ethos
BroncoKiwi
2009 NRL Ladder Predictions
March 10th 2009 15:01
Category: Opinion
Ok folks, it would have been great to write an indepth preview for each NRL club but seeing as life outside this blog has been rather busy I simply haven’t had the time.
On a slightly unfortunate note, I've cancelled the Fantasy Competition. There were some issues with the site and basically no one has taken part in the draft which makes it a bit pointless. So, apologies for the confusion but you can still sign up for the Tipping Competition by going here (and believe me, it's pretty simply to follow and you can win a prize for first place).
Anyway, here is a quick run down as to where I think each team will finish in 2009.
Feel free to agree or disagree. Good luck to your team!
Top Four (in any order)
Manly Sea Eagles
Strengths: Highly professional coaching set up and a playing group who now all have big game experience.
Weaknesses: How will the team react to the Brett Stewart saga? And, can they handle the expectation that comes with the tag of ‘best team in the comp’?
Player to Watch: Shane Rodney – a relative no-name but will be an invaluable workhorse in the backrow for his team.
North Queensland Cowboys
Click here for an in-depth preview.
Player to Watch: Matt Bowen – the electric fullback makes his return from injury and his combination with captain Jonathon Thurston should create carnage.
New Zealand Warriors
Strengths: A tremendous winning record at home, plenty of speed and size in the backs and a great combination of youth and experience.
Weaknesses: Have a tendency to struggle outside of New Zealand. Apart from that – I can’t see too many faults.
Player to Watch: Russell Packer – a young prop with Steve Price-like endurance.
Brisbane Broncos
Strengths: When the likes of Justin Hodges and Steve Michaels return the Broncos will boast one of the better backlines in the competition. The wisdom and calm nature of Darren Lockyer is also an invaluable plus.
Weaknesses: A mass exodus of players sees the Broncos fielding a very inexperience side. There’s also a question mark over the quality of the Broncos’ engine room.
Player to Watch: Nick Kenny – needs to stamp his authority as leader of the pack. Could be pushing for an Origin spot later in the year.
Fifth – eighth (in any order)
Gold Coast Titans
Click here for an in-depth preview.
Player to Watch: Scott Prince – the magician once again holds to the key to success in the Gold Coast’s quest for a maiden top eight spot.
Melbourne Storm
Strengths: Craig Bellamy’s meticulous coaching, the freakish abilities of Billy Slater and Greg Inglis.
Weaknesses: Are slowly being torn apart thanks to the salary cap, less impact from their bench than in previous years.
Player to Watch: Greg Inglis – apparently he’s bulked up without losing any speed. Scary stuff.
St. George Illawarra Dragons
Strengths: The arrival of Wayne Bennett coupled with new personnel and a fresh and optimistic mindset.
Weaknesses: The media will turn on Bennett quickly if he doesn’t produce results.
Player to Watch: Ben Creagh – I have a feeling the second rower will reach his potential in 2009 and, if he does, don’t be surprised to see him in the sky blue of NSW.
Cronulla Sharks
Strengths: Their backrow of Gallen, Tupou and Williams is close to the best in the league, defensively very tough.
Weaknesses: Lack of attacking spark out wide. And, is an aging Trent Barrett the right fit for the Sharks? Corey Hughes and Paul Gallen will also give away more than their fair share of penalties.
Player to Watch: Brett Kearney – probably the only player with some flair in their backline.
Ninth – Twelfth (in any order)
Canterbury Bulldogs
Click here for an in-depth preview.
Player to Watch: Ben Barba – has been selected on the bench for the Bulldogs. Blinding acceleration and footwork.
Newcastle Knights
Strengths: Are flying under the radar but are in with a big chance of a top eight spot. Balanced line-up.
Weaknesses: Ben Rogers at five-eighth. The departure of inspirational captain Danny Buderus although his replacement, ex-Cronulla hooker Isaac de Gois, is a promising talent.
Player to Watch: Akuila Uate – scored some freakish four pointers for Fiji in the World Cup and could be close to the top try scorer come September.
Sydney Roosters
Strengths: The combination of halves Braith Anasta and Mitchell Pearce.
Weaknesses: An inability to play the full eighty minutes thanks to a rather heavy pack of forwards, the absence of a quality dummy half.
Player to Watch: Anthony Minichiello – after a reoccurring back injury, I hope the former Golden Boot winner can get back to his best on the paddock.
Parramatta Eels
Strengths: New coach Daniel Anderson, the individual skill of Jarryd Hayne, Feleti Mateo and Krisnan Inu.
