Terry O'Connor's 2016 wish list: Sam Burgess, Kevin Sinfield and more

Sky Sports' Terry O'Connor reveals his wish list for 2016, including successful returns for Sam Burgess and Sam Tomkins.

Kevin Sinfield has left for union while Burgess heads back to rugby league and Tomkins has signed for Wigan.

Huddersfield, Salford and the Dragons all feature in Terry's wish list for 2016, as does the Hull derby...

Kevin Sinfield's continued success

I know the Rhinos were fantastic this year and there were many who contributed to that, but I really don't think that Leeds would have won the treble without Kevin Sinfield.

There were those earlier in the year who wrote him off, but he was simply superb this season. He wasn't as quick as he was in his younger days, but he's the consummate professional, he doesn't panic under pressure and he led in all the right ways.

I've known Kevin for a long time, and as much as he's brilliant on the field, he's just as impressive off it. His accolades have not changed him one bit, and he was thoroughly deserving to get the recognition as he did at the Sports Personality of the Year awards. I hope he finds similar success in rugby union.

Sam Burgess back where he belongs

If you ask all people from the league community, they will tell you that Sam Burgess was made a scapegoat in the wake of England's poor World Cup showing. Between club and country he was being asked to play two completely different positions, but still everyone criticised him when he got things wrong.

I was impressed with the way he conducted himself, and he did brilliantly to get into the World Cup squad, but still it didn't seem to be enough for his detractors. There was enough negative press from rugby union to send Sam Burgess all the way back to league, so on behalf of all of us here, thank you!

Here's to more good performances from one of the world's best rugby league players.

Growth at Salford

I'm really excited to see what is happening at Salford at the moment. They're showing they have learned from the money previously spent and are eager to build a club with a strong ethos.

Ian Watson, Martin Gleeson and Tim Sheens are developing something quite big, and it pleases me to see the club that gave me a shot going well.

You only have to look at what the likes of Wigan, Leeds and Saints have done for their clubs; the organisation stays loyal to their players, and as a result the players stay loyal too. It may take time, but I'm expecting Salford to grow in stature next year.

Continued expansion for the rugby league community

There is a lot of occasions where the fans of various clubs will be at each others' throats, but there have been occasions where everyone gets together to back a common cause.

One example was the way the entire sport got behind Sinfield's SPOTY nomination, and another was the outpouring of support for the family of Danny Jones.

Danny Jones wasn't the only sad story to come out of our sport this year, but what always makes me proud to be a part of rugby league is the way everyone mucks in to help out when one of our own needs it. There wasn't a dry eye in the house when Lizzie Jones showed the courage required to sing at Wembley.

English Club Series Champions

I'm going for a series win for the Super League sides, unsurprisingly!

I would like to see a marked improvement from the boys - earlier this year the results didn't display the pedigree we all know they have.

I will always back them against the Australians, and believe we have the talent to turn them over regularly, but the teams need to do the business when the time comes.

Sam Tomkins back in Super League

Tomkins went to Australia with a huge reputation as one of the stand-out players in the English league, if not the best.

He went over and played well, but the nature of the beast is that players who go over with that much scrutiny are going to have a very bright spotlight on him, and there will always be those on social media who are gunning for your failure.

He's ready to contribute to Super League in a big way, and the league can only benefit from that.

Hull derby excitement

Last year Hull KR were an absolute breath of fresh air in the way they played. If Terry Campese and Albert Kelly had remained fully fit, who knows what we would have seen from them? The only downside to their year was forgetting to get off the bus at the Challenge Cup final.

But they aren't the only Hull-based side I'm looking forward to seeing. Hull FC are a big, physical, powerful side and even though you know what to expect when you play them, it's still very difficult to stop it.

Between the two sides I think we will see some very entertaining derbies this season - long may it continue.

Huddersfield promise

The Giants have been known to push for higher honours without delivering the silverware. They have been in the top four for the past three seasons but each time they reach the play-off stages they seem to lose the ability to convert.

The try-scoring antics of Jermaine McGillvary will hopefully inspire the Giants to live to their potential and beat the likes of Leeds, Saints and Wigan on a regular basis and claim the trophies too.

Consistent Dragons

Catalans have made some very big signings and I hope that it means more consistency from them. Their home form was exemplary this year but away from France they were mostly poor.

They've always had good players, but this year they have Dave Taylor, Richie Myler, Pat Richards, Justin Horo, Glen Stewart, Paul Aiton and Jodie Broughton coming in. They will be serious contenders next season if they can consolidate their away form with some wins.

Less generosity towards Barrie

It's nice going head to head with an old friend in Barrie v Terry, but I felt like I got a bit too cocky towards the end of this year's predictions.

The reason it's nice is because he's the only person in the world who knows less about rugby league than my wife, and the reason I got cocky is because I'd stretched so far in front of him during the season I got complacent.

I started going for outrageous picks just to keep it entertaining but next year I'm looking forward to locking horns with the fat lad and I won't be taking it easy on him.