NRL 2023 + Internationals
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And so the preseason is done, and the NRL is a week away.
The mickey mousest of mickey mouse preseason comps is completed, with Manly winning because they chucked more offloads than Cronulla.
We all know preseason form means less than dogshit, but if you are looking for hot takes
Penrith are cooked. The salary cap and Gus Gould buying everyone has eroded them. Write them off.
Manly, by virtue of winning the preseason, are now premiership favourites
The Warriors will make the 8 or battle for the spoon depending on which week you pay attention toIn a slightly more nuanced view
Cronulla look good, and should push in to the top 4. Not a huge leap as they were good last year as well. Moylan and Hynes, for a couple of fullbacks, seem to forming this great halves combination.I think Penrith will come back to the pack. Kikau and Koroisau are big losses. They have also lost May for the season. And their reliable backup in Staines is gone too. Penrith are built on metres from the back 3, and leveraging that in to smothering linespeed. Losing a couple of metre-eaters will definitely hurt that. Kikau leaves a huge hole on the left, and will mean the wildly overhyped Luai will have more to do. They are still a lock for the top 4 unless their luck with injury reverses, because Yeo, Cleary, and Edwards, as well as their prop rotation remains among the best out there.
The Roosters will be fucking good as well, as long as their midget halves stay on the park. Cheese will add a bit to them. How do they use Joey Manu, who has become too good to stash at centre? Same with Sua'ali'i.
The Cowboys have retained everyone they wanted, but if they want to push on they can't have a bunch of guys get 2nd year syndrome, a bit more luck with injury, and for Townsend to keep playing at the same level.
Souths are the other big danger i think. But their particular game plan has way more risk of a shit performance than the way the other main contenders play.
Surely Melbourne are dead? They lost their pack. Their super fragile fullback will miss 2 months, and probably get hurt again when ever he returns?The battle for the Spoon will be epic. The Dolphins are odds-on, even the wildly over-hyped Wayne Bennet can't help them. The Knight's are a disaster zone, and their coach will be first sacked. Unless the Dragons pull the trigger first. The Warriors are in this as well. They is a lack of quality all over the squad, and as the season grinds on, and the injuries mount, so will the losses. There were some green shoots of positivity in preseason, and i am less secure in my Spoon bet on them than i was 3 weeks ago.
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Haven't watched much pre season so big predictions might be a bit tough.
Agree about Penrith but will still be top four
Melbourne with team raided and Paps still broken will still be top four
Cronulla will be up there
Roosters who unbelievably manage to stay under salary caps will round it out
Cowboys could be top four again but saying they make the 8 for bold predictions
Doggies will have to be the most improved team this year but wont make top four, but should be in the eight.
Not convinced on who rounds out the eight, injuries to star players probably will have an influence..Latrell and Turbo the obvious contenders. If they stay fit then the top eight includes both.Hard to pick the order of the rest and as @mariner4life suggests Dolphins should be odds on for spoon, but usual contenders cant be far away. Newcastle the closest for me.
As for the warriors, the team actually looked pretty good against the storm minus the woeful halves who created no pressure and no creative attacks. If the halves do click, we may win a few, the forward pack especially looking a lot more solid. Not enough to be a top team in my opinion though
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@bayimports said in NRL 2023:
Hard to pick the order of the res
got to have a go though aye?
Cronulla
Penrith
Roosters
Cowboys
Souths
Melbourne
Brisbane
Manly
Parramatta
Gold Coast
Bulldogs
Raiders
Tigers
Warriors
Dragons
Knights
DolphinsCowboys beat the Roosters in the GF
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@mariner4life for when we laugh at how far off we were
Roosters
Cronulla
Penrith
Melbourne
Cowboys
Souths
Parramatta
Bulldogs
Brisbane
Manly
Raiders
Warriors
Tigers
Dragons
Knights
Dolphins -
@bayimports do it every year. Never close
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@mariner4life nice write up, although I will watch 2 fifths of fuck all NRL still good to get the heads up.
BTW who was our previous league correspondent?
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@mariner4life nice write up, although I will watch 2 fifths of fuck all NRL still good to get the heads up.
BTW who was our previous league correspondent?
@Sneakdefreak ...
