2026 Season

There is enough talent in the world for every bit of salary cap the sport of rugby league can come up with.

Fiji silktails are a great example. Those guys are incredible athletes. They smash the hell out of the Knights Flegg side when we play them, except on the scoreboard, because they don't know how to play League. I just saw the Bulldogs have signed 4 of them for next year. Offer those guys a 300k contract and they'll work their bums off to get it.

In short, supply and demand, if you show them the money, someone will do the work to get it.
 
HarVeeGee13 said:
Yeah just having a lot of good forwards legit might be enough because so many teams are flat out finding good starters now.

Before the Dolphins came in most of the sides that made the top 8 had a full rotation of good middles plus decent depth behind them. A new team comes in with an empty cap sheet - first they gutted Melbourne, Brisbane and Nth Qld for the most part, but then those teams take good forwards from other clubs to replace them, etc etc etc. And yeah now we’ve reached the point where barely anyone has depth.

So yeah now the Wahs having elite rep calibre starting middles + middles who would start at any other club on their bench, that becomes an advantage that’s way more amplified now than it usually is. They can pretty much roll forward at will. Gapping the other mob through the middle solves every problem.

I do think the Roosters at least have the pack to neutralise the Warriors and not get absolutely rolled, and they have way more class in the spine, so it’s their comp to lose. But the Wahs winning it all wouldn’t surprise me.

The Sharks have really blown a great chance this year because they’re the other team that can really roll teams up the guts.

Going forward there’ll be even more scarcity. The Bears roster sucks but they’ve taken a handful more decent to good rotation forwards off the table. And I dread to think who PNG are gonna get with their tax free money after Hudson Young.

I know a lot of us hate the Marata Niukore signing but I still read it like POS getting out ahead of the problem. The whole point was that it’s not a signature other clubs would be competing for to drive his price up. A guy who can cover any position in the pack besides hooker on about a standard salary in an inflated market. Aside from Marata his emphasis was on young guys who’ll be good forwards a couple years down the track. I think we’ll be one of the sides with a quality rotation and decent depth over the next few years.
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People forget that the wahs steamrolled the chooks in rd 1. If you compare the wahs win against the riff vs the chooks, the difference is night and day. They monstered penrith physically and then systematically tore apart their edges. Chooks scraped an ugly win against a riff side that was just off their game. Wahs are a much better team than people give them credit for. If they do end up winning it all, they really do deserve it. They are on their 4th string halfback, their 2nd string fullback, probably their third/4th string centers with Halasima and Pompey and are currently leading the comp.

As for Marata, I don't think we should read too much into it. He would walk into most starting packs in the comp. It's just a reflection of how crazy their middle depth is.
 
Yeah the Wahs can definitely do it.

My only reservations:

- Capewell is a big defensive weakness.
- If they pick Metcalf at 7 over Martin. I like Te Maire more as a player even with his mediocre kicking game, and he’s a much better defender.

But yeah there’s an argument MITCHELL BARNETT is their worst starting middle. That’s a serious pack. Go forward whenever they want it.
 
HarVeeGee13 said:
Yeah the Wahs can definitely do it.

My only reservations:

- Capewell is a big defensive weakness.
- If they pick Metcalf at 7 over Martin. I like Te Maire more as a player even with his mediocre kicking game, and he’s a much better defender.

But yeah there’s an argument MITCHELL BARNETT is their worst starting middle. That’s a serious pack. Go forward whenever they want it.
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I was disappointed that Barnett didn't come back to us after announcing the compassionate release at the beginning of this year. Would take him back in a heart beat. They have an international/SOO quality starting pack. But a lot of teams have good starting packs. What sets them apart is that bench. They are all 20-21, have double barreled names and run like their lives depend on it. People forget here that Francis M was in their junior system.

They are the ultimate physical test in this comp. We need to go up several levels next week because they turn it up several gears at home and we need to remember their last home game they monstered the riff like they were an u8s side. Bit worried we might decide to throw the game knowing we make finals either way and probably still get a home final given the bunnies tough run home. Getting toweled up in our final test isn't what we want heading into finals.
 
