The Top 8 will be ...

[_Johnsy]

Don't worry Melon, we will make sure that the spoon is washed before we wedge it up your arse. :lol:

is that melon I can hear getting the KY Jelly ready ?:shock:

 

[The Engineers Room]

My prediction for this season only based on an educated guess would be:

Melbourne Storm
Canterbury Bulldogs
Manly Sea Eagles
Newcastle Knights
Brisbane Broncos
Parramatta Eels
Penrith Panthers
Wests Tigers
Gold Coast Titans
Cronulla Sharks
North Queensland Cowboys
New Zealand Warriors
St George - Illawarra Dragons
Sydney Roosters
South Sydney Rabbitohs
Canberra Raiders

 

[taxidriver]

My prediction for this season only based on an educated guess would be:

Melbourne Storm
Canterbury Bulldogs
Manly Sea Eagles
Newcastle Knights
Brisbane Broncos
Parramatta Eels
Penrith Panthers
Wests Tigers
Gold Coast Titans
Cronulla Sharks
North Queensland Cowboys
New Zealand Warriors
St George - Illawarra Dragons
Sydney Roosters
South Sydney Rabbitohs
Canberra Raiders

you should be asking for a refund on your school fees

 

[Jobdog]

in order

1. storm - should have won it last year - no doubt they will unearth another couple of good rookies

2. manly - won some important games without bk at end of last year - last year they lacked penetration on the line - orford & watmough while solid last year were below there best - watmough & kite will take over where kennedy left off.

3. brisbane - no real changes to the roster besides big loss in webeke - think they have the juniors to compensate pretty easily - keep hearing about dave taylor

4. parra - new coach and there storming finish in 2006 will put them in the mix

5. dogs - always there - might not have the killer punch this year with a slightly weaker bench but all other positions are close to awesome

6. cowboys - they had some problems last year but they have immense talent lead by the second best player in the comp. expect a massive year from matt bowen as well.

7. dragons - great roster of players and massive juniors basically puts them into the top 8 every year

8. warriors - pretty good 2006 - developing some good players in rovelli, mannering etc

others - why not

tigers - too much pressure on benji
panthers - alot of average players
raiders - no explanation needed
souths - better year but not quiet
sharks - ordinary roster
roosters - old pack that will lose it in back half of year, expect them to start well
titans - 1st year

Are the Knights playing in their own competition are they?

But in response to the top eight, in no particular order:
Dragons, Dogs, Storm, Knights, Warriors, Broncos, Cowboys, Tigers

 

[Stagger eel]

Broncs - I'm tipping them to be the first side to go back to back since they did it in 92-93 [I don't count 97-98]

Storm - still a very talented side but not as effective.

Manly - No more excuses...despite BK not being there they should deliver, arguebly the best backline in the comp.

Warriors - bolters for the top 4..a very strong side.

Saints - they'll be no different to what they've been in previous years, except for the fact that a few teams will surpass them..depth in the forwards could be a concern.

Dogs - will always be there when whips are cracking.

Eels - the usual..moments of brilliance will be backed up moments of mediocrity..depth is a concern also.

Titans - the will scrape in on the back of some brilliant individual performances by Preston and Prince.

 

[Big_Bad_Shark_Fan]

14. Wests Tigers
15. Sydney Roosters
16. Cronulla Sharks

:lol:

Oh mate this has to be a stitch up doesnt it?

 

[Stagger eel]

:lol:

Oh mate this has to be a stitch up doesnt it?

off course, it's not like the sharks ever have a sh*t season don't they? ...how dare he form an opinion.

 

[Shorty]

Top 8:
1.Storm: Want revenge and have some of the best players in the comp.
2.Bulldogs:As usual up there...
3.Broncos:This year isn't going to be as passionate,they could still do it but I think they won't push themselves as they did last year.
4.Cowboys:Bit of a gamble here,but I think that we could really do it if Thurston and Smith
click well.
5.Tigers:If Benji is as good as he's looking,they could really excel.
6.Knights:I think this is probably Johns last year and he'll try his damn hardest to get a premiership,with Mullen I think they're in with a chance.
7.Warriors:They showed what they could do last year.
8.Titans:Judging on their two performances they're very impressive and seem to be working well so who knows.

Keep in mind I'd say teams like the Saints,Rabbitohs and Roosters could surprise as well and be switched in any of those 8 places.
However my reason for not having them in there is that you can't go from bad to good straight away,Rabbitohs fans should be aiming for maybe top 10,top 8 and 4 is a big ask.
And for Saints,Gasnier I don't have much faith in.
I think the spoon is going to be between Panthers and Cronulla or ofcourse Canberra!