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@mariner4life nice write up, although I will watch 2 fifths of fuck all NRL still good to get the heads up.
BTW who was our previous league correspondent?
@Sneakdefreak ...
Yeah we miss his warriors run down
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- Roosters: win minor prem, then have it removed in a couple of years for salary cap breaches
- Storm: Because Bellamy. Also their team is still great even with 4/5 of their best players gone
- Panthers: Will struggle a little with out Koroisau or Kikau. Luai to get dropped at some point
- Sharks: Roosters v Shsrks GF with sharkies to pip it
- Cowboys: Taumalolo back to his rampaging best, but little go foward other than him
- Rabbitohs: because Mitchel and Walker can win games on their own (and loose them to)
- Broncos: continue to track up, even tho Walter's continues to get called a shit coach
- Bulldogs: sneak in to the top eight by a hair off kikau's head
- Raiders: Rickey Stuart's fucks more people off but somehow raiders stay ok
- Eels: Brad Arthur is a shit coach and they have lost basically an entire forward pack
- Sea Eagles: turns out seibold is still shit
- Tigers: better than last year but still crap
- Knights: O'Brian sacked late in the season, then go on a winning spree
- Titans: Tannah Boyd shouldn't be withing 3ks of halfback
- Dolphins: HOLY SHIT IS WAYNE BENNET GOOD. o wait they suck
- Warriors: busy being fucking thick shits
- Dragons: fucked up mentally, fucked up squad( bar Ben hunt), fucking shit coach
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That sucks man. I know of a couple of people do suffer from it. It can really mess you up big time
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on money matters. The ongoing "negotiations" for the new CBA are being played out through the media. Talk that the players will strike for R1 (fat fucking chance), and the season launch event was cancelled.
And the Roosters' salary sombrero seems to have an infinite brim as they have signed the Knights' best player for 2024. But word is today he could be in Eastern Sydney by Monday. How they fuck the fit another international in to that team is beyond me. They'll medically retire some bloke at 29 on their list and say that frees up the cap space or some other bullshit. They've somehow managed to keep Matt Lodge as well? Added Cheese. Upgraded Radley's contract. And all under the cap. They have the best accountants.
I mean, fucking come on
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and also add Spencer Leniu..ole! <mariachi band plays> best part is they are still asking for salary cap dispensation for Chrichton.. law unto themselves
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@mariner4life Cheats, but don't worry, they're the media darlings so they'll get away with it as usual.
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@bayimports said in NRL 2023:
and also add Spencer Leniu..ole! <mariachi band plays> best part is they are still asking for salary cap dispensation for Chrichton.. law unto themselves
the expectation is JWH retires at the end of 2023 and this is the room for Leniu
Roosters supporters tie themselves in knots trying to explain why all this is perfectly reasonable
The bigger problem for the league i think is if it is all above board. That means that certain clubs can build incredible rosters within the equalisation measures, while struggling clubs have to pay huge overs for mid-tier talent. Basically if the Roosters can do this legitimately, it will show you can only compete if you are already at the top.
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@bayimports said in NRL 2023:
@mariner4life for when we laugh at how far off we were
Roosters
Cronulla
Penrith
Melbourne
Cowboys
Souths
Parramatta
Bulldogs
Brisbane
Manly
Raiders
Warriors
Tigers
Dragons
Knights
DolphinsYou left the Titans out
My contribution to the comic relief
Roosters
Penrith
Cowboys
Melbourne
Souths
Parramatta
Bulldogs
Cronulla
Raiders
Brisbane
Titans
Manly
Warriors - it’s our year
Tigers
Dragons
Dolphins
Knights -
Fuck!!
But for good reason. I expect them to push hard for the 8, so they'll probably come 15th
Harder to pick than a broken nose
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So the latest journeyman Oz player the Warriors are running out with at centre is Brayden Wiliame, a 30 year old who was released by St George in 2021 and seems to have managed two appearances for Perpignan in the Top14 last year.
I guess I should be happy he's not a second rower shoehorned into centre.
