1. Toronto, bought Super League already so give it them now !
2. Weirdnes, just because of Gelling & Inu bit could implode quite easily & end up 3rd or 4th !
3. Toulouse to go from strength to strength in an even stronger Chamionship !
4. Fax, doing it the right way !
5. Bradford or Leigh, would depend on injuries for Leigh with a squad far to small, maybe 5 or 6 short of a full squad !
6. Leigh or Bradford, Bradford seem to be building steadily & have some very good players I would like at Leigh + they have a solid & growing fan base !
The rest don't matter much but I expect Batley to be tough on their own patch & be mid table, Fev I can't work out but could be anywhere from 5th to 7th & I would like Swinton to go well but realistically will just escape the bottom 2. Sheffield to implode & have a stinker of a season !

Toronto will finish top but we (Widnes) can beat them I think in a one off game come the end of the season. Having the final game this time over in England personally i think is a huge blow to them.

Gelling and Ashall standout players for Widnes.
We have a strong pack with Liam Hood (very underrated, best hooker in the division), Cahill, Tangata, Dean, Hansen.

We struggle in the halves but Jack Owens has slotted in very well.

We’ll claim quite a few injuries to the i pitch then our squad will really be tested. Not much strength in depth.

Toulouse does not struggle in the halves. In Jonathan Ford and Stanislas Robin Toulouse has the best two halves in the Championship. It also has excellent outside backs. The only question is the power of the Toulouse forwards. If the Toulouse forwards can at least hold their own then Toulouse will beat Widnes, and maybe even Toronto.

The opening fixtures throw up a lot of perfect games for us to establish how everyone is fairing.

Leigh vs Toulouse - Interesting battle. Have Leigh recruited well enough after their earlier trauma, and will Toulouse travel well?
Batley vs Barrow - Will Batley be pushing for the playoffs and are Barrow going to be in the relegation fight?
Bulls vs Featherstone - Battle of playoff contenders. A good indication of whether Bulls have recruited well enough to make the playoffs, and if Feath have built the strength back up after the financial blip.
Rochdale vs Dewsbury - Are Rochdale relegation fodder, can Dewsbury be more than mid-table.
Sheffield vs Swinton - Are Sheffield just coasting in mid-table, can Swinton avoid the drop.
Widnes vs Halifax - Another interesting one. Widnes looking to bounce straight back up, with a tough game against an established playoff side in Fax.
York vs Toronto - Do York have enough to thrive in this division, and are Toronto a cut above the rest?

Despite my previous post regarding the "inevitability" of The Championship, there are some cracking games there.
Widnes v Fax and York v Toronto should be excellent games and it will be interesting to see whether Leigh are anywhere near Toulouse, who you would expect to win this one (settled side and all thet).

Widnes V Fax should be a great game and after it we'll know more about if Widnes have the stomach for the fight that they didn't show in the middle 8s. Fax are one of the toughest teams in the division (provided they have their playmakers available).

While I was seriously impressed with York last season I think Toronto will be far too good. Same applies to Toulouse vs Leigh (who haven't had much time to train together).

this might shock a few Bradford fans but I genuinely hope they make a dent in this years predictions to some on here

Sounds like widnes have lost a few to injury already.

We’re having a stinker

Inu - 5 weeks
Cahill. - 6 weeks
J Chapelhow - 4 weeks

Really thin on the bones. I think we can beat Fax but will struggle in games 2 and 3 against Toulouse and Toronto

Team will look like

Ashall
Buckley
Dean
Gelling
Ince
Craven
Owens
T Chapelhow
L Hood
Adam Tangata
Harrison Hansen
Sam Wilde
Mcfeaff Leulaui.

Young energetic Widnes lads in the backs who wont let us down, Gellings quality will shine through.

We’re light upfront but Liam Hood, Tangata and Hansen will lead the way. As long as we make the play offs it’s all about hitting it hard come the end of season.

You're playing Jack Owens in the halves? Is he your first choice seven?

We have 4 Widnes lads available in the halves, not ideal and it’s the position we’ve struggled with since Brown.

Owens
Craven
Lyons
Gilmore

I was sceptical about Owens there. Apparently he played this position for Leigh last year and it was his natural position growing up. By the sounds of it, he’s been our best player in the 3 warm up games up to now. A lot of fans who wasn’t sure on him have changed their mind so hopefully he’ll go well.

Fax will look like this depending on players been fit

1.QLT
2.Robinson
3.Tyrer
4.Butler
5.Sharp
6.Murrell
7.White
8.Fleming
9.Kaye
10.Fairbank
11.Larroyer
12.Barber
13.Grix.
14.Kavanagh
15.Kidd
16.Moore
17.Chapman Smith