chadiwrx
Kennel Addict
- Joined
- May 21, 2005
- Messages
- 5,419
- Reaction score
- 421
EVERY NRL club has bought new players, offloaded others and hit the gym hard in the off-season.
Phil Rothfield predicts where each team will finish on the ladder in season 2017.
1st Cronulla
The biggest danger for the defending premiers is complacency. Will they be as hungry as last year having won the historic premiership that meant so much to the players and the Shire? They’ll also miss hooker Michael Ennis who provided so much creativity from dummy half. Still, the Sharks have the line-up to go back to back. Look out for Tony T Rex Williams. He’s hungry because he’s on a one-year contract and needs to perform to save his NRL career. The likes of Jack Bird and Valentine Holmes will be even better players for the experience of last year. James Maloney and Chad Townsend will be even more effective from one full season together.
Can the Cronulla Sharks maintain their winning run into 2017?
2nd Panthers
Unquestionably the most exciting young side in the competition through through the likes of boom half-back Nathan Cleary, utility Bryce Cartwright and Matty Moylan at fullback or five-eighth. Throw in Kangaroos Josh Mansour and Trent Merrin. Throw in some of the youngsters from the best junior nursery in the game. And don’t forget James Tamou, their major signing from the Cowboys. This was a side that emerged last year as a major threat and a team with the potential to go all the way in 2017.
3rd Melbourne
Craig Bellamy’s team is going to be even stronger with the return of superstar fullback Billy Slater which will force Cameron Munster to move to Blake Green’s old five-eighth role. They have lost outstanding winger Marika Koroibete but Josh Addo Carr from the Wests Tigers is a sharp replacement. Obviously Kevin Proctor too is a big loss to the Gold Coast Titans. Every year we say Cam Smith and Cooper Cronk are one year older and might not be quite so effective. Every year they prove us wrong. Should be around the top four yet again under super coach Craig Bellamy.
Craig Bellamy and his players will bounce back after their grand final exit.
4th Cowboys
Any side with Matt Scott and Jason Taumalolo in the forwards and Jonathan Thurston and Michael Morgan in the halves is going to be awfully hard to beat. Still there is a slight question mark over their middle forwards following James Tamou’s departure to the Panthers and the retirement of old campaigner Ben Hannant. It’s one area coach Paul Green is entitled to have concerns about. Still they have wonderful attacking options all across the park and have been as consistent as any other side in the competition in the last two years.
5th Raiders
Emerged last year as a genuine premiership contender and almost knocked off Melbourne Storm in the grand final qualifier. This side has got the lot – a huge forward pack, good halves and match-winners outside of them including Dally M centre of the year Joey Leilua. Coach Ricky Stuart has been quiet on the recruitment front, preferring to lock up the players who did so well last season. There is no question they have the ability to be knocking on the door for the top four again providing they get a decent run with injuries.
The Raiders were the surprise packet of 2016 and could do it again.
6th Warriors
So much is going to depend on whether the club and new coach Stephen Kearney can get a clearance for five-eighth Kieran Foran to return to football. He is the steadying influence this side has been crying out for. For all the Shaun Johnson brilliance plus the return of Roger Tuivasa Scheck at fullback, this football team desperately needs Foran’s influence and experience in the halves. He is the one who could single-handedly turn them into a genuine premiership threat. More than anything else Kearney will be looking for consistency from the premiership’s most hot and cold side. At their best they can beat anyone.
7th Eels
Coach Brad Arthur did a sensational job considering all the upheavals last year. The Eels would have finished clearly in the top eight if it wasn’t for losing 12 competition points for salary cap rorting. They might have lost Foran in the halves but the club has done well in recruitment, especially with the signing of Josh Hoffman from the Titans to play at fullback. Natahan Brown and Frank Pritchard are handy additions to the forward pack. If Brown can keep the rubbish out of his game, he could be anything as he showed at the Rabbitohs last season. This side has enough quality to make the top eight.
The Eels can’t have a worse season than 2016... can they? Picture: Troy Snook
8th Roosters
Probably the most disappointing side in the premiership last year. They played without Mitchell Pearce, Boyd Cordner and Jarryd Waerea Hargreaves for the first 10 weeks and never really recovered from a poor start to the year. They have pickjed up two handy players from arch-rivals South Sydney in Paul Carter and five-eighth Luke Keary. Keary will take time to work up a combination with Pearce but he’s a brilliant player who will add plenty to their attack. They’ve got the roster and the right coach to be playing finals football.
