2014 Ladder Predictions

Discussion in 'The Cesspit: Rugby League Discussion' started by Ged, Mar 1, 2014.

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  1. Magic AJ Parker

    Yeh pretty much, despite doing some video analysis for the Roosters last year & helping out in pre-season he's never actually held a position in First Grade.
     
    Magic, Mar 4, 2014
    #21

  2. Lordeman JA Robertson

    That's not exactly true- he was a part of the coaching staff at the Broncos before he went to Wynnum.
     
    Lordeman, Mar 4, 2014
    #22

  3. Ged GEC King

    I reckon there's an argument there that being head coach of a Qld Cup side is actually worth more than being an NRL assistant so long as the Qld Cup team is reasonably separate from an NRL affiliate. At least you have a good idea if they can take charge of a group of young blokes without having bosses above him.
     
    Ged, Mar 4, 2014
    #23

  4. Lukic L Popovic

    Pretty funny how with the exception of Manly, I'd say the consensus top 8 sides are in the bottom and vice versa.
     
    Lukic, Apr 6, 2014
    #24

  5. morgieb MC Burridge

    This isn't looking too flash.

    The ladder looks a major lottery this year though. Would not surprise me if 5 rounds time it's looking something completely different to what it is now.
     
    morgieb, Apr 6, 2014
    #25

  6. Cribbage RG Cribb

    Was fearing the worst when I saw morgie make a post in this thread; he's been the biggest knee-jerker this season. Luckily that post isn't that bad.

    There's a reason I've cleaned up on the punt so far this season despite tipping like complete arse - the first five rounds are always ridiculously unpredictable, to the point of almost irrelevance for the season forward beyond the actual premiership points you pick up.

    Real season starts next week.
     
    Cribbage, Apr 6, 2014
    #26

  7. morgieb MC Burridge

    A lot of my knee-jerking is Gambhiring tbh.
     
    morgieb, Apr 6, 2014
    #27

  8. Cribbage RG Cribb

    Nah I'm not really talking about your dumb Souths posts which I learned to ignore years ago.
     
    Cribbage, Apr 6, 2014
    #28

  9. Magic AJ Parker

    Titans sole leaders of the comp - lol
     
    Magic, Apr 6, 2014
    #29

  10. Lukic L Popovic

    1 Gold Coast Titans - Solid team, see them finishing 5th or 6th. Do most things right.
    2 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs - Still pretty shit despite a few good results. Don't see them finishing in the top 8.
    3 Brisbane Broncos - Shit spine is going to kill them. Bottom 4 team imo.
    4 Penrith Panthers - Perfectly average team. 7th-10th.
    5 Wests Tigers - Injuries already looking to derail the season, but if healthy a top 4 contender.
    6 St George-Illawarra Dragons - Probably overachieved early but still a decent team. Will fight for a spot in the 8.
    7 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles - Poor pack will hold them back but that spine and backline should see them comfortably win against teams that don't dominate up front.
    8 Parramatta Eels - Not that good. Overachieved early as well. A Sandow and Norman halves pairing isn't going to get you many wins.

    9 Melbourne Storm - Showing cracks as the team has gradually worsened outside the big 3 and they may slow down with age as the season goes on. Should still be a force at home but may struggle during origin and against some quality opposition away.
    10 Sydney Roosters - Still the team to beat in the comp imo. Played terribly the past 2 weeks and only lost by a combined 9 points.
    11 South Sydney Rabbitohs - Tough to gauge. Will make the 8 though but not sure how.
    12 Canberra Raiders - Always seem to underperform. I can see 7th-10th.
    13 Warriors - Been terrible so far and mid-season coaching changes are too hard to predict. Lot depends on how Tomkins goes but that money could've definitely been spent better keeping Locke at fullback and bolstering other parts of the squad. On paper should make the 8 but probably won't.
    14 North Queensland Cowboys - Shit spine bar Thurston and while it's a good pack, I'm not sure it's enough to swing me over. Will do better than 14th though but im not sure how much.
    15 Newcastle Knights - With Mullen back are definitely good enough for the 4 and the Alex McKinnon factor will spur them on.
    16 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks - Extremely uncreative and generally not-threatening spine outside of Carney will pose a lot of problems for them as far as scoring goes, especially with that backline. No Lewis and out of form Graham certainly make things worse. Anywhere from 10-16.
     
    Lukic, Apr 6, 2014
    #30

  11. Cribbage RG Cribb

    Gold Coast have actually played terribly for their results, honestly. Canterbury at least played well in their two big wins as such.

    Titans season:

    Round 1 - scraped home against a depleted Sharks side
    Round 2 - absolutely pumped by the Tigers at home
    Round 3 - won a scrappy game against a poor Canberra side
    Round 4 - scraped home against a poor North Queensland side
    Round 5 - good performance; close win over Melbourne in Melbourne

    Honestly they've only played one game I'd give them higher than a C grade for.

