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Super League Table Predictions


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1 St Helens - Best team in the comp and strengthened further. 

2 Warrington - Powell will have them up there

3 Catalans - Not as good as last year.

4 - Leeds - Good squad bit still have Agar at the helm.

5 - Huddersfield - Good squad decent coach, should be better then last season

The rest you could throw a blanket over with Wigan/Hull towards the top and Toulouse/Salford to the bottom.

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19 hours ago, DimmestStar said:

Thanks for your kind comments. Forgive me for stating our case but here it is.

Tony Smith has had 2 full years at the club and has been building and building. Not just the team but the squad. Not just the squad but the club. He started from a low base but history should tell you that at this stage Tony Smith teams really come into their own.

Good example is at half back where last year he put his faith in two 20 year olds with enormous talent in Mikey Lewis and Rowan Milnes both signed on long term deals. They both shone and with the experience they gained could be absolute dynamite this time plus of course Jordan Abdull, still only 25 and who last year blossomed into an England player. And with Danny McGuire as assistant coach could those three possibly have a better mentor?

At full back we'll be hoping that Lachlan Coote is available most of the time but behind him we have Will Dagger who is a quality young full back and then the ultra exciting prospect of Phoenix Laulu-Togaga'e. Be it this year, next year and probably sooner rather than later, this player is going to be something special. He's been making quality NRL players blush in training.

We retain our 5 main props from 2021 but have added Greg Richards (former Grand Final winner) and Tom Garratt who is an absolute physical brute. Back row we have added Frankie Halton who has suffered a disappointing injury this week but has been the stand out player in pre season plus we have the return of vice captain Elliot Minchella who missed the entire season in 2021.

I'm nonplussed at the suggestion that we don't have depth because for certain Tony Smith has been busy in this respect.

Of course every team has a right to be optimistic at the is stage and only time will tell.

 

Might have to play Saints twice this year as opposed to not playing them last?

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7 hours ago, PREPOSTEROUS said:

1 St Helens - Best team in the comp and strengthened further. 

I'm not necessarily arguing with Saints been the best in the comp - I believe it's between them and Catalans for that accolade. "Strengthened further" however, has me raising an eyebrow. 

5 in 5 out makes this a pretty fair comparison to do - 

In - Sironen, Lussick, Hurrell, Bell, Hopoate

Out - Coote, Bentley, Thompson, Fages, Naiqama

Even the most ardent Saints fan will struggle to explain how that makes them stronger? It might get them better coverage in a couple of positions but make no mistake, if they could've kept almost all them they would have. 

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58 minutes ago, hunsletgreenandgold said:

I'm not necessarily arguing with Saints been the best in the comp - I believe it's between them and Catalans for that accolade. "Strengthened further" however, has me raising an eyebrow. 

5 in 5 out makes this a pretty fair comparison to do - 

In - Sironen, Lussick, Hurrell, Bell, Hopoate

Out - Coote, Bentley, Thompson, Fages, Naiqama

Even the most ardent Saints fan will struggle to explain how that makes them stronger? It might get them better coverage in a couple of positions but make no mistake, if they could've kept almost all them they would have. 

Agreed it is a matter of opinion whether we are stronger.

Thompson was gone physically and isn't a loss at all as he barely played.  Bentley also barely played last year but when he did was often a liability and eventually was outplayed by Bachelor.  So we're really talking three out, five in (from a 2021 contribution point of view).

Lots of people were asking for Fages to lose his place to Dodd long before his CCF injury and he missed the rest of the season anyway; we looked a more dangerous team without him.  So you could argue from the point of view of 2021 business end it's actually two out, five in.

Lussick is a great addition to supplement Roby.  I'd be very surprised indeed if Sironen isn't at least on a par with Bentley.  Coote was a cracking player for us but I can imagine Welsby being a bigger threat from FB - he's a superstar.  We then have one of Hopoate/Hurrell to step up and replace Naiqama.  And Bell for depth.

I think the 2022 squad is probably stronger overall based on the above, but my bigger concern is two ageing props in LMS/Amor who are another year closer to retirement.   I think a lot of people willl be hoping Dan Norman breaks through this year - it took our last project prop a while to find his feet but he's gone on to do alright with a testimonial match this weekend . . . . . 

Edited by FearTheVee
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3 hours ago, GeordieSaint said:

1. Saints/Catalan

2. Catalan/Saints

3. Warrington

4. Huddersfield/Leeds

5. Leeds/Huddersfield

6. Hull KR

7. Wigan

8. Hull

9. Salford

10. Toulouse 

11. Castleford

12. Wakefield

Fair call on Castleford. It's going to be a really tough season for them I think. 

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1. Saints

2. Catalans

3. Warrington

4. Leeds

5. Wigan

6. Hull KR

7. Huddersfield

8. Hull FC

9. Castleford

10. Salford

11. Toulouse

12. Wakefield

The usual suspects will finish in the top 4 and I can't see Leeds missing out on the top 6. Powell will have Warrington playing a better style of rugby for their squad than Price did and Wigan will qualify as always. I think that we will have another good season for us but that battle for the 6th spot looks like being really tight and it could easily be Hull or Huddersfield taking it.

