We love opinion pieces around here, and one of our most popular stories in the pre-season was the Woodbridge Cup ladder prediction yarn.
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We went around the grounds and predicted a finishing spot for each team, and gave a run down on the make-up of each squad.
Like any opinion piece, there's going to be highlights and lowlights.
Let's go through all of the teams at the halfway point of the title race, and grade our picks for every club.
MOLONG BULLS
PREDICTED: Premiers.
CURRENT: Fifth
PREDICTION GRADE: C-
We sensationally kicked off the competition's pre-season by backing the Bulls to win the title, and it's safe to say that hasn't panned out overly well for us so far.
Todd Barrow's boys have been absolutely haunted by injuries as the captain himself, as well as Lawrence Fogg, Mitch Gallagher, Jye Barrow and Harrison Gersbach have all missed huge portions of the year, and that's just the top of it.
However, we know most sides suffer some sort of injury bug at some point during a campaign, so we're not going to remove all responsibility from the Bulls... they've still been pretty underwhelming.
They kicked off the season with back-to-back losses against Trundle and Canowindra, which now look like acceptable defeats under the circumstances.
But, in the last fortnight, they've picked up wins over Eugowra and Condobolin by scores of 24-12 and 28-20, respectively.
After a bye in round nine - to go along with the looming general bye this weekend - it looks like Molong will be primed to make some sort of run in the second half of the season, starting with an away game against Trundle in round 10.
If the boys in blue get healthy before the finals, we're confident they can match it with almost every side in the competition, but that's looking like a big if.
MANILDRA RHINOS
PREDICTED: Fifth
CURRENT: Second
PREDICTION GRADE: C
We didn't do overly well here, either.
Coming into the season, the Rhinos were looking like a mid-pack sort of side that would improve throughout the season and perhaps scrape into the finals.
Well, that's not the case at all, because Luke Petrie's Red V is absolutely legitimate.
And it's largely due to the influence of the former premiership-winning CYMS maestro.
Petrie's influence on this team cannot be overstated.
If you watch a game at Jack Huxley Oval, his fingerprints are an absolutely everything.
During the side's 32-all draw against Manildra in round eight, Petrie had five try assists, and we'd bet he'd comfortably have more than anyone in the league.
His brother, Luke, complements him nicely, and the addition of Semisi Tupou has been a good one for their forward ranks.
We'd also like to give a shout out to Zac Reimer who's a perfect representation of why modern-day wingers are so important.
He brings it back at 100 miles-an-hour, and he's as safe as a house when it comes to scoring in the corner.
We've got a lot of good things to say about this side, clearly, and they absolutely proved us wrong in the first-half of the season.
There have been whispers from other teams that Manildra is somewhat overachieving, but with only one blemish on their record, we can't really agree with that.
CARGO HEELERS:
PREDICTED: Seventh
CURRENT: Sixth
PREDICTION GRADE: B
We tipped a lack of experience would hurt the Heelers this season, and that looks to be the case.
While there's a fair bit of up and coming talent on the side, as well as the Ingram duo that's played A LOT of Woodbridge Cup footy, the overall polish probably isn't there.
This prediction looked dead in the water after two rounds as Cargo kicked off its campaign with back-to-back two point victories but since then, it's only won once.
It was back in round seven when the Blue Heelers upset Peak Hill at Cargo Oval, the 38-32 boil over shaping us one of the upsets of the season.
But, since then, it's been downhill as a 56-18 loss to Grenfell, followed by a 64-16 defeat to Manildra.
After the bye, the blue and blacks have a small window to gather a few much-needed wins before the schedule gets brutal again.
Matches against Eugowra, Condobolin and Molong look like opportunities for them.
If they're able to snag two wins throughout that window, they'd be a hope to make the finals.
If not, it might be back to the drawing boards until 2022... if it isn't already.
TRUNDLE BOOMERS
PREDICTED: Third
CURRENT: Third
PREDICTION GRADE: A
Finally, we're looking OK for this one.
The Boomers came into 2021 with stacks of success in their wake, but this winter was about whether or not the green and golds would be able to continue their winning culture with a lot of younger blokes stepping onto the team.
The answer? Absolutely.
Trundle has been really solid so far, and you could make the case that they're flying under the radar.
Admittedly, the majority of our headlines have revolved around Canowindra, Manildra, and even Molong, but the boys from Berryman Oval are doing just fine.
In fact, Jessie Durning's men have only suffered one loss this season, and it came by four points to the Canowindra Tigers... do we need to remind you how they're traveling?
They're the only side to defeat Manildra as well, knocking off the Rhinos 18-10 back in round seven, despite sitting behind them on the ladder on for and against.
A 14-all draw against Eugowra in round eight was somewhat of a surprise, but I think everyone knows that the Golden Eagles can fly pretty high on their day.
All in all, Trundle is on track to be a nightmare for opponents in the semi-finals.