Weaknesses: No depth in the forwards.
Player to Watch: Jarryd Hayne – will his move to five-eighth reinvigorate the Eels?
Bottom Four (in any order)
Penrith Panthers
Click here for an in-depth preview.
Player to Watch: Masada Iosefa – coach Matthew Elliott will more than likely persist with Paul Aiton at number nine but Masada’s the man to spark the Panthers from dummy half.
South Sydney Rabbiohs
Click here for an in-depth preview.
Player to Watch: John Sutton – was an imposing and very physical figure in Souths’ win over the Dragons in the Charity Shield.
Wests Tigers
Strengths: Robbie Farah’s dynamic play from dummy half, Tim Sheens’ vast amount of knowledge.
Weaknesses: The Benji Marshall and John Morris halves experiment.
Player to Watch: Gareth Ellis – one of the very few players to make a transition from the English Super League to Australia, rather than the other way around.
Canberra Raiders
Strengths: Usually win in the nation’s capital and will be confident from their finals series last year.
Weaknesses: I feel that the Raiders overachieved in 2008, teams won’t take them lightly this time around. The loss of coach and expert tactician Neil Henry will hurt their structure in attack.
Player to Watch: Bronson Harrison – proved to be very dangerous for the Kiwis on the fringe of the ruck in last season’s World Cup. Canberra need a wide running forward with his strike power.
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Comment by not-blank
There's litttle to suggest Melbourne and Manly won't again dominate the top of the table. Outside of this I foresee another close battle for top eight spots as was the case last year.
Notable personnel changes will see a transition period for some clubs notably St George, Canterbury and Broncos.
***1-2***
Melbourne
Class team - Have an uncanny knack of filling holes left by departing players with equally capable ones, same nucleus exists here to continue their dominance
Manly
Proven performers from last year. A shaky start to proceedings with preseason misdemeanors and no Beaver (perhaps a force behind Stewart incident) should not interrupt where they have left off.
***3-4***
St George
More positive changes here aside from the obvious new coach. Have recruited well after their top heavy salary cap has been freed up. Expect the stress levels of Dragons diehards to be lowered somewhat this year.
Cronulla
Were the unsung heroes of last year, showing discliplined, consistent performances. A continuation of this should overcome the personnel changes and see them produce results near that of last year.
***5-11***
Bulldogs
Out with the old and in with the new. After a torrid year the Dogs have set about rebuilding and have come up with a quality team which will bring some joy to embattled Dogs fans.
New Zealand
Consistently hyped at the start of each season as smokeys, this team has some awesome talent and has shown glimpses of brillances in seasons past only to turn around the next week and get trounced, lack of consistency will stop them going all the way.
Souths
People forget the end to their season, outperformed nearly all other clubs. The start was well documented with no Wing - now have abundant roster, have recruited well and would be no surprise to see in top eight.
Broncos
Can't feel the confidence of years past with this powerhouse team. Have lost more than Bennett from last year, cracks will begin to show.
Cowboys
Thurston and Bowen, can they remain fit? We all know what will happen if they don't. Cannot promote them any further than this with any confidence knowing how reliant they are on the dynamic duo.
Roosters
What can I say? They're not Roosters, they're just cocks.
Wests
Have been a team of nobodies for a while apart from Benji and Farah but that never has fazed them. Sheens keeps a tight unit that will tick over throughout the season, however a lack of depth will keep them anchored to the middle lower section vying to sneak into the eight.
***12-16***
Titans
Will need a big improvement to be contenders despite having one the best in Prince at the helm. Zillman a good buy.
Parramatta
Just couldn't put it together last year, off field dramas couldn't be helping things this year either. Will again struggle.
Newcastle
Losing Buderus will take some getting over. Will struggle with leadership and direction, but won't be hopeless all the same. With some young talent, and exciting prospects like Fijian flyer Akila Uate and recruit Isaac De Gois, they should be able to draw some positives at years end.
Canberra
Have often been touted as cellar dwellers and then come out and punched above their weight in recent years. I think this year it's safe to dismiss them.
Panthers
Poor old Panthers set for a long one, one bright part is their strong junior base will be developed and hopefully unearth some local heros of the future.
Comment by ethos
NRL Live
And I agree, there does seem to be a consensus - but I hope a team can come from nowhere to win the premiership like the Panthers of '03 or Tigers of '05.
Looking forward to the start of the season this weekend though, hopefully the on field action will be in the headlines for once..