I like the fact that we have HKR first up. I don't see them as a pushover, but that is a good game for us to start with. And if we lose, well I think you can write our season off as the psychological damage will be worse than losing the two points.
I had forgotten about the fixture compression and need for rotation. I am not sure if that will favour us or not. Do we have decent backup in the squad ?

What is taking over from scrums , is it a handover /play the ball ?

I think the fact that we have played Cas, Leeds, Wigan and Saints means that the draw is favourable. I think the 6 to go rule suits us right down to the ground especially with Clark, Ratchford and / Ashton who I guess will be available for selection from the first game back. We have played better in attack when the ball is in play with few stoppages because of the type of players we have and wearing the opposition middles out as highlighted by Philbins try at Wembley. Until this thread the resumption of the season felt like ages away but only a few weeks now.
We should make the top 4 and then who knows. But just our luck there will be another lockdown just before the grand final.

I actually think it will be the opposite. There is a lot more randomness in this season, with the higher risk of injury/lack of availability due to the disrupted preparation, covid still being around and the congested fixtures especially near the end of the season. Much more chance that the best team with the best coach gets scuppered by bad luck right at the end. I remember it happening to Saints one year when they had been the best team all year then lost Long, Albert and Gilmour in the last week of the season and that scuppered them in the playoffs. This year you might get a situation where teams are heavily depleted after the hectic run-in, and someone sneaks in to the playoffs in healthier shape and are then well set.

There will be an art in good squad management and rotation to minimise the risk, but covid and injuries will strike randomly no matter how well prepared a team is, so I think a lot will be about luck. We may see some non-traditional teams in contention at the end.

A tap

< sucks teeth like a plumber also >

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH oo assembled this squad then? its all in the 'alves and wing this, needs a good quality set of baahck up pwops, dont they john ?

the plumber metaphors are strong on this thread.

" Back up props < shakes head> they don't make them no more ..< more teeth sucking >...............this is going to be expensive"

I think you misheard it was “a backed up prop” could blow at any minute...

I thought we looked good vs. Wigan & Saints. So not sure about that. I think most people were optimistic after those games.

It's so long ago now I can barely remember. I think that all we can take forward from those first games is that Ashton is ready for the step up to Super League whereas Brand isn’t and that Widdop’s pre-season injury had severely hindered our preparation. Other than that it’s a fresh start. Good that we should have Hughes and Ashton back (and the Gelling incident is on a back burner) but a short re-start means that the form book is virtually out of the window, at least for the first few rounds. Never mind needing a prop, we need to break the bank buying lucky charms to keep us injury free. If we thought that Daryl Powell sounded like a stuck record last season bemoaning the injury list what will it be like for the remainder of this year?

Difficult to tell what our chances are, as the number of games played for the each club ranges from 4 to 7. In a compressed competition, which further makes it hard to fathom, we may a have a small advantage of having less fixtures to fulfil. The main thing is get 4 wins from the first 6 or 7 games, which should put us in contention.

Each squad will also be fully tested when there's both midweek and weekend fixtures during October and November, and that's not to mention any self isolation/positive Covid19 test issues that could happen within any club.

Too many variables to give an informed judgement as to whether we'll make the playoffs.

I hadn't thought of that. Hopefully the situation won't arise, but it’s a distinct possibility.

And threw an absolute shocker at Leeds. The first time I’d left a game nearly 30min before the end, other than when the army guns upset my son at the HJ last time.
Payback time from Richie Myler. One of the best games I’ve ever seen him play.