I think last years top 4 are pretty much a lock again, with 5th - 12th most likely being fought out by the same teams again, maybe the Rorters are the only other side that can potentially push for a spot in the 4, with the Cows and the Slime the most likely sides to replace the Gummies and the Faiders.
Newcastle are a question mark, I think if they start the season poorly they could struggle to recover and that may open the door for a spot in the 8. I had them ear marked in the 8 off the back of last year, but I haven’t been impressed through the trials and think their depth and the loss of young will hurt, they are also very similar to us with regard to Ponga being a question mark for the season.
I don’t think the byes favour us in comparison to some of the other more fancied sides, with both ours coming mid season Rd 13 and 17, maybe if we are in the race for the 8 our Rd 22 bye could be very handy.
We have a relatively tough early draw, which could see us struggle to stay in touch, while a couple of the bottom sides from last year namely the Tits and Fins seem to have a more favourable start and a possible advantage to build off, however I don’t see the Fins repeating last year, even with their good recruiting and from what I‘ve seen of the Tits, I think Des May take some getting used to, anybody else notice the vib in their sheds yesterday? A lot of nervous looking players, a little Hasler intensity perhaps. I think the last 3 years under Holbrook will have been vastly different to what there experiencing now, be very interesting to see if Des gets the side preforming, they have a fairly good side on paper, however I see it being a tough adjustment for the Tits.
Don‘t give the Dogs, the Goons or the Tigpies much hope and believe they will be fighting it out again for the spoon, maybe a bit harsh on the Dogs as they could improve with Critter as a player and captain.
That leaves the bunnies and us, ironic really as we clash in the season opener, I think both sides have the potential to finish in the 8 while at the same time look equally as likely to miss the 8, will newcastle fall away, could there be a spot in the 8? Maybe the cows or the Slime struggle and miss providing a spot as well, think I’ll give them both a berth at this stage ahead of the Gummies and the Faiders, I have little confidence in the Bunnies or us at this stage, only time will tell I guess, I just think we don’t have the engine room, the 9 or 13 to push for the 8 and while our backline looks as promising as it’s been in a good while, I still think there‘s some question marks. The Bunnies are hard to get an early read on and both sides need to over rely on their FB’s to have a good season, at this stage and without having seen our side play, I’m going to say we miss the 8, the Bunnies have a little more resilience than us and may just make the 8 however its no secret theres some unrest in the playing group and I will not be surprised if they struggle this year, Graham is also a big out for them, Rd 22.
So let’s go, we need to kick our season off with a win to build the confidence, the 2 points are huge, we should of beat south’s last year, that game and dropping the game in Mudgee (or the point, where we should of won) probably cost us a spot in the 8, had we of beat souths, I believe we would of went on with it in Mudgee and not faded to end with a draw, I also believe those 2 game and the loss of momentum and confidence that followed getting hammered by the riff contributed going into the loss against the tigers and the Tits, (even though we beat the storm in between, like so often we struggle to keep up the intensity against the sides we’re expected to beat, stringing wins together is a one of our problems) we should of won those 2 games, small things make a difference, 4 early games there that could have changed our season, anyway I hope we stand up and come away with the points in Vegas, do that and things could swing in our favour, our forwards will need to overcome a bloody strong pack, thinking Vegas is really important for our season, win and we come back looking forward to the chooks game, lets not think about a loss. Hard to imagine a season opener could be so important, but I’m thinking its huge for us, we win the belief in the side and the process gets off to the right start. Hope the lads are behaving, while also hoping Mitchel and co can’t help themselves. Apologies for the essay, got carried away, haven’t posted over the off season, so looking forward to the game.