I think Cas will struggle for a lot of the season and at the bottom I can see Toulouse picking up just enough home points to stay up. 

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1  Saints

2 Warrington   (Could push Saints if they had more belief)

3 Catalans

4 Leeds

5 Wigan

6 Huddersfield

7 Hull

8 Salford  (Better team than people are giving credit for)

9 Hull KR

10 Castleford  No more classy Cas !

11 Wakefield

12 Toulouse  (By a distance)

 

No one relegated.  SL to bottle the 10 league format and 2 up. Leigh as Champs and Featherstone.

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13 hours ago, hunsletgreenandgold said:

I'm not necessarily arguing with Saints been the best in the comp - I believe it's between them and Catalans for that accolade. "Strengthened further" however, has me raising an eyebrow. 

5 in 5 out makes this a pretty fair comparison to do - 

In - Sironen, Lussick, Hurrell, Bell, Hopoate

Out - Coote, Bentley, Thompson, Fages, Naiqama

Even the most ardent Saints fan will struggle to explain how that makes them stronger? It might get them better coverage in a couple of positions but make no mistake, if they could've kept almost all them they would have. 

I think we’ve added more depth and that’s added where the strength comes from.

We’ve signed what we hope is the heir to the thrown in Lussick. Roby’s finishing at the end of this year and Lussick was impressive at Salford so we’re hoping for more of that from him as we spell Roby or select him as and when needed. 

Hopoate’s seen by many of our fans as a like-for-like replacement for Naiqama and we’ve also interestingly signed Hurrell, who was in the Super League Dream Team for two of his three seasons at Leeds. I don’t know if I agree yet that Hopoate is a straight swap for Naiqama but I can see the premise, at this stage. Hopoate also offers cover at fullback, if needed.

Joel Thompson was hugely disappointing. The stuff we read on social media and on Australian forums was that Manly fans didn’t want him to go and how great he was and he didn’t get a look in once Joe Batchelor went from strength to strength in a Saints shirt. He looked shot to pieces almost immediately and there’s few sad to see him gone. I’m least happy with the Sironen signing, myself. His injury record is questionable for a 28 year old but we’ve also signed James Bell who looked reasonable for Leigh, so we’ve got Batchelor, Matautia, Sironen, Bell, Wingfield and even Hurrell who can cover at second row. 

Fages was actually not most Saints fans’ cup of tea. Social media and the Saints forum were awash of people who thought he wasn’t that good and that we needed a better attacking seven. I, personally, was always a Fages fan and thought he was key to a lot we did well, with or without the ball. We’ve got Dodd as a replacement who stepped up after Fages got injured and he just went from strength to strength and looks a valuable asset. 

Coote’s a loss, most definitely but Woolf has said since it was announced that Welsby would get first shot at the fullback position and has gone straight in with offering him the number one jumper. Welsby’s slotted in almost everywhere in that back line and looked comfortable in doing so. 

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2 hours ago, Jughead said:

I think we’ve added more depth and that’s added where the strength comes from.

We’ve signed what we hope is the heir to the thrown in Lussick. Roby’s finishing at the end of this year and Lussick was impressive at Salford so we’re hoping for more of that from him as we spell Roby or select him as and when needed. 

Hopoate’s seen by many of our fans as a like-for-like replacement for Naiqama and we’ve also interestingly signed Hurrell, who was in the Super League Dream Team for two of his three seasons at Leeds. I don’t know if I agree yet that Hopoate is a straight swap for Naiqama but I can see the premise, at this stage. Hopoate also offers cover at fullback, if needed.

Joel Thompson was hugely disappointing. The stuff we read on social media and on Australian forums was that Manly fans didn’t want him to go and how great he was and he didn’t get a look in once Joe Batchelor went from strength to strength in a Saints shirt. He looked shot to pieces almost immediately and there’s few sad to see him gone. I’m least happy with the Sironen signing, myself. His injury record is questionable for a 28 year old but we’ve also signed James Bell who looked reasonable for Leigh, so we’ve got Batchelor, Matautia, Sironen, Bell, Wingfield and even Hurrell who can cover at second row. 

Fages was actually not most Saints fans’ cup of tea. Social media and the Saints forum were awash of people who thought he wasn’t that good and that we needed a better attacking seven. I, personally, was always a Fages fan and thought he was key to a lot we did well, with or without the ball. We’ve got Dodd as a replacement who stepped up after Fages got injured and he just went from strength to strength and looks a valuable asset. 

Coote’s a loss, most definitely but Woolf has said since it was announced that Welsby would get first shot at the fullback position and has gone straight in with offering him the number one jumper. Welsby’s slotted in almost everywhere in that back line and looked comfortable in doing so. 

I agree with most of what you say but in fairness to Thompson he was carrying injuries. Talking to the Saints players he was actually a big presence in the dressing room. He had an impact just not enough on the field.

My worry for Saints is in the halves. An injury there would be a problem, although Welsby could cover with Hopoate to FB. Grace is out for the first month so it will be interesting to see how we cover there. Would imagine Simm will be back in the reckoning and Hopoate could be out on the wing.