GRENFELL GOANNAS
PREDICTED: Ninth
CURRENT: Eighth
PREDICTION GRADE: B
Does anyone else feel like this side is a little better than its ladder positioning indicates?
A 56-18 demolition of Cargo in round eight certainly lends credence to that, although apparently the Heelers were battling numbers wise in that contest.
Steve Taylor started the pre-season by admitting it could be a long year for the Goannas, but there appears to be a bit to be optimistic about.
We'll know much more about their ability to play the spoiler role in round 11 when they host Manildra, and even though Rhinos would be $1.05 to win that match, the Goannas are certainly tough enough to make it tricky.
When those two sides faced in round two, Rhinos took them out 44-6, but it was fairly close in the opening exchanges.
But, if we're going to dub Cargo as a slim hope to make the finals, we'll give Grenfell a puncher's chance as well, but quick improvements are required.
PEAK HILL ROOSTERS
PREDICTED: Fourth
CURRENT: Fourth
PREDICTION GRADE: A
There shouldn't be too many complaints about this pick.
The Roosters currently sit in fourth position, and look to be somewhat of a surprise packet if they can qualify for the finals (which you'd back them to do).
It's really hard to get a read on their schedule so far, and whether or not they're legitimate contenders.
An away loss to Cargo is border line inexcusable for a side that wants to push for a grand final, but outside that, their resume is fairly impressive.
The Chooks lost to Manildra by 12, Trundle by 7, and Canowindra by 10... you can't really knock that.
And while those results are all defeats, it says that this side isn't too far off the competition's top tier.
Sunday June 20 is going to tell us A LOT about this side, because it hosts Manildra in round 10.
Moral victories aren't officially awarded in this competition, so they're going to need to chalk up a signature win sooner rather than later.
Their most impressive scalp to this day is probably Eugowra, or perhaps Molong... they'll need to beat someone in the top three if people are going to take them seriously.
CANOWINDRA TIGERS
PREDICTED: Sixth
CURRENT: First
PREDICTION GRADE: F
This is the worst pick of the lot, but we're going to plead ignorance on this one.
Like the media-trained man he is, Kev Grimshaw said absolutely nothing in the pre-season about what kind of talent he was summoning to play in 2021.
So, we tentatively picked them to miss the finals, and boy were we wrong.
Not only will this side make the finals, but there's a good chance it goes through the entire campaign without a loss... and people ask us why we always cover Canowindra.
Ronald Lawrence is obviously the key man in the middle, but he's just the tip of the ice berg when it comes to talent.
Jonico Hardwick and Ryan Grant have come to this club from Sydney, and are some of the most dynamic players you'll see West of the Blue Mountains.
George Lolo is the biggest prop in the competition, and Lewis Dwyer is probably the tallest player in the league (not that height means much).
Do you get where we're coming from? This side is good.
To settle for a 32-all draw against Manildra after being up 32-16 is disappointing, but we're tipping that result to light a fire in their bellies.
They were last seen dismantling Eugowra 36-6, the same Eugowra that pushed Trundle to a 14-all draw.
You can see it coming, so we might as well call it... Canowindra won't lose all season.
CONDOBOLIN RAMS
PREDICTED: Seventh
CURRENT: Ninth
PREDICTION GRADE: B-
As it stands, the positioning is only two places off, but this side is much worse than we thought.
The attitude in the pre-season was that Condobolin was going to compete for a premiership, and while we'll never, ever fault a club for having that goal, it just wasn't a realistic one.
The Rams haven't won a game so far in 2021. Their closest loss was a round two result against Cargo as they went down 28-26.
When you're losing, it becomes harder and harder to keep the players you started the season with, and we'll bet Condo is having those sorts of struggles right now.
Round 10 is looking pretty grim, too.
A trip to Tom Clyburn Oval is on the cards, but in round 11 they might have a chance to chalk up that victory at Cargo.
No matter what happens between now and the end of the season, this side won't play finals footy. Put a pen through them.
EUGOWRA GOLDEN EAGLES
PREDICTED: Second
CURRENT: Seventh
PREDICTION GRADE: D
What's gone wrong at Eugowra so far?
This squad is an absolute nightmare to try to get a read on.
As far as impressive losses go, the Golden Eagles have a stack of them, but you already know they count for nothing.
This side needs to win games, and win games now.
Based on the potential this team has, we won't rule them out yet.
Here are Brad McMillan's next three games: Cargo (away), Peak Hill (home), Grenfell (away).
Could they go 3-0 throughout this period? We dare say they'd be favourites in all three contests, although that home game against the Roosters looks fairly even.
McMillan is on the record saying his side has the best forward pack in the comp, and based on the feedback we've been hearing from other clubs, that claim isn't too far off the mark.
Canowindra's Callum Clyburn said they were "extremely tough" in the opening 40 minutes in round nine, and if the Golden Eagles are able to start putting 80-minute efforts in, they will win games... but those performances need to come now.
With just seven competition points, the looming contest against Cargo is a must-win.
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