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Right apologies I am not @Sneakdefreak but thought someone should do a take for the Warriors.. so here is the sneakless version (we miss you wherever you are), using first team list for the year. First home game to be played in Wellington since 2019
Fullback: CNK has first go at this position. Was custodian at Canberra until Savage came onto the scene. Great at hitting the ball up from the back, not necessarily the best as an extra play maker. Te Maire Martin would have also been considered for this slot depending on how the halves develop. Tuapiki is a young talent but likely only to see game time via injury.
WIngers: DWZ and Marcelo Montoya are the incumbents and solid wingers both capable of also returning kicks from deep to help the forwards. Marcelo doesn’t have a great track record at the judiciary so hopefully doesn’t spend much time there. Good finishers just need decent ball. Kosi developing and is probably the best finisher, but needs to work on his other skills.
Centres: For me the weakest area outside of the halves. CNK can also play here after doing this successfully for the Raiders, may get a shot later in the year if Te Maire Martin moves to fullback. For me this will also reply on the fitness of young Luke Metcalf who is injured. Metcalf would have started for the Sharks last year if the Warriors had not bought him. Was very good in the trial match against Tigers in first hit out before injury. This leaves us with journeyman Williame (who played French rugby last couple of years after getting dropped by St George lol. ). Viliami Vailea is young and looked ok but needs more time, Pompey who also had some solid but not spectacular moments and Rocco Berry who will probably only get a crack if all of above are injured.
Halves and Hooker: SJ - to his credit is 2kg less than last year for game day playing weight. We all know what he can do when he takes on the line, just has never done it often enough. Option taking and poor pass selection (intercepts) has been high in last couple of years. Defence is optional especially if behind. On his day though he will bring a smile to many kiwis, just hoping that is not just in reruns. Back up is young Volkman but he also needs more time before running the show although will likely get a few chances, stolen also from Roosters development squad there are some high future hopes here. Te Maire Martin is a good play maker and we will need someone to create. Metcalf I think will play six later this year. Dylan Walker likely to play an impact role off the bench covering a few roles. Egan is the starting hooker and although his first season was not great, actually had some really strong moments last year in a disappointing team darting from dummy half. Lussick is the backup hooker although with Walker to play off the bench this week and the rest forward rotation, will also cover this area.
Middles (props and 13) : AFB and Mitch Barnett as starting props. Lots of big mobile go forward and hard hitting right here (not all legal). Both capable of offloads and unfortunately errors. Barnett is an unlikeable hot head but when he is focussed he has a strong work ethic and makes a lot of tackles. Kicks at above 75% if needed. Afoa and Ale round out the rotation here, Ale is still young and has gone through the dev system. They let a few others go to keep him. Tohu Harris will start at lock and likely to easily slip into prop rotation when Curran/Walker to also see time here. Tevaga to also come back at some stage as an interchange specialist.
Second row: Marata Niukore and Jackson Ford to start on the edges with some big expectations on Niukore especially to bring a hard edge. Ford the standard for aussie average but does a job without many errors. Bayley Sironen to also come back and compete but after last trial Webster will roll out the two newbies. Barnett and Harris can also play on the edge if injuries occur.
Summary: Cant see this being the warriors year. If we make the top eight (and I would call that enough to say it was our year), we would need to score more points and reduce basic errors. We were one of the worst attacking teams last year and a lot comes down to creating opportunities. We do though have a harder edge to our team this year and should not concede as often in tight games. In fact if we can capitalise on that harder edge on defence (legally) then we should improve overall and with this squad that is possible. If we get behind by a lot and heads go down then Im sure we will revert to what we know. Possible finish in run for the 8 until late but finish 12.
Game 1: In Wellington vs Newcastle. Warriors should be favourites here. In NZ and not playing one of the top teams. Newcastle look stronger in the backs even without Quadzilla (Marzhew) and I think we all hope Ponga doesn’t take a head knock but this is league and will likely happen, just hope with his history he isn’t out for half a season from game 1. They will score points and the Warriors will have to find ways to score other than from luck. In saying that they should be able to subdue Newcastle through size and power but not convincingly. Warriors by 4.
Team lists below
Warriors v Knights: Kosi in for DWZ; Gagai to miss
The Warriors are set to play their first game in Wellington since round 18, 2019 and face a tough test against last year's semi-finalists Cronulla.
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