Quote: fifty50 "Can't agree with this, HKR to win by 40 points???. If we don't run close in a home cup tie like this, however HKR play, we may as well pack up now.'"
Not really. We should gradually improve leading up to the Middle 8's, the team will be more settled and our season is geared up to peaking at the back end.
The SL teams that end up in the Middle 8s will gradually have had their morale sapped by big defeats and the disappointment of ending up outside the top 8. At this stage none of them are without a chance of making the top 8 so there's no question of them aiming to peak later in the season.
That could easily account for a 40 point turnround at the end of the season.
I did say that it could be close if HKR do not take the game seriously and I think its quite unlikely that they will be going all out. Finishing 8th would mean much more to them than a cup run. Whereas a cup run would help rather than hinder our league prospects.
But I still believe that just now they are 40 points better than us.