Things look one hell of a lot brighter overnight (quite literally!!) and we can look forward with genuine optimism to the new season.

If Bird and Beaver (luv it!) can settle in and exert an influence, Sam can carry on where he left off, Nero can rediscover his Giants form and Tupou can start to deliver the goods we could have an awesome and exciting in store.

Well done to Stevie Mc and Peter Hood!!

Come on u BULLS!

Let's not set ourselves up for a fall here.. but it certainly seems to have ruffled the feathers of a few of our rivals. Whether we can break up the top two now is up to the players! We have signed a World class stand off though.. so for now we can look forward with some optimism..

quite a fe IFs in there but agree entirely. looking forward to season now

Well iam off to put a £10 double on the Bulls and Cronulla for the GF and NRL.

I doubt you have ruffled any rivals feathers. I cant see how this one player will make any difference to how you would have been without him.

Warrington made a world class centre signing last year. It made no difference to them, and the player turned out to be a chump.

More star players from the NRL fail in Super League, than the ones who come with not reputation.

You will still find it hard to finish in the top 6. And just to show I am not been biased, I actually think the bulls have made the best signing for 2009 out of all teams. But that player IMO is Worrincey (spelling).

better not sign anyone then by that logic. Why exactly did you sign buderus and eastwood again?



assuming no problems with visa then our halves combination is at least as good as leeds/saints if not better

I agree with the first post on the thread. I cant believe some people think we will actually finish out of the top 6 or top 8 this season. Look at our players, they are as good as anyone on paper.

Ruffled enough for a few more Leeds/Wigan/Saints fans to pay a visit and comment on our board..

One man certainly doesn't make a team and I don't think many if any are claiming this signing will make us the team to beat. Of course there are never any guarantee's with any signing but at 24 and a current international he has as good a chance as any to be a success.

We do now appear to have a stronger side than 08, so I would be quite happy to have a bet with you that we do finish in the top 6. I am sure with the odds so stacked against us you will be happy to take my money!

I am not dissagreeing with that one. You have good halves.

But halves alone do not win games. You need a good pack, with good finishing backs, and more importantly a good game plan.

Your pack is weaker than a lot of teams, your wingers and fullback are pish poor. And most importanly you have a very poor coach dictating your game plan.

A lot of teams? So which 4 or 5 teams have a stronger pack? I would say our pack is on a par with any side in SL..

Haha stop it, you're hurting my stomach.

Never ever seen as much written down in my entire life! Looks like the rhino is a little bit worried.

Weak Pack

From 6-17 your side is very good and up there with every side in SL. The problem comes in the backs where it is still very weak IMO. Saints, Leeds, Wigan, Catalans and Warrington are alot stronger in the backs. Whether your pack and Halves can carry some of your backs remains to be seen.

Although, I do think you'll be alot stronger this year and a top 3 place is easily within your grasp if you can be consistent enough.

along with the comment about our 'weak pack'

that must surely rate as one of biggest foot in mouth moments today. Our backs have no problems with their finishing - its their defense thats the problem

I think that's a fair enough aim. I personally expect us to finish somewhere in the top 4. If one or two such as Nero, Tupou , Sol, Platt can improve on last year then we could be a serious contender . I certainly feel we're better equipped than last year.. so who knows.

think you can safely include our wings in the 6-17 statement as well. our potential weakness id in the and fullback, although think sykes is very good attacking but poor defensively and nero had a injury plagued first season. Platt IF he can cut out the bad decisions has plenty of potential as well so dont think our backs are as weak as a lot of people like to make out



similar comments could be aimed at leeds and saints who both have a old/unproven in there first team lineup

and injury prone/ ageing fullbacks

Indeed, you surely must make that play off spot now.

Wellens and Brent Webb are proven quality Super League players. On his day, Webb is scintillating with the ball, one of Super League's most dangerous attacking weapons by far. Wellens always has a good season and whilst his WC was disappointing, he's yet to let Saints down. He'll be eager to prove a few doubters wrong and I've not doubt he'll be fine this season. You're hoping Platt will come good rather than expecting it. He has so many flaws in his game it's unreal.

Fair enough on the Centre issue, although Saints have plenty of money to spend should they need to recruit a Centre (should one come available) and we have some exciting youngsters coming through who will get opportunities. We also have the best Centre in Super League in Matt Gidley.

Overall, Saints and Leeds are still the benchmark, but Bradford have made some good improvements to be competitive.

I thought they were making a loss.

We've been losing money for years, but it's never stopped us from hitting (or going over) the cap.

thats a saints perspective on things but likewise there are alternative viewpoints. Its possible to pick out weaknesses in every team in the league but think our backline is picked on quite unfairly at times. Agreed there are areas it could be improved but its no where near as bad as some people make out

Sure. Francis Meli's defence and ability to take a kick - you don't get much weaker than that.

I think generally though our backline is strong and that is complimented by a very strong pack and two very good halves.

As I have said in this thread I see Saints, Leeds, Warrington, Wigan and Catalans with stronger backs. Whilst you may be able to overpower Wigan and out think Warrington, I don't think you'll be able to do that with strong Saints and Leeds sides who are brutal in defence and strong in attack.

add gardner into that comment after his world cup performance

add in possibility of pryce going down and your backline doesnt look so great anymore
likewise for leeds smiths unproven and seniors starting to show his age. Wire are great on paper but don't play as a team. catalans may suffer from new coach syndrome, wigan still havent replaced barrett effectively etc. you can pick holes in any team

That's OK then. If we can't beat Leeds or Saints but win all the other games, we'll finish top, and be runners up in the GF.

It's better than I was expecting frankly but your confidence in us is inspiring, and I'll try to buck up my ideas