I long for the day when I can use those words and people think that it's possible.

Why haven't you been on the Hull KR board recently? Has the jig monkey been banned again?

Agree with that. I think they will struggle when they get a few bumps and bruises and a few more miles on the legs.

Tbf it's not often a Hull fans gets to say something like that without being laughed at. It doesn't feel right looking forward to a season with genuine hope that this time we could win it all.

That said the last time I felt like this was probably 2007. I remember someone posting in their predictions on here (can't remember who but it wasn't a Hull fan) that if Hull don't finish top they should be ashamed of themselves. We finished 4th, lost Paul Cooke in the process, and faded into almost a decade of obscurity.

Kelly will make or break Hull this year imo. Sneyd helped Hull set a platform but they struggled in close games against tough defences which called for a bit of something different to break through. Kelly is that, and only that. If he fits in as the bit of magic, Hull will be a very good side. If he can't fit in, he will break the structure of a pretty structured Hull side and I think they will take a step or two back.

I genuinely think Leigh will have a good year. They had a useful squad anyway (even accounting for the age of some of them) and seem to have recruited pretty well. No show stopping signings but all decent and in most cases proven SL players. Plus winning is a habit, and they are pretty used to it. I think they will take a few scalps in the early part of the season and be sitting pretty for a while. I do also think that the rigours of SL will take their toll, but I think they will have done enough by then to stay out of trouble.

I think that might be the problem. Heavy legs and injuries going in to the final part of the year is a risky position to be in. Especially for a side unused to losing.

I can't argue with much of that, but I think it's important that we allow him to do his thing. He might well frustrate sometimes, but I don't think there's much point trying to get him to play a structured game, because that's not him.

That said, even if he has an off game, brute force and ignorance should get us over alot of teams, and if he really doesn't work out then you also have Connor and Tuimavave as good options at 6.

Ultimately, I would say that if Kelly is a success, we will win another trophy. If he flops, then we still have enough talent to be top 4, but it will most likely be close but no cigar again.

It's a fair point but our points against is unfortunately weighed down by two big spankings. (Warrington 58 and Hull KR 56).

We also copped a couple of 40 points defeats but I think we can put that down to attitude, injuries and general disruption.

For me, we need to be better against - without disrespect - sides we should be beating at home (KR, Salford, Widnes) and that should see us improve.

It's down to the coach to make sure he's fit, and that might be the key. It's easy to be the star turn in a less successful side. He's joining a side that can rightly expect to have a chance of winning the whole thing, and his standards have to rise. If he works, he'll be great to watch.

I'm split between this scenario and the one mentioned by others for Leigh. Lot of excitement and confidence running through the club for their long awaited for return to SL. If they can claim some scalps early on then the confidence and momentum could give them a shot at making the Top 8. Like mentioned though they aren't used to losing so how they cope when they inevitably have a bad patch will be interesting. Saw when they lost comfortably to Leeds at the end of the qualifiers that their discipline went out of the window so they need to sort that out when things aren't going there way.

-------------------------------------------

The thing is with all 12 clubs is the injury factor. Almost seems inevitable nowadays that several teams will have periods where they have large injury lists. How badly, how long, what players, and what time of the season in terms of trickier fixtures could be the difference between finishing 3/4/5 spots higher for any club.

Bin dipper? Is that really the best you can come up with? What is the point of you?

Some older & more experienced pro's are sometimes a blessing. I think our oldest players will be Mickey Higham 36, Gaz Hock 33 & Glenn Stewart 32 *33 by start of season*.

Whats important for Leigh, other than the squad, is that the club have recruited an NRL conditioning coach (no guarantee he will be better), Cooke is settled & undoubtedly has had a significant & positive influence in the coaching set up & Kieron Purtill is now with us too.

My fear is lack of pace in the backs, our pack is solid & a match for most, not sure about Vea though, looked a bit of a pudding at Saints.

If Leigh can be a force at home & pinch one or two away then, barring a bad injury run, we should be around 9th/10th giving us the extra home fixture in the 8's.

Beaumont has already stated that survival is the only goal & I would be happy with that.