FB. His signing and the subsequent release of Webster still doesn't make any sense at all to me.

We are going into the season with only one recognised centre of any quality at all and, for me, this is utter madness.

Until RA and JS have the opportunity to get rid of the 6 or 7 squad players that are clearly not good enough for Hull FC (whether they're "local lads" or not) and go out and get TWO PROPS, A SCRUM HALF AND A CENTRE, we can expect nothing more than mid-table mediocrity.

I'd really like to see JR's table prediction because he keeps telling us how fantastic our squad is. It would be very interesting to see if he really believes it or whether it's just "spin" for our benefit.

RANT OVER !!!

: Fri Jan 02, 2009 1:35 pm  

Robbo4 wrote:

These threads always make me laugh and just to prove it......

How anyone can predict final league standings before a ball has been kicked is beyond me. Salford and Celtic will be unknowns, Catalans have a new coach as do Saints and Hudds (who also have some very good new signings) so who knows how they will go. Rovers might go bankrupt and FC might have far better luck with injuries and play to the form they have shown in the past.

FWIW at this stage I would say Leeds are strong favourites for the title with Saints about 4-6 points further back and the rest could literally end up anywhere. If putting money on it I would be backing Salford, Celtic and Cas for the bottom 3 obviously but the rest could finish anywhere depending on circumstances.

Do you claim to see anyone who 'knows' how it will go? It's more to educated guesses don't you think? Also, its quite funny how you say people can't predict, yet you go on to make some in your last paragraph

: Fri Jan 02, 2009 1:47 pm  

The Key wrote:

Do you claim to see anyone who 'knows' how it will go? It's more to educated guesses don't you think? Also, its quite funny how you say people can't predict, yet you go on to make some in your last paragraph

If you could point me in the direction of my prediction of final league standings that would be good.

I didn't say people shouldn't predict things, I simply said its a pointless exercise to guess exactly where all 14 SL teams will finish the season when any number of factors can influence things that aren't even known at this point, for instance not a single person would have had us finishing 11th last season.

I then offered an opinion on who my money would be on to finish top and bottom. Thats hardly the same as predicting the final standings of all 14 teams.

: Fri Jan 02, 2009 1:58 pm  

Robbo4 wrote:

If you could point me in the direction of my prediction of final league standings that would be good.

I didn't say people shouldn't predict things, I simply said its a pointless exercise to guess exactly where all 14 SL teams will finish the season when any number of factors can influence things that aren't even known at this point, for instance not a single person would have had us finishing 11th last season.

I then offered an opinion on who my money would be on to finish top and bottom. Thats hardly the same as predicting the final standings of all 14 teams.

Just because you didn't predict the full league standings, it doesn't mean you didnt predict some of the standings by saying Leeds will come top, with Saints 4-6 points off in second. I mean, how can you predict that when you talk about new coaches and one of those clubs above has a new coach for example?

: Fri Jan 02, 2009 2:00 pm  

If people wanrt to predict then where's the harm, if you don't want to then don't.

Most people won't get it right but its a decent enough thread to have this time of year.