2018 NRL Predictions

Ponga may be potentially better but Turbo at this stage is on top. It is him, Turbo that gives Manly an edge with home ground evening it up.
 
Turbo and Walker are the only real strike power Manly have in their backs, apart from that I think ours has a slight advantage. Ponga is a freakish talent, Ross always creating opportunities, Moga coming off the back of his best season and from quality systems, Sione still unclear and SKD with his experience and finishing abilities.
 
1. Storm
2. Eels
3. Roosters
4. Cowboys
5. Knights
6. Sharks
7. Dragons
8. Broncos

9. Panthers
10. Rabitohs
11. Sea eagles
12. Bulldogs
13. Raiders
14. Tigers
15. Titans
16. Warriors

Grand final: Eels vs Roosters
Premiership winner: Eels
 
1. Storm
2. Eels
3. Roosters
4. Cowboys
5. Knights
6. Sharks
7. Dragons
8. Broncos

9. Panthers
10. Rabitohs
11. Sea eagles
12. Bulldogs
13. Raiders
14. Tigers
15. Titans
16. Warriors

Grand final: Eels vs Roosters
Premiership winner: Eels
Cant see us making the 8 or even top 10 but except for the Storm winning i hope and pray you are spot on and I'm way out lol, wouldn't that be great ...
 
  1. Cowboys ( on last years form-adding quality players)
  2. Roosters ( Been strong finishers , still missing a big prop )
  3. Storm ( Systems too good to miss one player )
  4. Eels ( Building on last years efforts moving upwards )
  5. Sharks ( Only weakness in backs, halves combination )
  6. Dragons ( Hunt and Widdop will surprise )
  7. Panthers ( Something is brewing , but Cleary is a smart competitor)
  8. Knights ( Broncos are beatable )
  9. Broncos ( Always compete but they just seem to be lacking Heart and Soul )
  10. Sea Eagles ( Struggle street on back of Salary Cap issues )
  11. Raiders ( Can be anything but consistent )
  12. Titans ( new Coach new systems short on quality )
  13. Tigers ( A club with a loose rudder, losing players often signals issues )
  14. Bulldogs ( Who knows what they can do ? )
  15. Warriors ( the perennial cellar dwellers )
  16. Souths ( how far the mighty have fallen )
GF - Cowboys Vs Eels
Winner - Cowboys
Origin 2-1 Qld .
Dally M Mitchell Pearce
Top Try scorer - SKD
First Penalty of season - For not playing ball with foot.
Newcastle to beat Sea Eagles first up 9th March.
 
Knights could put Leeds away mate, SL is far behind nrl

It's not really a fair contest. Melbourne pretty much playing the game as their first hit out of 2018 with only the run against us to prepare. Leeds a few weeks in to their premiership season should have been more switched on, had better match fitness. The two competitions are just too far apart in quality.
 
It's a long season, will be very surprised if Croft can keep up form like that throughout the whole year having never played a full season. Bellamy realizes this too after he talking about possibly having a rotation in their halves through the season.
 
I do not see Croft as the problem at all. Monster Munster seems to have grown an extra large head in the off season and will cause Bellamy Bellyaches. To me at times Munster tried to get over the top of Croft as the play maker.
 
A bit of an update from NZ guys, pre season so far appears to be going well, thankfully we haven't had any hype from the Warriors with the feeling they have to regain trust and respect from the fan base. They are right.

Positives are that Blake Green will do what he did at Manly and take over the play maker role leaving Johnson to just play. Peta Hiku and Gerrard Beale add stability to the backs, meaning guys like Kata have to step up. Kata is a weapon, but his distribution is terrible. A possible round 1 backline of Tuivasa-Scheck, Fusitua, Hiku, Kata/Ayshford, Nicoll-Klokstad, Green, Johnson. Beale may be struggling for ist up.

In the forwards Lillyman, Matulino and Thompson are gone. Light on experience in Front Row with Gavet, Vete and Lisone. However there is Sao, Paasi, and Pulu, along with a couple of young bulls with debuts last season in Pat Sipley and Chris Satae. Corvo has had them pre season, if they can get more effective minutes out of the forwards to play the 80, then we should do OK.

Second row is good with (probably) Adam Blair at Lock, his position in the Kiwis with Kearney. Simon Mannering and Tohu Harris. Anthony Gelling may be good depth here as well. Guys like Afoa and Bell are there and abouts too. Hookers should be Luke and Roache, but both struggling with injury. Forward pack round 1, Gavet, Luke/Tevaga, Vete, Harris, Mannering, Blair. If one or both Hookers are out I suspect the Bench will be Hingano, Lisone, Paasi, Pulu. All depends on conditioning.

We demand 80 minute effort from all players. The ****e they have dealt up the last few years has been unacceptable. No predictions just improvement and week on week effort.
 
It's not really a fair contest. Melbourne pretty much playing the game as their first hit out of 2018 with only the run against us to prepare. Leeds a few weeks in to their premiership season should have been more switched on, had better match fitness. The two competitions are just too far apart in quality.

I thought leeds were very switched on, the first 20mins they monstered the Storm, they just couldnt maintain it.
I liked the talk between Gus and Wally where they talked about where would leeds be in the nrl... wally was being very kind by saying 7th or 8th when u could tell he wanted to say 14th to16th.
 
They're second half was terrible No go forward and no direction from they're halves at all they were throwing the ball to each other and saying what do i do with this ....Wally had to be nice didn't he but as you say i reckon he thought spoon if they played here lol
 
As I said Ethan the problem seems to be Munster wanting to dominate everything.

Leeds would not make reggies here let's be honest.
 
predictions...for us...an attempt to use Moga in the backrow...someone else to finish up at fullback as Ponga struggles with the week-in week-out grind...a different spine each week (esp dummy-half and 5/8) and at least one mid-season retirement prompting comments along the lines of 'thanks for nothing'...ok let's see how many of these come true.
 
Back
Top