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Super League XV

shabbashaz

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The start of Super League XV starts this week with Crusaders against Leeds on Friday, and Harlequins v Wakefield Wildcats on the Saturday.

The following weekend sees the whole league start this latest campaign. My team St Helens will be hosts to Hull FC, and will also see the return of Saints legend Sean Long, who left Saints at the end of last season. Saints have only had a couple of new signings in the close season, and most notably one of them, sees the return of Nick Fozzard. Fozzie is definately a 'workhorse' and although a few years older, hopefully he'll still have the same impact he did the first time around.

Keiron Cunningham, 33, is as good today as he was the first time I saw him play 14 year ago. He has onlyever played for St Helens, he was offered alot of money to switch codes and play for Cardiff, but his loyalty to St Helens meant no amount of money was going to tempt him. He started at St Helens as a schoolboy and this campaign will see him hang his boots up at the end of the season. He is a hero in St Helens, so much so, they will be having a statue of him in the town centre.

This will be the last season, they play at Knowsley Road (GPW Recruitment Stadium) before they move to their state of the art stadium on the other side of town.

For this reason, I will be getting up to St Helens as much as I can this year to take in the atmosphere at Knowsley Road, before it is gone forever. I'll be missing the Southampton game, to watch Saints v Hull.

This game is not gonna be easy, and I reckon the scoreline will switch a few times.

As for who will be the contenders for the title, hopefully last season's blip for Saints will see them back on form, they are the most successful team during the Super League era, with a massive 19 trophies, in 14 years under their belts.

Personally, I think it will be interesting to see how Bradford get on, with last year for the first time since Super League started, they failed to reach the play offs.

Leeds Rhinos (current Super League Champions) will be contenders again, as will Wigan. And even Catalan Dragons shocked the critics last year by getting to the play offs.

Whatever this season brings, I'm sure it will be as entertaining as ever.

If you've not watched Rugby League before, I would recommend you give it a go. I find it more entertaining than Rugby Union. The game can switch so much. My first live game was the Challenge Cup Final 1996 against Bradford Bulls. We were 26-12 down with 20 mins left, I think most Saints fans that day thought the game was done and dusted and we were going home on the losing side, but we came back and won 40-32. Anyone who went there, who was new to Rugby League would have come away a fan.

But I'm looking forward to this season, more than recent years, cos I will be able to get up and watch a few games.

BRING IT ON!!!
 
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grecian greg

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I often watch the super league on sky sports and i enjoy it.
I look out for Hull KR results cos its a team to follow for me, but i dont know why!
 

LOG

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Dirty Notherners.






I actually quite like rugby league, for my sins.
 

manc grecian

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Cant we just skip the league stage and let Leeds and St Helens play the final.
 

CREDYGRECIAN

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must be a northern thing , stupid shaped ball and 20 stone geezers running into each other....

i dont get it
 

rich13

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Isnt it run 5 times into a fat bloke then, kick it to them. Then repeat for the length of the game.
 

shabbashaz

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must be a northern thing , stupid shaped ball and 20 stone geezers running into each other....

i dont get it
Pure ignorance, there aren't all 20 stone. In fact you need to be quite agile to play rugby league.

Even when a few Wigan players went over to union in the close season, they came back to Rugby League and couldn't keep up, as the game has a much faster pace.

Many a time, I've seen a player make a break from one end of the pitch to the other end (nearly put t'other, but was scared in case I got another english lesson from Ant ;) )

Going to a live game, is alot better than watching it on telly, although before my first trip to watch Saints, I watched the games on telly and I really enjoyed it.

And manc, I don't think it will be Saints/Leeds in the playoff final this year, think it will be a bit of a shock
 

manc grecian

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And manc, I don't think it will be Saints/Leeds in the playoff final this year, think it will be a bit of a shock
It wont be though will it. Half the teams are skint and dying on their arse, then theirs Wigan, Warrington and a couple of others who will challenge for the playoffs. Leeds and Saints be in the final at the end.

Almost as predictable as the Premiership.
 

shabbashaz

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It wont be though will it. Half the teams are skint and dying on their arse, then theirs Wigan, Warrington and a couple of others who will challenge for the playoffs. Leeds and Saints be in the final at the end.

Almost as predictable as the Premiership.
I actually think Catalans could make it this year, after coming close last year. The only thing I don't like is the b*ll*cks with the play off match to decide who's in the final, where the team that finished top gets to choose who they play in the decider. Complete and utter rubbish IMO. It should have stayed to 6 teams, where the leaders get a week off as the others battle it out etc.

But then I would prefer it to be as it was originally when Super League started, and whoever came top were Super League Champions, then they had play offs for the equivalent of the League Cup
 

CREDYGRECIAN

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Pure ignorance, there aren't all 20 stone. In fact you need to be quite agile to play rugby league.

Even when a few Wigan players went over to union in the close season, they came back to Rugby League and couldn't keep up, as the game has a much faster pace.

Many a time, I've seen a player make a break from one end of the pitch to the other end (nearly put t'other, but was scared in case I got another english lesson from Ant ;) )

Going to a live game, is alot better than watching it on telly, although before my first trip to watch Saints, I watched the games on telly and I really enjoyed it.

And manc, I don't think it will be Saints/Leeds in the playoff final this year, think it will be a bit of a shock
rugby is a game for those who are not talented enough to play football shabbs.
 
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