For the first time in quite some time I don't have a clue what the top 8 will look like.

Wigan
Warrington
Saints
Leeds

Catalans
Hudds
Hull

Will be the top 7 but I couldn't even guess what order other than one of the top 4 will finish top. The rest is up for grabs IMO.

Last season I was certain that it would be a Wigan and Warrington 1-2 in any order. I don't have a clue this year.

I do however think that we will play in the GF wherever we finish in the top 8.

Interesting that no one is tipping Hull to improve. We have made alot of changes all over the club and they could go either way, but on paper at least we are better both on and off the field. I think a realistic finish is 5th but il go with my heart and say I fancy us to break the 4.

Wire
Saints
Wigan
Hull
Leeds
Catalans
Huddersfield
Hull KR
Quins
Cas
Wakefield
Bradford
Salford
Widnes

Giants are a great team when all fit, but with 3 props (Eorl LOD and Faalogo) out until end of March, underwelming signings, the inevitable injuries that will come and the is he/isn't he going saga that will be happening again with NB, I just think there are 6 sides who will fair better.

1. Warrington-continued improvement under Smith
2. Saints-less injuries=more consistency
3. Wigan-still v good but time needed for SWane to settle
4. Leeds-won't suffer the Brian Mac early season bedding in
5. Hull FC-Gentle to make an immediate impact
6. Huddersfield-still strong but team needs freshening up and squad needs strength
7. Catalans-Robinson has stamped his authority on them and they'll start fast
8. Wakefield-almost completely new team with quality & depth in the squad
9. Castleford-poor recruitment but still have some quality
10. Bradford-continue to go backwards under Potter
11. London- put faith in Ausie forwards who'll find it tough over here
12. Hull KR-Sandercock will find SL a hard nut & loss of Newton/Vella
13. Salford-Parrish is way out of his depth, squad poorer than last year
14. Widnes-will struggle with their newly assembled squad which is short of the required quality

Much to the anger of a lot of fans the Rhinos will win the CC and/or GF.

warington-think smith will have them fine tuned enough enough to finish top again
saints-played alot of kids last year, all will benefit from that this year and improve, will miss graham but roby and lomax will trouble anyone.
wigan-look a little weaker than last year and have to bed in a new coach but still a very good team, hopefully less negative tactics from them.
hull fc-without agar dragging them down they will finally stop underachieving, some good signings, think it will be a good year
leeds- dont really look stronger this season but still have plenty of players that can trouble teams.
catalans-look stronger than last year and the coach has had a year to settle, should go well
hudds-still a good team, need to stop losing form at the end of the season.
castleford-new coach to bed in but a largely settled squad, plenty of kids played last year due to huge amount injuries, that will all be better for it this year.
hull kr-new coach and lots of new players to settle, will struggle early on but improve towards the end.
bradford-signed some good halfs, pack will miss lynch, think potter will be trying to build for the future with kids.
london-some good signings, but an inexperienced coach and and an almost new squad, will lose some tight games next year.
wakefield-some decent signings but lack of power and depth in front row, virtually new squad, poor coach and risky half back combo means bottom 3.
salford-dont think they are a happy team and little quality in the squad.
widnes- have made some good signings but havent followed up with enough depth and ah van is a poor signing, will take too long to adjust to sl i think.

Cas not playing next year?

Champions: Leeds Rhinos
Grand Final: Leeds vs Wire
Challenge Cup: Saints
CC Final: Saints vs Leeds
WCC: Leeds
League Leaders: Wire

Pretty unanimous that Wire will be top? I don't see how they can be any stronger with so many over 30's than in 2011 when they had a magnificent league season, yet only finished top because Wigan threw the towel in after Wembley.

Cos at the same time they have som good young players (bought in of course )that will only get better. The likes of Myler + Atkins stepped up a gear last year and are likely to do so again, plus Waterhouse is an improvement on Anderson, at least on paper.

Plus Wigan are drastically weaker on paper, and Saints have lost a big player.

Why is SL to tough for them?

Champions - Warrington
Grand Final - St Helens vs Warrington
Challenge Cup - Leeds
WCC - Leeds
League Leaders - St Helens
Table
1 Saints - Strong team, good young players coming through
2 Warrington - Carrying on from last year, good squad again this season
3 Leeds - Younger looking squad, average season in 2012, then we will win GF in 2013
4 Wigan - Will start poorly, but end strongly
5 Hull - Big year for Hull, new coach, new squad, and a return to old ways
6 Catalan - Good squad, usual season from the Dragons
7 Huddersfield - Light in the forwards, but strong in the backs
8 London - Good squad this season, so between them Cas and KR (will be tight)
9 Castleford - Not many quality signings, but new coach, could be a play off spot
10 Hull K.R. - New squad, and new coach. Bit of a transition year
11 Bradford - Will be a typical season, start well, end badly, average squad this season
12 Wakefield - Transition year, new squad, will be higher up in 2013
13 Widnes - New to the SL, will be a learning season
14 Salford - Couldn't think of where to put Salford, but with coach gone, not too sure what is happening there. Not the best squad as well, no real impact signings other than Joel Moon.

Wire
Saints
Pies
Whinos
Frogs
Cods
Giants
Classless-Cas
London
Bull
Wakefield
Hull KR
Widnes
Salford

Super League - Wire
Challenge Cup - St Helens
WCC - Manly

I always find it amusing how wound up people get if someone predicts that their team may finish lower than they think. You can't have every team in the top 8, and the usual 'I'm quietly confident we've recruited well this season' usually ends belly up mid season. Nobody ever can guess the league other than the big 4 (Wigan, Leeds, Saints, Warrington) as it is unpredictable due to high player turnover usually in the lower placed clubs. You can only really begin to gauge the league after about 5 fixtures, so why people should be outraged that their team isn't touted to do well I don't know, at the end of the day, it's a guess at this stage.