Just a bit of fun before the serious stuff starts next week. How do we see the league table shaping up for next season. There is a lot of uncertainties to take into consideration like new coaches at some clubs some have lost key players while others look a bit thin on numbers so here goes.

1. Featherstone
2. Halifax
3. Toulouse
4. Batley
5. York
6. Sheffield
7. Bradford
8. Barrow
9. Widnes
10. Keighley
11. London
12. Swinton
13. Whitehaven
14. Newcastle

And of course it goes without saying that Halifax will get to the grand final and beat Featherstone in golden point extra time to gain promotion to super league.

Knock Bradford down seven places and i'd go with that.

1. Featherstone - I think they will have the edge on us over the season due to depth in their squad but don't think the margin will be as wide as some people are predicting.
2. Halifax - We have signed well and anything less than 3rd would be a disappointment with the team we have.
3. Toulouse - Lost a few players and although I think they will be strong I just think we may sneak above them.
4. Batley - Lost a couple of key players but I don't expect a dramatic drop off. A well coached team with a big pack they will do well again.
5. York - I feel like they have been a bit quiet on the signing front and don't see them making a big leap.
6. Sheffield - Thought they looked decent last season and a few shrewd signings think either them or Keighley could grab 6th.
7. Keighley - Big signings which may take time to gel. Won't trouble relegation but could be dark horses for the playoffs.
8. Barrow - Again they could be round about that 5th or 6th spot and think you can throw a blanket over those type of teams right down to Widnes.
9. Bradford - Apparently they have made some huge signings as they push for SL. They could be the surprise team that misses the play offs again.
10. Widnes - Good signing in Gilmore if he performs like he did for Batley. If they get the Fax version will be another disappointing season for them.
11. London - First of the group that won't make the playoffs but I think London showed enough late in the season to say they will be okay.
12. Whitehaven - I think between them and Swinton for the 2nd relegation spot.
13. Swinton - As above staying up for them would be a success.
14. Newcastle - Can't see anything but Newcastle been whipping boys due to circumstances.

Wrote by a Bulls fan. rlhttps://www.totalrl.com/predicting-the-championship-top-six-play-off-teams-ahead-of-battle-for-super-league/rl

As a Bulls fan no chance of us finishing 2nd
We will be in the battle for 4th-6th now we have a squad that actually wants to be at the club.

So difficult to predict as there are so many variables, injuries being a big denominator in games , my dad made a valid point if Keyes for example were to get a long term injury we would be impacted immediately. Featherstone on paper will be favourites and for me it’ll be weather long as the coaching acumen to get them ticking. There’s been a hell of a lot of positive speculation on Bradford and they have made some decent signings but question marks are over dunning , every interview he does it’s always positive, the culture as changed the players are fitter etc it takes more than a preseason to sought those problems out . Batley , York , Widnes , barrow , Sheffield all look strong, I guess from a fax point of view that first game against Sheffield will be a good bench mark to where we are at , the pack battle will be a real humdinger but I feel we have the advantage in the halves and backs .

Fairly nervous about our first game on Sunday.

Only had 1 'proper' warm up game and coming up against Sheffield who have had a few and apparently have looked very slick.

We can't afford another slow start to the season!

Aye, that's the worry. I would certainly have had another friendly lined up but we can't do owt about it now and hope Simon has got his decision right. Up The Fax!

Yes agree one disjointed friendly against Wakefield and a couple of contested games against dewsbury isn’t ideal preparation for the start of the most competitive championship in a while , only saving grace is we’ve kept our spine and if I had to guess there will probably be only a couple of changes in our starting 13 from last year .

I always find threads like this interesting to look back on and tagged the TRL one that PH did a great job on.

rlhttps://www.totalrl.com/forums/index.php?/topic/375648-betfred-championship-preview-2023-long/#comment-4942778rl

Sadly I predicted Will Maher would be a great signing for us, at this stage now we don't even know if he is at the club anymore along with Doro. Just shows how unpredictable this league is outside of Fev and Newcastle, not many people had us outside the top 6.