Who are the genuine title threats for this year?

[Dragon]

Surprised not many have tipped the Raiders as a threat. Imo they are a big chance but i guess it depends on how Campo comes back and how they travel without him at the start of the season.

 

[besthalfbackPEARCE]

Canberra only really beat the Dragons consistently

 

[Noa]

Surprised not many have tipped the Raiders as a threat. Imo they are a big chance but i guess it depends on how Campo comes back and how they travel without him at the start of the season.

The Raiders will need binoculars to see the 8th spot by the time Campese is ready...unless you have a lot of faith in Mcrone :crazy:

 

[mongoose]

Surprised not many have tipped the Raiders as a threat. Imo they are a big chance but i guess it depends on how Campo comes back and how they travel without him at the start of the season.

Its going to be a big test for David Furner to keep this team in reach of the finals for when Campese comes back. We still have a strong squad without him though including arguably the best best pack in the comp.

 

[Dragon]

The Raiders will need binoculars to see the 8th spot by the time Campese is ready...unless you have a lot of faith in Mcrone :crazy:

Hmm the way i see it halves arent really a concern till finals time. I just rate their forward pack extremely highly, and with talented outside backs they can still give it a shake.

They just need to be consistant in defence i.e. good kick chase, defend as a unit, dont give stupid penalties etc. They can score points from anywhere on the field so attack is not a concern. But as Mongoose points out it will probably comes down to Furner and whether or not he can get that consistancy from them

 

[Big Pete]

I'm not hearing the things I'm liking out of Canberra...Dugan to F/E, Campo out for ages and I'm still not sure what to make of Furner.

 

[adamkungl]

Can't see a team outside of this doing the business in 2011

Moffo curse aside, no one can ever see it in January but there is ALWAYS an unexpected smokey or two (or three or four) in the finals, and some of the big ones drop like a sack of sh*t (Parra, Dogs 09-10)

Roosters will win the comp.

 

[BranVan3000]

Souths might not have the right coach yet for the job. I think they have the pack, and Sutton and Sandow are more than good enough if they play like when they play well.. Rabbitohs will be top 8 if they play like they did until the injuries occurred last year

Beyond that, well the team has experience together now. I can imagine them getting quite far

 

[Gaba]

Pretty weak argument. The Dragons defence made most halfbacks look predictable, even Thurston

thats a weak argument also

1- Thurston has troubled the dragons defence , thurston has won games with attack against the dragons

2- pearce has not troubled teams with attack when those team have shown the ability to defend

look at the games against the sharks , the tigers

the state of origin games pearce did nothing, his attack is the predictable kick

 

[Gaba]

f**king Moffo. merkin.



We struggle agains the Dragons because we don't have props not because of Pearce. Your vendetta against Pearce is amusing.

When roosters had the stronger forward pack, pearce was still nothing in attack

so no good using the forward argument

 

[boonboon]

Tigers, Roosters, Warriors, Penrith, Dragons will all make the top 8 for mine and are the big chances . I think then the other 3 will be Broncos, Raiders and Nights - Souths to continue to dissapoint although along with the dogs they will battle it our with the nights for the last position in the 8

 

[Raider_69]

Matt Orford will be playing #7 for the Raiders come round 1
with our forward pack, Orford at halfback (McCrone will then shift to 5/8th till Campo is back) and Dugan at fullback
Campo is a huge loss but we're covering for it quite well.
The Raiders will make the 8. If Campo gets back and we go on a roll with Campo/Orford, top 4 isnt out of the question and any team with our pack, dugan at fullback and Orford/Campese in the halves is a genuine threat

 

[Raider_69]

double

 

[Spot On]

Are Dogs fans confident of making the semis with Ben Roberts playing 5/8?

 

[Moffo]

Yes

 

[Jason Maher]

It's all pissing in the wind at this stage, but I'll go out on a limb:

1. Saints
2. Roosters
3. Tigers
4. Warriors
5. Titans
6. Penrith
7. Manly
8. Brisbane
9. Melbourne
10. Souths
11. Canterbury
12. Canberra
13. Cronulla
14. Parramatta
15. North Queensland
16. Newcastle

I'm near certain to be very, very wrong, because the modern game of talent equalisation amkes it nigh on impossible to make predictions with any degree of certainty. You simply cannot predict when a team is going to surprise (ala the Warriors in 2010) or drop like a lump of lead (Parra, Dogs). The only predictions I'll make with any confidence:

- Dragons to be top 4 at worst
- Roosters to be one of, if not the team to beat
- Souths to miss the 8
- Canberra to slide due to the Campese injury, otherwise I would have had them in and around the top 4
- The rest: draw a number out of a hat. It's as likely to be accurate as anything or anyone else.

Edit: when did the Raiders sign Orford?

 

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

When roosters had the stronger forward pack, pearce was still nothing in attack

so no good using the forward argument

Wait, you mean in 2008 when it absolutely pissed down with rain???

 

[boxhead]

Tigers, Roosters, Storm and Bulldogs will be 3-6 (in that order) and the outside contenders. 1 and 2 (and the grand finalists) will be Dragons and Souths. The greatest attacking team in the modern era will just be too much for Dragons hyped defense. Rabbitohs with a comfortable win. GI, Clive Churchill Medallist.

:lol:
The greatest attacking team of the modern era was the 2001 Eels, if you believe Souths with their halves can score more than 839 points in the regular season than.....well there isn't much to say.

On topic, I believe that the Dragons, Storm, Tigers, Roosters, and Warriors will be the teams to beat next year. The Bulldogs and Souths are bolters too.

Any other team though, including Dogs and Souths actually, could quite easily finish anywhere on the table.
I think the competition has good balance again this year, I think every team has a chance at the 5th through to 8th spots in the finals.

 

[Noa]

I'm not hearing the things I'm liking out of Canberra...Dugan to F/E, Campo out for ages and I'm still not sure what to make of Furner.

i chuckle when i read how fb can slot in seamlessly to 6. The positions are night and day

 

[Southern Rooster]

Saints
Wests
Warriors
Roosters
Storm
Broncos
Rabbitohs
Eels

Is my early top 8. Parra have had a cleanout of the deadwood and have youngsters and a coach that want to impress. I think they will surprise a lot of people in 2010.

Any of the top 8 barring Parra can possibly win it with luck with injuries.