Been reading how amazing the Salford pack is, it must be just me because I don't see it.

I think Salford are building a much improved team. Their back row when at their best looks scary with Hansen, Paterson and Hock. However Hock blows hot and cold and Paterson really needs to step up his defence. Going forward he was good at Hull Kr and was a decent ball handler but defensively was very lazy.

Their back line looks impressive. Just need to have fingers crossed that Dobson's form was as good as his Hull KR days and that him and Chase gel.

It's a decent pack, but not among the best.

Taylor is good, I'm not mad about Tasi, second rowers are all steady with exception of Hock who can be brilliant or a liability, sometimes in the same game. Morley still does a job but he's miles past his best. Don't know much about the youngsters. They really need a good hooker. Lee is bang average and Fages is out of position.

There are a lot worse forward packs, but I feel this is where they will ultimately fall short of being proper challengers.

Salford look good in a lot of departments.
Assuming they can play together, which is teh same issue for any team with new signings, they have a good backline, very good half backs, and an impressive back row on it's day.

The front row is the weak point in my opinion. Depends whether Morley and Pulatua can keep it going all season.

I think Carl Forster will surprise a few people next season. Young prop signed from Saints after an impressive season on loan at Whitehaven, where he narrowly missed out on the Championship Player of the Year award to Ryan Brierley.

I'm hoping he makes the step up like Hill, Amor and Walmsley have all done.

If Forster was of that quality, he'd have gotten a game in front of Greg Richards and Ant Walker this year.
He's pretty solid, but not a similar signing to Hill or Walmsley.

Saints will be running with

Lomax
Swift
Turner/Jones
Percival/Jones
Makinson
Burns
Walsh
Amor
Roby
Masoe
Wilkin/Jones
Vea
LMS

Hohaia
Walmsley
Richards/Jones
Thompson/Jones

Although they'll probably shoe horn Wellens in there somewhere every week.

Four teams will be a class above the others: Saints, Wigan, Warrington and Catalans.

The rest should start thinking now about how they can strengthen their squads for 2016.

The Salford pack in the last 10 games of the season were very dominant in most games and that was without Hock for the majority of them.Given the new additions i can see the pack being very competetive against most teams and should be able to set a decent platform for a very exciting back line.
As always a lot will depend on how quickly they can gel as a team but i dont see this as big an issue as it was last year.

The Catalans seemed to have already sorted out their allegedly terrible away form just this past September. It was precisely Leeds and then Huddersfield whom they defeated away during the playoffs, in the lead up to their away game against Saints.

Todd Carney and Villiame Sione Tonga are going to lift the club up a level in attack, such that I expect even Saints will be under dire threat from Catalans at Langtree Park. And if Scott Dureau can recover his 2012 form, then I fully expect a few more "wide to Millard" type tries that will put even Saints on their backsides at home.

I agree with the top four of Catalans, St Helens, Warrington and Wigan.
In which order will be the interesting bit, probably not the alphabetical one though!

1. Jarrod Sammut
2. Richie Owen
3. Dean Collis
4. Reece Lyne
5. Chris Riley
6. Craig Hall
7. Tim Smith
8. Scott Anderson
9. Paul McShane
10. Nick Scruton
11. Matt Ryan
12. Danny Kirmond
13. Danny Washbrook

Subs:
14. Pita Godinet
15. Lopini Paea
16. Dan Smith / Mikel Simon
17. Matty Ashurst

Rest:
Ali Lauitiiti, Mikel Simon/ Dan Smith, Ian Kirke, Jacob Miller, Jon Molloy, Chris Annakin, Jordan Crowther, Max Jowitt, Tom Johnstone.


Not the official numbers, but we look the strongest we have for many o' year!

I think everyone is going to be totally off, me too year there are going to be some big shocks all over the place.