9th Broncos
I’m not convinced they’ll be playing finals football. Why? For starters I’m not sure Wayne Bennett is the super coach he used to be. For the life of me I can’t understand his decision to sign Benji Marshall, especially as there is no obvious position available for him in the backline. For much of last year I thought the halves Ben Hunt and Anthony Milford were disappointing in big games. Losing Corey Parker and Jack Reed will potentially hurt. They’ll be hard to beat like they are every season but don’t be surprised if they miss the play offs.
Wayne Bennett’s team is on the slide.
10th Rabbitohs
I’ve been desperately looking for areas where this club can improve on last year. Losing Luke Keary won’t help. Also Nathan Brown was one of their best forwards when he stayed on the field. I believe all three Burgess boys Sam, George and Tom are playing nowhere near as powerfully as previous years and don’t intimidate opponents like they used to. Obviously you can never write off a side with Greg Inglis, Sam Burgess and Adam Reynolds but I doubt they have enough talent around them to make the semi-finals. They showed promising signs towards the end of last season but they will need to play with far more consistency and intensity.
11th Bulldogs
This club has made the finals for the last five years but might fall short in 2017. They have struggled with Josh Reynolds and Moses Mbye in the playmaking rolls, especially towards the end of last season. Their attack was too predictable and too sluggish. Again they will play an aggressive style looking for forwards domination through a size advantage. Coach Des Hasler is under as much pressure as any other coach in the NRL. Like Paul McGregor and Jason Taylor, he needs a strong start. They have not signed any big name players and will be fielding much the same side as last year.
The Bulldogs struggled into the finals in 2016. Buzz reckons they won’t even make it in 2017.
12th Titans
So much will depend on how much impact Jarryd Hayne has at fullback. He should be better for his hot and cold return towards the end of last season now he has had time to adjust from NFL and rugby union. This club has lost stacks of experience with Josh Hoffman, Greg Bird, Luke Douglas and Nathan Friend all moving on. They have also lost handy wingers Nene Macdonald and David Mead. The signing of Kiwi workhorse Kevin Proctor from Melbourne Storm and the return from injury of boom playmaker Kane Elgey will make a difference. Somehow coach neil Henry has to find halves positions for Elgey, Dally M rookie of the year Ash Taylor and Tyrone Roberts.
13th Sea Eagles
No club can cope with losing the experience of Brett Stewart, Jamie Lyon and Steve Matai all at the same time. It leaves the Sea Eagles desperately short in backline quality and coach Trent Barrett with a massive task to lift the club any higher than last season. Much will depend on the halves combination of Daly Cherry Evans and Blake Green and whether they can gel from the start. Barrett will also be looking for a bigger impact from Maroons hard man Nate Myles who couldn’t produce his Origin form in club football last year. The interesting signing is Akuila Uate from the Knights. If he can recapture any of his form from three years ago, he’ll be a super acquisition.
Manly coach Trent Barrett faces another tough season.
14th Dragons
It’s hard if not impossible to win a premiership or make the semi-finals without great playmakers. Gareth Widdop has struggled in recent seasons and new boy Drew Hutchison looks a fine footballer but not necessarily a half-back. This is the main reason why I think the Dragons will be way off the pace which will place coach Paul McGregor under enormous pressure from early in the season. They have also lost a stack of experience with the departures of Ben Creagh, Benji Marshall and Mitch Rein. Despite having money in the cap, they have failed to sign elite players. Thgier attack was atrocious last season and it’s hard to envisage much of an improvement in 2017.
15th Wests Tigers
Finished just short of the top eight in 2016 after a late season rally but have been quiet on the recruitment front with Jamal Idris and Matt McIlwrick from the Cronulla Sharks the only new signings. They have two of the most outstanding young players in the game in five-eighth Mitchell Moses and fullback James Tedesco. The question is whether they have the firepower or size in the forwards to lay the platform. I doubt it. I also believe they will miss Robbie Farah and his creativity a lot more than coach Jason Taylor envisaged. It’s a huge season for the coach who will be flat out retaining his job unless the team makes the finals.
James Tedesco can’t even save the Tigers in 2017 according to Buzz.
16th Knights
Haven’t done enough in recruitment to suggest they can climb off the bottom of the premiership ladder. The Knights were far and away the worst team in the competition in 2016, winning just one game all season. They have picked up Cowboys hooker Rory Kostjasyn and Manly Sea Eagles back-rower Jamie Buhrer, two players with a great work ethic but hardly match winners. Much will depend on whether former Origin half-back Jarrod Mullen can have an injury free season and whether the younger players who got a taste of first grade last year will be better for the experience. Looking a big chance of winning another wooden spoon.
Source
