Google Vic Mauro Jean. Although being an NRL "expert" I'm sure you'll know exactly who he is so won't need to look him up.

Needless to say, being an NRL Grand Finalist means jack (or should that be Jacques? ) $hit in isolation.

Extremely elderly! But I do hope that you are still in good health.

Great. What should have been a decent thread for discussion has been ruined by that cranky, outlandish Gutterfax.

Its every single thread now he ruins. No doubt the trolls from Leigh will claim it was Jean but look at the posts. Its always Gutterfax that starts it.

Bore off

1. Wigan
2. St Helens
3. Leeds
4. Castleford
5. Warrington
6. Salford
7. Hull FC
8. Wakefield
9. Toronto
10. Catalan
11. Huddersfield
12 Hull KR

Why don't you take your own advice.

The only reason why Gutterfax is not disrupting the forum now is because it is "lights out" time at his convalescent home in Wellington.

The nurses get very angry when Gutterfax is tapping away on his keyboard and cackling loudly while the other patients are trying to sleep.

You know all this from the backwaters of Carcassonne wow

1. St Helens
2. Hull FC
3. Wigan
4. Warrington
5. Castleford
6. Catalans
7. Huddersfield
8. Salford
9. Leeds
10. Wakefield
11. Toronto
12. Hull KR


Saints have a settled side which always helps. The new coach is a factor but can't see anything but another top spot finish for them. Hull have made some cracking signings for 2020 and their (fully fit) backline is arguably the best in the division. Definitely my dark horses for silverware in 2020.
Wigan are always up there somewhere and Wire are fourth as I'm not convinced when I look at their whole squad. It looks imbalanced to me and their backline looks particularly weak. A lot resting on Widdop and that's a concern given his recent injury record.
From 5th all the way down to 12th it's just a guessing game tbh. The squads all seem reasonably well matched at this moment in time and all it takes is a bad run of injuries for any one of these sides to be looking at relegation.

Just a quick note on Toronto. They have some very good players in their squad, SBW being an obvious name. Keep an eye out for Blake Wallace too, he's looked dangerous every time I've seen him play. However they also have a fair amount of 'average' SL players in their squad as well so I'm not expecting them to take the division by storm as some are predicting. Their realistic goal should be to survive in the top flight this season and build on that year on year. Success does not come easily.

Toronto have not finished with their new signings for 2020.
Any team which has SBW and Richard Leutele in the squad is not going to finish 11th.

Castleford with new half Daniel Richardson is not going to finish ahead of Catalans which has Samuel Tomkins, James Maloney and Joshua Drinkwater.

Just my opinion, based on current squads. Catalans will need to get over their consistently terrible away form before they move further up my predictions table I'm afraid.

Fair point.

However I am optimistic that James Maloney and Joshua Drinkwater are going to make a huge difference to the Catalans' performances away.

That's a huge chunk of optimism there/their/they're jeannie, even if those two(2) plus ratboy don't suffer injuries they will need a far greater effort from the rest of the overrated over payed players' which were the shambles of a team that played last season.

based on last years form they are not

Great players can be an inspiration to other players in any team sport. For example Gregory Inglis and Samuel Burgess were an inspiration to other team members when they played for South Sydney Rabbitohs, and won the NRL Grand Final in 2014. I am calculating that James Maloney, interacting with Joshua Drinkwater in the halves, with Samuel Tomkins at full back, will provide new inspiration to the rest of the Catalans team.