Wednesday 3 May 2017 17:46, UK
There goes the half-time whistle on the first phase of the Betfred Super League regular season.
We've had 12 of the 23 rounds of the competition and now roll into the second half when the league table starts to get more scrutiny.
How are your team doing?
At the start of February I was asked to try to predict what the league table would look like on Monday, July 24. Here was my guess before a pass was made or a ball kicked:
As it currently stands, I've got just one team in the correct position - Hull FC!
However, I don't think many people had the Tigers as the top team or Salford sitting in third, and nobody expected the Wolves to be outside the top eight as we entered the month of May.
Not many people remember what the league table looks like when you're halfway through a season but I guess it's better to be in the top half rather than the bottom.
So what is it that's taken Castleford to the top? They've confirmed their status as the best attacking team when they scored over 50 points against Wigan last Saturday but it's their improved defence that gives them the best chance they've ever had of lifting the League Leaders' Shield.
On average, Castleford have conceded 12 points less per game in 2017 compared to last season.
Another team with a significant improvement in defence are Wakefield Trinity. Four more wins from their next 11 games should give them another top-eight finish, which is a brilliant achievement.
But the award for the team of the season so far must go to Salford. They have got the third-best defensive record if you simply measure points conceded.
I've known that they are a skilful side for some time, but it strikes me that they have developed a strength and stamina to make them a genuine contender as a top-four team.
With six wins from their last seven Super League games I actually think that they'll arrive in Wigan as favourites this weekend. I'll have to check if that has ever happened before in my lifetime.
Leeds Rhinos are two places higher than I thought they'd end up. In 2016 they just couldn't score enough tries. They've scored about 10 points more per game this year and with the exception of the game at Castleford and last week against Huddersfield, they look like they're back to being a decent side again.
Huddersfield Giants proved that they're not as bad as their cup defeat implied. I'll admit that they're erratic and it's unlikely now that they'll make the Super 8s as I suggested, but they'll embarrass a few more teams over the next few months.
Catalans are hoping that the 'Bird Man of Maitland' can help them to fly back up the table now that he's back from his thumb injury. It will be fascinating to see what difference the Dragons loose forward makes against Leeds this Saturday.
Bird left the field at half-time when the teams met at Headingley on March 10, with the game in the balance and the score just 14-4. It might not have been just because he was missing but the Dragons lost the second half 32-6 and have struggled ever since.
I had imagined that Leigh's emotional energy would take them into the top eight. That doesn't seem to be the case but they've been very competitive as a newly-promoted team.
There's no point making any more predictions, my first ones were bad enough. The two teams that I thought would finish in the bottom two places look like they'll make the Super 8s; it has been a season of surprises.
There have been some amazing collapses and some brilliant comebacks in the second halves of games in Super League and I'm sure that we'll see at least one of them in the second half of the regular season.