 

[Big_Bad_Shark_Fan]

off course, it's not like the sharks ever have a sh*t season don't they? ...how dare he form an opinion.

everyone man and his giraffe no the sharks will be a force this year
to put them 16 is moronic
thats why i think its a stitch up

 

[The Engineers Room]

you should be asking for a refund on your school fees

And it is easy to tip the top 8 isn't it. So what is the correct answer? There is no way of knowing so your response just shows that you have no idea.

 

[Christmas Ape]

1. Broncos - Mostly unchanged, mostly unbeatable.
2. Bulldogs - Strong, mobile forwards. Under-rated halves.
3. Storm - Will continue their good form.
4. Warriors - Surprise packet. Finished last year well.
5. Dragons - Their whole season rests on FireUpBitch. If he plays 5/8, they'll finish 11th.
6. Roosters - Will get things back on track. Mini back + Stuart gone = Contenders.
7. Raiders - Great young forwards. Other teams and the media take them too lightly.
8. Rabbitohs - Fine recruitment. Fine coach. Stability will do them well.
---------------
9. Knights - Same as every year. It's all on Joey's shoulders.
10. Tigers - No Prince. Fragile 5/8th. No forwards.
11. Cowboys - Smith was on the way out last year at Canberra. He'll last 6 rounds.
12. Eels - Terrible coach.
13. Sea Eagles - Can't see them making a dent. Diver Kennedy got out at the right time.
14. Panthers - Terrible coach. Off field dramas a-plenty.
15. Sharks - Terrible coach. Poor cattle.
16. Titans - 1st year blues. Will improve next year.

 

[borat]

1. Bulldogs - Have the roster to be right up there again and alswyas very competitive. Asotasi is a loss but Myles sure isn't
2. Storm - Awesome team once again, only concern is can they get another season of good luck with injuries.
3. Broncos - Strong team across the park. Top 3 are specials this year IMO.
4. Sea Eagles - Top side on paper and will be all the better for last years finals campaigns.
5. Warriors - Finished the season well last year and will be the big improvers off the back of their pack
6. Knights - Joey's last season will inspire them plus with a half decent coach for a change will make all the difference. Mullen to be an absolute star this year.
7. Dragons - Always in the mix in the finals, good roster once again but the loss of so many players including Barrett who the team was built around will be tough to replace.
8. Souths - Strong pack of forwards with depth. backs aren't anything to write home about but that pack will go a long way.
9. Raiders - Just got a feeling the raiders will be the surprise packet again. Although they are a team of no names they just seem to gel.
10. Roosters - Big improvement from last year but soft in the front row without Morley.
11. Cowboys - Very similar season as last year. Thurston gets them this far alone.
12. Sharks - Forwards look better this year but backs are abonimable.
13. Eels - Cannot rate any team with Ian Hindmarsh, period.
14. Panthers - If they can keep Gower off the sauce this is acheivable, just.
15. Titans - Notch up a few wins, notably round 1, keep their fans happy .
16. Tigers - can see Benji being busted early in the season and then curtains

 

[borat]

everyone man and his giraffe no the sharks will be a force this year
to put them 16 is moronic
thats why i think its a stitch up

That sounds about right, don't know one Giraffe owning sharks supporter

 

[aids]

every team this year has a chance of making the 8, in my opinion.

 

[Holla if ya hear me]

Top 8 WONT contain..Roosters raiders..tigers or titans..{just yet}everyone else i a chancr of top 8..just at various levels

 

[Mr Angry]

heard you the first time - lol

 

[Marshall_magic]

1 Storm (strong line up, good backs)
2 Dragons (still have a strong line up)
3 Knights (Joey will want to go out on top, they will go well)
4 Bulldogs (Good pack, backs are a bit thin though)
5 Broncos (Everyone's out to get them)
6 Warriors (Cleary is bringing out some consistency in this mob)
7 Tigers (Marshall, Farah and Hodgson will carry us if they can all get injury free seasons)
8 Roosters (Anderson will change things, and get them out of the hole Ricky got them in)

There abouts
Parramatta (lost too much quality)
North Queensland (Lost talent, and origin will hurt them)
Manly (BK is a massive loss, Lyon is overrated)
Penrith (New coach, new style, similiar roster)
Cronulla (One of the better packs, backline is too skinny, Ricky will play them all out of position)

Spoon contenders
Titans (One real superstar [Bailey] the rest is a mob of hacks, turnstyles, overrated players and average first graders)
Rabbitohs (Finished a long way back and have a lot of ground to make up on the rest of the pack)
Raiders (No real superstars or experience)

 

[Lego_Man]

Overrate the Warriors at your peril.

 

[brooksy19]

1. Storm
2. Broncs
3. Dogs
4. Tigers
5. Warriors
6. Saints
7. Knights
8. Manly

9. Roosters
10. Souths
11. Cowboys
12. Parra
13. Titans
14. Penrith
15. Sharks
16. Canberra.....

 

[VictorTheViking]

every team this year has a chance of making the 8, in my opinion.

Smartest thing said in this thread so far