i think DM is absolutely correct,here we are still 2 weeks away from our first game and SL and Championship are already 5 games in,what exactly have we to talk about.Structure is all wrong.

I watched the North Wales versus Seagulls game at the weekend and was impressed by the way North Wales came back into the game in the last quarter and never gave up the game. They threw the ball around to the edges rather than take on the Seagulls down the middle, making for an entertaining match.
They look far better than the side we played last year which could cause us problems come play off places.

I noticed that over the last two weekends Keighley have been beaten by both Oldham and Swinton.

When I look through the league one squads I thought Keighley had a very strong squad again this season and would be there or thereabouts come the play offs, weather they have used these games to play fringe squad players I don't know but they were well beaten by Swinton which doesn't bode well for us.

Looking at our squad I honestly feel we are in for a long hard season and nothing less than a convincing Dons win against The Midlands will convince me otherwise.
They will give us a fair idea where we are , as I think they will be a tough nut to crack this year.

They have signed a few more quality players and have four or five ex Dons in the side who will be out to prove a point.

NWC are the best team in the division. Keighley's results so far have surprised me having lost to Hunslet, Oldham and Swinton, particularly with Oldham losing to Lock Lane but I'd expect them to improve.

Swinton are certainly better than Oldham appear to be at this stage.

For me it is NWC top then a free for all between us, Keighley, Oldham, Swinton, Hunslet and Rochdale

I agree Jemmo , we are an average looking side unless we have a significant amount of personnel coming in on loan.

Poor recruitment and player retention will see walk up spectators plummet this season , I would rather pay £150/£200 for a season ticket and watch a competitive side.

See separate thread re Jordie.

I actually think our player recruitment has been pretty good the last few years, generally speaking. It's player retention, particularly at the end of last season, which has been the worry.

An obvious exception is never recruiting an actual fullback, which seems odd