what will the top 5 be for next season will there be a surprise team to look out for and who will be the wooden spoonists well theres plenty of teams to battle for that honour
i`ll go for
wire
leeds
saints
wigan
hull
but not in that order

bottom
london
cas
widnes
again not in that order

This season we were two games off the triple, so a little improvement and we might do it next season.

Totally irrelevant, unfortunately.
Got to work out which teams don't want/ can't win the league. Out of the usual suspects;
Warrington will have an ageing team
Wigan are rebuilding, particulary at hb
Saints won't be too far away
Leeds will only bother when the weather is at its coldest
Catalans will be a massive threat
Hull fc have signed some half decent players. Home form is impressive, away form needs improving, and at around 14/1, they will be worth an interest for minor champs.

At the bottom;
Salford going nowhere fast
Cas won't be as bad as last season
Widnes will improve greatly, potentially top 8
London will be bottom 2
Hull kr are my tip for wooden spoon. offloading players and nothing come through the ranks.

I would say Hull and Sintellins will be the big improvers. Doubt if we will finish top two.

between us, saints, cats for top spot

hull will be up there

and i predict the demics to get a top 8

Wire
Saints
Wigan
Leeds
Catalans
Hull FC
Huddersfield
Hull KR/Wakefield/Salford
Hull KR/Wakefield/Salford
Widnes/Bradford
Castleford
London

Top half would be the same last year with KR, Salford, Wakefield getting the last play off spot.

Cant see Widnes finishing bottom.

Bradford have had problems off the field and I can't see them troubling anyone so would be the same for them as last season.

Castleford and London for the Wooden Spoon.

Under Nathan Brown Saints will probably be top half way through the season then finish 10th

Hull need to step up - they've made enough noise and made the signings now so Peter Gentle needs to prove he can walk the walk and finish top 6.

Of the rest, Wigan need Tomkins fully fit all season, and the new halfback pairing to really step up.

I suspect we'll be seeing more gametime for Currie etc this year to offset the age of the team and alot will depend on how they go but I don't really think much will change from 5th downwards.

Without knowing who's yet to be signed by whom in the close season i'll for

Wire or Saints
Wigan
Leeds
Hull
Catalan
Huddersfield
Widnes (on the assumption they will keep spending)
Bradford
Wakefield
London
Hull KR
Salford
Castleford

Can't see Saints breaking the two two until they sign a replacement stand-off and at least another prop and a winger/centre.

... and I was only being slightly flippant about Nathan Brown - not only did Huddersfield fall away AGAIN mid-season (questioning his off-season prep, team rotation and motivational abilities) but they turned up for their biggest game of the season (CC Semi) in turmoil with players refusing to adopt his gameplan/tactics.

If Saints make 3rd they'll have done very, very well.

I've said similar every year since Daniel Anderson left us. The problem with Saints not finishing top 3 isn't Saints, it's the lack of quality in the other sides. Saints were absolutely horrific last season, simply awful, and yet managed to finish 3rd, with only Catalans putting a challenge in for that spot. They could find it harder than Saints with Robinson being replaced by an unproven French coach. Catalans could finish near the bottom if that doesn't go to plan. Wigan with the drop in quality they have so far will do well to finish above Saints as well, although I'd be amazed if they don't have more signings to announce. It would take a big turnaround for the likes of Hull, Bradford, Wakefield, Huddersfield etc to finish above Saints, so it looks to me like we'll be okay.

Saints' halfback woes could also be over if Brown has the guts to stand up to McManus. He said on the BBC coverage of our cup game against Widnes that he doesn't see Hohaia as a halfback and if he brought Gaskell in for him and put Hohaia to fullback or utility on the bench we'd instantly be far stronger. If we replaced Wellens with Hohaia and put Gaskell in the halves we'd be up there again.

Leeds
Wigan
Saints
Wire
Hull

I think injuries and an ageing squad could be our undoing.

I think TS will have to be a lot more adventurous in playing the youngsters, as by the end of season we will need to know if we are buying -in replacements, or not. So GOB, Dwyer and Evans will probably get sufficient game time to prove if they can make the grade. That could lead to some underperformance during the regular season. If we were to get injuries to key players on top of that, it could be a difficult season.

Strangely you can make arguments for most teams being worse off next season, but hard to find reasons to expect much improvement.

Another 12 months in the legs of Briers, Hodgson, Mozz, etc cannot be a good thing. Catalan have a new unproven coach. Wigan have lost a world class HB combination and replaced them with one which may prove to be average. Which Nathan Brown will turn up at Saints, a happy contented top two coach, or coach constantly checking the jobs pages for NRL positions. Leeds will be... well, Leeds.

In no particular order
Top four - Leeds, St Helens, Warrington & Wigan.
Next four - Catalan, Hull, Wakefield & Widnes.
Next four - Bradford, London, Huddersfield & Hull KR.
Bottom two - Castleford & Salford.