    The fact that they've won 4/5 but still have a negative points difference is actually hilarious. They have a better side than other pretenders Canterbury, Brisbane and St George and their 'good' start will give them some handy points, but they've actually played pretty terribly so far; even worse than Canterbury who I've ripped into for exactly that.
     
    Cribbage, Apr 6, 2014
    #31

  12. Magic AJ Parker

    I do wonder if Parra are the real deal in terms of pushing for a top 8 position.

    Peats has been a really good signing, Mau has been an exceptional find he's come in and looked like a 100 gamer, they've got some really good powerful props in Pauli, Paulo & Terepo lead by Mannah & Moi Moi, there's good strike in their backline, Arthur seems to have found a role for Sandow where he can just play his brand of footy & then you've got Jardy Hayne.
     
    Magic, Apr 6, 2014
    #32

  13. Maroon_Faithful M Faithful

    You're havin a fucken laugh aren't you?
     
    Maroon_Faithful, Apr 6, 2014
    #33

  14. Lukic L Popovic

    why?
     
    Lukic, Apr 6, 2014
    #34

  15. Maroon_Faithful M Faithful

    Well, as Cribb said, the Titans have not played particularly well despite the fact that they lead the competition. They've had some very scrappy wins in which they played extremely poorly but still got the points. I don't think on that basis you can disregard the sort of gross inconsistency that they've been renowned for over the last few years, which is sort of what you'd have to do in order to mark them as top 4 challengers i.e. finishing as high as 5th. Okay they beat the Storm in Melbourne but they could just as easily turn around next week and get beaten by Brisbane. Nothing I've seen from them makes me think they've overcome the sort of inconsistency that they've been producing for over 5 years now under the generalship of Cartwright. They've won 4 of 5 yet still have a negative F/A for god's sake. That's gotta be something of a first in the history of the NRL I reckon.

    As anyone can see Brisbane have serious issues in their spine and I still don't particularly rate the side defensively but they're quite clearly not a bottom four team IMO. How anyone can come to that conclusion after what we've seen, I do not know.

    Wests finishing top 4 is a drum you've been beating so far all season. I just don't see it. For mine, they too reek of inconsistency and I don't think it's because of the injuries. I don't think you can assuage 40 point drubbings by non-top 8, rubbish sides like St. George and New Zealand with the absence of Curtis Sironen. The other excuses you've made which you culminate by saying had such and such not happened, the Tigers would've won, aren't really worth responding to. A few of them strike me as Nady-esque bullshittery.
     
    Last edited: Apr 7, 2014
    Maroon_Faithful, Apr 7, 2014
    #35

  16. Lukic L Popovic

    Well time will tell with the Titans. Playing poorly is obviously concerning, but being able to grind out results despite playing poorly is encouraging. If they continue to play poorly, well, fair enough then they aren't that good but from what they've shown and the squad they've got, there is the ability to play at a higher level than that. I see it as a team underperforming and getting results as opposed to a shit team getting some good results.

    Get back to me in 5 weeks re: the Broncos. Some teams have to be in the bottom 4 and I don't see why it can't be them with that spine, in spite their good start to the season. I guess the playing every Friday night thing though is an advantage that other teams don't have.

    The Dragons game is inexcusable, but if you did watch the Warriors game, it was clear as day that match was going to be a Tigers victory until the injury to Tedesco which saw a reshuffle that resulted two of the worst mismatches you're going to see in a centre-wing battle this season.

    The other 3 games for the Tigers have been complete demolition jobs against two premiership contenders, both of whom featured in the prelims and one was the runner up last season and the other is the team currently coming first on the table.
     
    Last edited: Apr 7, 2014
    Lukic, Apr 7, 2014
    #36

  17. Sultan Pepper HG Emm

    Penrith will be 6th, they've performed worse than I expected but are still 3 from 5. No Soward at origin time hurts, but we should be fairly unscathed outside of that
     
    Last edited: Apr 7, 2014
    Sultan Pepper, Apr 7, 2014
    #37

  18. jazman84 JM Eightyfour

    Unfortunatley for Broncos, this is pretty true. However, I dont think we'll be bottom 4. We'll finish somewhere around 7-10 IMO; and after seeing us lose close ones like the Roosters and Eels games, I reckon it will be closer to 10.

    Games like this round v Titans are so important for us, because I honestly think both sides will be part of a finals logjam come September.
     
    jazman84, Apr 7, 2014
    #38

  19. Harry Sack SB Slippy

    Weren't you going to start sharing some of your punting brilliance with us?
     
    Harry Sack, Apr 7, 2014
    #39

  20. Toolman TR Man

    Every team has been shit.
     
    Toolman, Apr 7, 2014
    #40
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