Re: Time for change : Sat Feb 28, 2009 5:31 pm  

Birstalltiger wrote:

Looking at the results so far this season you have to say the sallery cap finally working and not working for some.

Wigan,Wire and Bradford have spent to there limit and signed rubbish on long contract where like of Hull Kr,Giants,Wake and Cas have spent wise and are begening to get the rewards for it.

At the top of league i believe both Saints and Leeds are now looking very beat able teams even though they will proberly still be in the grand final but how many years will it continue till another team wins the final.

All in all i think that our League is the most healthy postion it been in since the 1980s and for change the smaller clubs actualy think they have a chance of wining a trophy.

Leeds or Saints will win everything again.

: Sun Mar 01, 2009 1:54 pm  

Leeds or Saints will most likely win the league cos that demands consistency but the unpredictability of individual games makes it more likely that both of those teams will get knocked out of the CC and someone like Hull/Hull KR/Huddersfield could win that.

: Sun Mar 01, 2009 2:07 pm  

punkasstony wrote:

Winning the league is like winning an FA Cup Quarter Final and then asking for the trophy.

I think its great that teams like Hull KR and Wakey are doing well after 3 games but this not a sprint, its a marathon.

Leeds and Saints are still miles ahead when it comes to lasting the pace and I would not be surprised to see Hull KR and Wakey both fall off the pace in a couple of months.

I would however like to be wrong.

For me winning the league is the ultimate achievment, as you have to be consistantly the best team over the whole course of the competition, the grand final is a nice show piece and the play offs are a good money spinner but i would still rate winning the league as a greater and more difficult achievment.

: Sun Mar 01, 2009 4:12 pm  

pyeman wrote:

For me winning the league is the ultimate achievment, as you have to be consistantly the best team over the whole course of the competition, the grand final is a nice show piece and the play offs are a good money spinner but i would still rate winning the league as a greater and more difficult achievment.

Even with a lopsided fixture list?

I would agree that finishing top this year would be an achievement but you have to also take in to account that everyone knows you need to win 2/3 more games after that to be champions. So to go all out and finish top only to lose one of those following games could be looked at as stupid rather than an achievement.

: Sun Mar 01, 2009 4:34 pm  

punkasstony wrote:

I think its great that teams like Hull KR and Wakey are doing well after 3 games but this not a sprint, its a marathon.

I would however like to be wrong.

You already are as Wakefield have played 4 fixtures.

: Sun Mar 01, 2009 4:50 pm  

its been good so far, but we need someone else to make the grandfinal to claim SL has really turned a corner.

We did it in 2006, but then couldn't maintain that standard. We need a team to break the Leeds-Saints monopoly.

[tb]

: Sun Mar 01, 2009 6:14 pm  

pyeman wrote:

For me winning the league is the ultimate achievment, as you have to be consistantly the best team over the whole course of the competition, the grand final is a nice show piece and the play offs are a good money spinner but i would still rate winning the league as a greater and more difficult achievment.

So you'd call Whitehaven the 2005 national league champions, even though we got the trophy, the title (and consequent promotion), robbing us of our victory and kudos? Weird.

: Mon Mar 02, 2009 11:09 am  

tb wrote:

So you'd call Whitehaven the 2005 national league champions, even though we got the trophy, the title (and consequent promotion), robbing us of our victory and kudos? Weird.

They won the league, which is far harder to do and is something that in itself means alot more than winning the grand final trophy, however as it got us promoted it was more important to win, doenst mean that winning the league isnt harder and more of an achievment, even if the rewards for us winning the final were greater.

: Mon Mar 02, 2009 12:34 pm  

pyeman wrote:

They won the league, which is far harder to do and is something that in itself means alot more than winning the grand final trophy, however as it got us promoted it was more important to win, doenst mean that winning the league isnt harder and more of an achievment, even if the rewards for us winning the final were greater.

It's not harder to do though particularly when you take into account other clubs are not trying to achieve the same thing. It is no more of a victory being top of the league after 27 rounds than it is being top after 20 rounds, or 10 rounds. The goal is to win the competition and that is done by winning the grand final.

: Mon Mar 02, 2009 12:53 pm  

Longun wrote:

Judging by the results so far, I'd say games are getting harder to predict,

Too right!
Hudds beating Bradford, Wakey beating Warrington and HKR beating Saints were three results only the most ardent of fans would have put money on at the start of the season.
These three teams, whilst they may not get to the GF, will have a say in who does if they keep this up. Long may it continue (even if they messed up my bets this weekend )