NRL season predictions
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By Stephen Gallagher
Here we go again, another National Rugby League season set to kick-off on Thursday, March 10th.
While we’ve had an interesting off-season, it’s pretty much been drama-free for most of it….minus all the cocaine snorting. Which, by NRL standards is pretty harmless.
As the resident rugby league guy at Sportsfreak, I’ve tasked myself with coming up with some hot take predictions for the upcoming season….can’t wait to look back on it in October and be so damn wrong!
Wooden Spoon Winners: Yikes, what a tough one to start with! If it’s the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs again, then they’ve signed all these gun players for absolutely no reason. I know it won’t be them, but imagine!
I am thinking it will be the North Queensland Cowboys. That might come across as a little harsh, however, I’m not entirely sold on them.
Signing the likes of Townsend and Hiku has definitely strengthened their side in terms of experience – but I feel like Todd Payten still doesn’t know what to do with his biggest weapon in Jason Taumalolo.
They certainly don’t have a team that will set the world on fire, and as we saw last season they struggled with consistency on the field…. Rarely stringing two wins together.
Newcastle Knights also have the potential to end up in last place if they lose a few through injuries – they look very thin.
Minor Premiers: After winning the competition last year, it’s hard to go past the Penrith Panthers – but I’m going to go out on a limb here and do just that.
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles will finish the regular season in first place.
While their red-hot run came to an abrupt end in 2021, they’ve kept together the majority of the 17 that saw them perform so well on a consistent basis.
They don’t just have 17 players though, they have plenty of depth and talent in New South Wales Cup and coming through that can make a mark in the NRL with time on their side.
I’m frothing to see what Tom Trbojevic can do this season, and he’s got more to give.
Premiers: There are a few clubs out there that know how to time their run, but I think this is not as much about timing as it is with keeping their players on the field.
What the Sydney Roosters did last season was nothing short of remarkable. They had a very young squad and did some very impressive things. All while losing their captain, co-captain, and a wealth of premiership-winning talent to either retirement or season-ending injuries.
If they can keep their team on the park – it’s going to be tough to beat this Bondi side. I think they’ll have a real red-hot go in 2022.
Dally M Medal – Player Of The Year: If it wasn’t for the freakish nature of Tom Trbojevic, Nathan Cleary would have sewn that title up last season.
I feel like we’ve only started to scrape the surface of the talent and impact that Cleary can have on his team and the game itself.
My only concern is he might just miss out on this title due to this rehab on the shoulder injury. He’s very tough but is also touch and go for round one.
Rookie Of The Year: From all accounts, Paul Alamoti from the Canterbury Bankstown-Bulldogs is going to start in the centres for round one. An intelligent footballer who has some brilliant explosive tendencies on attack, and great game reading on defence, this 18-year-old could find himself a fan favourite for The Kennel. I really like what I’ve seen from this kid.
I also think it’s worth paying attention to Parramatta Eels speedster Solomone Naiduku. With Haze Dunster missing the entire season with an injury, and Maika Sivo also ruled out for the start of the season – this bloke could see himself scoring a meat pie or two in the blue n gold.
Top Pointscorer: If I’m taking the Sea Eagles to finish as minor premiers, it must mean that Reuben Garrick is going to score some tries and kick some goals.
While he wasn’t the most reliable goal kicker every week, he did kick some very important conversions. No doubt he’s worked on this in the off-season.
Plus, he’s got plenty of ability to score some four-pointers. Especially with the backline that Manly are sporting this year.
Top Tryscorer: The new man in Melbourne Xavier Coates. He’s tall, he’s fast, and he knows how to find the line.
Watch the likes of Papenhuyzen, Munster, and Hughes link up with the Queenslander and put him over a ridiculous amount.
Whether he’s up for a high ball, or athletically diving for the corner – I can see Coates racking them up in his new club colours.
Origin: It’s near impossible to win 3-0, so I’ll tip the Blues 2-1. Queensland has lots of questions to answer, but they’ve got a helluva coaching squad to help get them over the line.
Consistency throughout the Blues origin side is what sees them win this.
Ladder Prediction: I won’t go into detail about this, but I really only see two spots opening up in the top eight from last year. Bring on the season ahead!
- Sea Eagles
- Roosters
- Panthers
- Eels
- Storm
- Sharks
- Rabbitohs
- Dragons
- Broncos
- Bulldogs
- Warriors
- Raiders
- Tigers
- Titans
- Knights
- Cowboys
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