HAVING given my predictions for who will finish where in Super League, I’ve been thinking about which personnel will prove key for their club.
In the order of my tips, and starting from the bottom, here are my picks.
12 LONDON BRONCOS – THE COLLECTIVE
MY thoughts, penned in this column, on the ridiculous situation London Broncos find themselves in regarding their inability to avoid a quick return to the Championship whatever their results were recently echoed by owner David Hughes.
It would have been a tough ask to avoid finishing bottom even without being placed in a straitjacket by IMG, and as I wrote, that’s where I think they’ll end up.
Coach Mike Eccles and his promoted side are almost certainly down before their first game kicks off, but they can pull together and use that as a motivation to underline their grievance over the new system by avoiding the wooden spoon.
11 CASTLEFORD TIGERS – PAUL McSHANE
IT’S a big season for Castleford coach, Craig Lingard, who finally gets the chance to tackle Super League as a head coach – and stalwart hooker Paul McShane.
He’s been handed the joint captaincy with Joe Westerman, and has a vital role to play, both in his own position and in leading the team up the table.
Paul has dropped out of the England reckoning and not been at his best for a while now.
He needs to step up and consistently perform to the level we know he can.
10 SALFORD RED DEVILS – KALLUM WATKINS
NO side could lose the calibre of players Salford have (Ackers, Burgess, Croft and Sio) and not feel it.
But for a club on a budget as tight as that of the Red Devils, making like-for-like replacements elusive, their absence is likely to be even tougher to adapt to.
Paul Rowley’s experienced operators desperately need to come to the fore – and few have seen as much action as Kallum Watkins.
He remains a quality player, he has found his position in the second row, and he can be a real driving force and lift those around him.
9 HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS – IAN WATSON
HUDDERSFIELD have the players but can Ian Watson finally get the best from them?
He’s under pressure to find a way back into the six, and provide a bit of fun and entertainment for the fans along the way, but it’s going to take a change in his approach to achieve that.
As I’ve said before, it’s all been so boring, and it’s not as if he doesn’t have the personnel to play an open, expansive style – think of Jake Connor, Ash Golding, Tui Lolohea and Kevin Naiqama and now Adam Swift.
It’s Watto who holds the key to letting the shackles off.
8 HULL FC – JAKE TRUEMAN
THIS is the most crucial season in Jake Trueman’s career so far.
I still remember his sizzling hat-trick of tries as he helped Castleford rip Wigan apart back in his early days (September 2017), and I was genuinely excited about what he might go on to achieve.
Unfortunately he hasn’t yet fulfilled that promise, and hasn’t been helped by injuries, one of which he is recovering from.
I hope Jake can return fit and firing and be that quality, creative halfback he most certainly can be.
7 WARRINGTON WOLVES – BEN CURRIE
NEW Warrington coach Sam Burgess has a great, but frustrating, player on his hands in Ben Currie.
On his day, he’s right up there among the best second rowers in Super League, but the first three words of this paragraph are telling.
I just feel that over the last few years, while Warrington have been treading water, Ben has been in the comfort zone.
I hope Sam can get hold of him, get him pumped up and primed, and that Ben can be one of those who lifts the rest of the team and lifts Warrington up that table.
6 LEEDS RHINOS – MIKOLAJ OLEDZKI
MIKOLAJ OLEDZKI is Leeds’ version of Warrington’s Ben Currie, and I hope to see the best of both of them in 2024.
The Rhinos have some real talent among the backs, particularly with Harry Newman and now Brodie Croft, but like all sides, for the back to produce, they need the pack to do their bit and lay the platform.
Oledzki burst through as a youngster, but for me, has lost his way a little bit.
If he can regain his best form and do the hard yards, he can certainly add vital dynamism to the overall Headingley mix.
5 HULL KR – MIKEY LEWIS
CONSISTENCY is one of most important words in sport, and that’s what Mikey Lewis has to produce to help keep Hull KR rolling.
He’s been a bit one step forward, one step back, going missing soon after producing a good performance.
It’s all part of the learning curve for many young players and he’s only 22.
But he will know he needs to start producing his best, which we saw from his England performances is very good, more regularly.
He’s got a new halfback partner in Tyrone May, and it could be a really potent combination.
4 CATALANS DRAGONS – MICHAEL McILORUM
I’VE long been a fan of Micky McIlorum, and while he’s been playing a long while, he’s still up there among the best hookers going.
When he plays well, Catalans Dragons seem to play well, because like all good players, his presence and attitude lifts and leads those around him.
Micky has clearly taken to the French lifestyle and the club culture, and he remains a central figure in the squad.
But he’s a feisty player, and needs to keep that discipline in check and make sure he’s available for as many minutes as possible.
3 LEIGH LEOPARDS – MATT MOYLAN
MATT MOYLAN is a really big signing for Leigh, a statement of their intent not just to replicate the fine achievements of last season, but to build on them and go further.
He’s achieved some big things in Australia, with Penrith and Cronulla and playing for New South Wales and the national team.
As a high-profile addition, the spotlight will be on him, and we’re all keen to see how his partnership with Lachlan Lam evolves.
It could be highly effective – and Moylan will be drawing on all his experience and aiming to hit the ground running.
2 ST HELENS – DARYL CLARK
LIKE Matt Moylan, Daryl Clark knows he is under pressure to deliver, and like Moylan, has the quality and experience to do just that.
The former Warrington man has big boots to fill after the retirement of James Roby, and there will inevitably be those who compare the two of them.
But Daryl is a different sort of player, and one who like Roby, can make a key contribution as Saints try to get back on the title track – but in his own way.
Hopefully he’ll carry on in his trademark style, playing what he sees, taking the right options and providing that all-important service to his teammates.
1 WIGAN WARRIORS – HARRY SMITH
HARRY SMITH is another halfback striving for consistency, but with the excellent way he finished the season both for club and country, contributing to Grand Final glory and the series success against Tonga, we know he has it in him.
His kicking from the hand can be deadly, and he has also worked hard to improve from the tee.
I’d like to see him be more creative and ask a few more questions of the opposition, and so supplement Jai Field and Bevan French in that area.
