https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/ru ... s-30408218

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/ru ... s-30408218

Leeds and 3 of the tougher teams with the exception of Wigan to follow to complete our first 4 fixtures I’ve heard.

It’s a good time to play Leeds I think as the conditions will be terrible and they won’t have had time to fully gel.

It’s a tough first month back in the top flight, or so I’m lead to believe.

Just hope the fans stick with us through what promises to be if what I’ve been told is right will be a baptism of fire.

Nice to see that the travelling Trinity fans get the buzz of the opening fixture. Friday night too I would guess so double joy.

Call me cynical but I did expect a rough first set of fixtures so no surprise. The jury still out on Leeds though. They’re mid table and haven’t been a top team on the pitch for years.

I think Leeds will be much improved this year. Signed well and in the areas they struggled.

Probably best time to play them though first game if the season.

I expect t then to be top 4 in 2025.

Very big jump and claim to have Leeds top 4. They’ve not been close recent years.

I can’t see it personally. I don’t particularly rate their spine in being consistent. Players like Cam Smith, Oledski and Bentley are bang average and I think are nowhere near good enough even for mid table SL.

I can’t realistically see them mid table again. Who knows though, you could be right.

To be fair this year there aren't many week teams. Hull, Leeds and Hudds will be better. I don't see Cas been much better unless they strengthen their pack. Westerman and Watts at prop is a high risk. We will need our team to gel quick, Leeds should give us a good marker where we are.

For me our biggest focus needs to be on integrating the pivots into the team. That will be the biggest challenge. There are a number of familiar faces in the forwards who know the standards expected. Integrating a few forwards into that shouldn’t be too hard.

Some big decisions pre season on halfbacks to make but this is where we absolutely need to have some level of cohesion and plays ready for round 1. Having new faces link with Max well will be paramount.

Huddersfield will be a much different and tougher proposition in 25

I think they will be stronger too.

I know I shouldn't read too much into it, but I saw a video on SM, showing Ken Davy go into dressing room at the end of their last game of 2024, and he gave the team a bit of a pep talk, and said basically, that they are a club on the rise. There was just something in his body language.

There were 5 teams vying for the last 3 play off spots last season, I think there will be more.

I also think those that finish bottom will pick up more than London last year, and us the year before

I'm pretty confident Ken will do that every year.
I'm sure they'll improve though. They've made some decent signings.

I personally think Hudds will miss playoffs and be around 10th next season. They are going backwards from a few seasons ago. They’ve made a couple of decent signings though so it wouldn’t surprise me too much for them to be within touching distance of playoffs end of season.

There’s a lot to improve on though. They were poor when I watched them a few times last season.

I'd be happy to wager a bit on Huddersfield finishing 11th. They've lost their best back (Marsters), best forward (Hill) and signed poor man's replacements in Jacob Gagai (28-year-old who's played 17 NRL games) and Tom Burgess, who struggles to play more than 40 minutes. They've also lost Connor (maybe for the best), and Russell, leaving them with Lolohea and Clune as their only recognised playmakers. It's looking like Gagai will play fullback - a position he's never played at senior level. I live on the other side of Huddersfield and their fans are completely dejected ahead of next year.

Cas 12th - until they signed Rimbu I felt they might only win 4 or 5 games.

It would be the shock of the season if Leeds finish in the top 4. It's not that their squad is particularly bad, and Arthur will get them playing well, I just don't think they've got the talent in key positions to finish higher than Wigan, Saints, Warrington, and Hull KR.

Catalans are a nit of an unknown and could finish anywhere between 4th and 10th. Leigh and Salford will drop off. Hull FC will improve but not enough to finish higher than us. That's what makes this season pretty exciting for Trin - the pressure's off, and as the top 4 is sewn up we could finish anywhere between 5th and 11th. I'm a believer!

Agree with a lot of what you say, however I think Wire are going to be the team to slip down the ladder. I think their recruitment has been poor to average at best.

Saints have improved their backline but their forwards still look average too.

Wouldn’t shock me to see Leeds above both those 2 come the end of the year.

First few rounds are always difficult to call as most teams are 'bedding in' new players and combinations. I hope that our pack can perform as well in this league as they did last year, and I'm pretty confident that they will. That'll hopefully give our new halves and backs time and space to really get going. I think we'll be a force to be reckoned with from day 1, I'm looking forward to a SL season for the first time in ages!

3pm kick off Sarurday 15th Feb if confirmed a great kick off time hopefully a big following from us

Delighted with the confirmed fixtures so far. Leeds on a Saturday afternoon so can make a day of it.

Rovers at home on a Thursday night is fine by me - I’d rather play them early in the season but the only downside is only a few hundred KR fans will be able to make it over. But why shouldn’t we sell it out with home fans anyway?

And Cas at home on a Thursday night before bank holiday Friday is a cracker.

I expect Leeds to pull a few strings and get our fixture switched to Friday night. Hopefully.

I'm a Rhinos fan and I agree with your quote and tbh I would be happy with a 5th or 6th place finish in 2025 and anything any higher would be a bonus.
Although IMO Saints also look a little weak outside of their starting 17 and it will be very interesting to see what Lee Briers brings to them.
I'm looking forward to visiting Belle Vue next season now that the stadium has been upgraded and it will be interesting how the club goes in 2025,As they have made some very good signings.

How do the Wakey Trinity fans think that the 2025 season will go?

I don't think many of us really know to be honest , if you force my arm I reckon we might be a bit of a surprise package and could be in with a shout for 6th .

I think that a top 6 finish for Wakey is being optimistic for their first season back in SL tbh.
But I do think that the club is now in far better hands financially and that in 3 years time that the club could be a top 6 side

I’d be disappointed if it took 3 seasons to reach the playoffs spending close or to the cap.

I’m being ambitious in my outlook and I think anywhere between 6-9th this season would be acceptable. I think I’d be dissapointed if we fell below that.

Let’s not forget that last seasons recruitment was also in part preperation for this SL season. We aren’t starting from scratch.

Have to agree with Trojan. 6th would be a dream season, but if we finish 9th, play good rugby, and beat the teams around us I’ll be happy enough. Anything below that I’ll be disappointed.

Biffs Back - glad to hear you’re looking forward to watching us. Not sure how much you’ve kept up with us but we’ve got some top class players in our squad - Ky Rodwell who’ll be among the top props in SL next year, along with some young lads like Oliver Pratt and Isaiah Vagana who are going to do great things. We probably still have a few too many solid-not-special players you’ve seen before but they’re all on one year contracts.

When you say ......
Because we are spending close to the cap.......so are most other teams now.
That isn't a guarantee of anything.

It gives us a good chance but there's a lot of other things that will get us the 6-9th place.
Luck with injuries, player ability to transition from Championdhip, player and coach ability to deal with adversity.....etc.

I do think we will be competitive but it's not going to be easy.

Well, all that doesn’t just apply to us but the other 11 teams too naturally.

We have made a huge investment into player care and back room with chefs, physio to an England international standard, recovery rooms.

We appear to be giving ourselves a better chance than ever.

Nobody said it will be easy and it looks a competitive Superleague with likely a good 6 or so teams all capable of finishing anywhere between 6-12th.

I have a lot of confidence in the players to step up to SL level on what I’ve seen. The forwards especially. All bar 2 backs are SL rested too and the pivots. I feel we are in a good position assuming we get the pre season right and the players reach that level of fitness we ended last season on and improve even further.

I’m feeling more confident for 2025 that we will be fighting for something come the end. We may not reach the playoffs offs but it will be nice of we are talking about them a few games to go rather than looking at other teams fight it out.

I can’t wait for 2025.