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19 hours ago, hunsletgreenandgold said:

I'm not necessarily arguing with Saints been the best in the comp - I believe it's between them and Catalans for that accolade. "Strengthened further" however, has me raising an eyebrow. 

5 in 5 out makes this a pretty fair comparison to do - 

In - Sironen, Lussick, Hurrell, Bell, Hopoate

Out - Coote, Bentley, Thompson, Fages, Naiqama

Even the most ardent Saints fan will struggle to explain how that makes them stronger? It might get them better coverage in a couple of positions but make no mistake, if they could've kept almost all them they would have. 

I would say Saints are stronger overall. Welsby replacing Coote at 1 is lesser experience but Welsby has shown he can easily slot into that position and while it makes the team probably slightly more vulnerable defensively, Welsby arguably poses a mush bigger attacking threat than Coote.

Sironen for Thompson is a no-brainer. Thompson was about as average as average gets and was forced out the team by Batchelor, so a definate step up on this one. Bentley barely played last year and when he did was a complete liability. Again Mata'utia stepped up so Bentley wont be missed.

Given Fages missed half the season and Dodd stepped up that wont really be a miss except maybe in depth if Dodd gets injured.

Having Lussick is a big bonus meaning Roby can enjoy his last year without being flogged for 80mins most weeks.

Bell I actually think could turn out to be the real bargain buy for Saints this year. While he's unlikely to get a starting spot he has great versatility covering multiple positions (similar to Welsby) so personally I think its a great addition to the squad.

The 2 players i'm not sold on at all are Hopoate & Hurrell. Hopoate is definately a step down on Naiquama and Saints will lose a big attacking threat from that side, and Hurrell I just don't see where he'll fit in ?

Overall though I definately think this Saints squad is stronger than last years.

St.Helens - The Home of record breaking Rugby Champions

 

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On 18/01/2022 at 10:54, Sir Kevin Sinfield said:

Predictions for the 2022 Super League regular season table

1 Leeds

2 Saints

3 Catalans 

4 Warrington 

5 Hull FC

6 Huddersfield 

7 Wigan 

8 Hull KR

9 Castleford 

10 Toulouse 

11 Wakefield 

12 Salford 

1 Wakefield

2 Saints

3 Catalans 

4 Warrington 

5 Hull FC

6 Huddersfield 

7 Wigan 

8 Hull KR

9 Castleford 

10 Toulouse 

11  Leeds

12 Salford 

 

Now that's more like it 👊

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44 minutes ago, Jim Prendle said:

Nice to see that everyone has written Wigan off this season.

I don't think Wigan will win it, but they are a better bet than Leeds for certain.

I’m surprised by how many are rating Leeds so highly, myself. They’ve a better side than they did in 2021 but I don’t necessarily buy the hype and that they’ll be a top three side. 

I think Wigan will be vastly improved, mostly due to binning Lam. I can’t see Peet’s side being as dull and predictable to watch as Lam’s and any involvement Wane will have will see hard work as a bare minimum so while I’m not expecting them to be Wigan at their peak under Wane, they’ll be tougher to beat and will actually get on the scoreboard, unlike Lam’s losers. That said, I think there’s stronger and better squads out there but Wigan will have a say on what happens. 

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16 minutes ago, Sir Kevin Sinfield said:

Rumours on social media 5 Toulouse players could be leaving the club as they are unvaccinated and unable to play any games, as things stand in France, a devastating blow for Toulouse.

Including Kierhellah (sp.) 

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1. Saints

2. Catalans

3. Warrington

4. Leeds

5. Wigan

6. Hull

7. Castleford

8. Wakefield

9. Shudds

10. Hull KR

11. Toulouse

12. Salford

This world was never meant for one as beautiful as me.
 
 
Wakefield Trinity RLFC
2012 - 2014 "The wasted years"

2013, 2014 & 2015 Official Magic Weekend "Whipping Boys"

2017 - The year the dream disappeared under Grix's left foot.

2018 - The FinniChezz Bromance 

2019 - The Return of the Prodigal Son

 

 

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17 hours ago, Jim Prendle said:

Nice to see that everyone has written Wigan off this season.

I don't think Wigan will win it, but they are a better bet than Leeds for certain.

I don't necessarily think Wigan are being written off - we all know what they're capable of when they hit a roll and if they make the play offs anything could happen. 

I know the Saints fans came out in defence of their signings, when I suggested they maybe weren't as strong as last season. I'd find it incredible if anybody thinks that's true for Wigan - the incoming players are mediocre at best (I'll reserve judgement on Cust because he could be a find). The biggest plus for Wigan is a new coach but that doesn't necessarily mean they'll be a better side with the players they have. 

The reason most think Leeds will be a better bet and finish higher than Wigan is they're on the way out of their bad years - they have been the last 2 seasons. This year they've added quality players in the key positions that were still lacking - that added to the fact the next batch of academy talent are now coming to age, puts them on the strongest footing in years. Wigan have the youth talent undoubtedly, but the senior squad that's been put together to nurture that seems disjointed at the moment and lacking quality, outside of the likes of French, Hardaker, Farrell and Bateman. 

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