Yeah Fish/Barnett/Clark isn't as good as Fish/Leota/Yeo (but it's closer than any other starting middle trio I've seen this decade besides Haas/Flegler/Carrigan maybe).

But then when we get to finals their bench rotation will probably be Ford/Stowers-Smith/one out of Vaimauga & Ieremia-Toeava... yuck. All four of those guys would start for us over Crokes :lol:

Probably the best bench since the 2020 Melbourne Storm?
 
Seano said:
PS. This is why gambling is not going anywhere. Sorry folks. It's a huge part of our economy. Governments should, of course, ensure that we have sensible checks and balances, protections for people who want/need to get out, and that money stays in Australia (and as I said, the NRL needs to put some of that windfall into local/jr footy).
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PVL has neglected grassroots since he came in.

I don't think anyone disagrees re: Gambling but its completely unnecessary to saturate things with it. Those that don't won't ever change their mind. And I think it annoys people seeing them more often then not. I think it's a good start getting them off jerseys and stadiums, and limiting ads.
Not just because they look ugly on jerseys. I'm surprised clubs don't offer them without them for a bit more of a cost like the European Football clubs do.
 
R_A said:
PVL has neglected grassroots since he came in.

I don't think anyone disagrees re: Gambling but its completely unnecessary to saturate things with it. Those that don't won't ever change their mind. And I think it annoys people seeing them more often then not. I think it's a good start getting them off jerseys and stadiums, and limiting ads.
Not just because they look ugly on jerseys. I'm surprised clubs don't offer them without them for a bit more of a cost like the European Football clubs do.
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The amount of gambling advertising we have been subjected to over the last few years is in my opinion ridiculous.

The sooner there are more restrictions on gambling advertising the better.
 
Lefty said:
The amount of gambling advertising we have been subjected to over the last few years is in my opinion ridiculous.
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They’re actually showing them at the movies now where I thought that would never be the case because sometimes you get children and people under 18 watching so maybe depends on the movie lol.
 
R_A said:
PVL has neglected grassroots since he came in.

I don't think anyone disagrees re: Gambling but its completely unnecessary to saturate things with it. Those that don't won't ever change their mind. And I think it annoys people seeing them more often then not. I think it's a good start getting them off jerseys and stadiums, and limiting ads.
Not just because they look ugly on jerseys. I'm surprised clubs don't offer them without them for a bit more of a cost like the European Football clubs do.
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100% agree on all counts. PVL has done a lot of good for the game, kept it going through COVID, put it on a strong financial footing and expanded its territory. But he's had some failings too: the lack of local investment, meddling in the rules and that time he claimed he had to choose between a first-grade career and accountancy....


Also agree that we need to curb gambling advertising.
 
R_A said:
PVL has neglected grassroots since he came in.
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I agree that grassroots needs more investment, but I think there’s a bigger picture strategy being missed here.

Expanding into Perth, PNG, potentially another New Zealand market, and previously adding the Dolphins as a second Brisbane team isn’t just about adding more NRL clubs. It’s about growing rugby league’s footprint and creating entirely new catchments for players, supporters, sponsors and eventually junior participation.

It wasn’t that long ago that the NRL was in a pretty ordinary financial position. Now it’s becoming one of the strongest sporting competitions in Australia and New Zealand, while looking at opportunities to expand its influence even further (Super League, Global Round and Rd 1 in LV)

Grassroots absolutely needs funding, but that funding also needs to be sustainable and actually translate into participation.

For argument’s sake, what's better: spending $10 million today trying to grow participation in areas where interest and pathways are limited, or spending the next few years growing the game commercially and geographically so that you can eventually invest $20–30 million into grassroots with more clubs, more participants, better pathways and a much larger audience to attract?

You can't just throw money at grassroots and expect participation to appear. You need kids wanting to play rugby league in the first place. More teams, more markets, more exposure and a stronger NRL product help create that demand.

That doesn't mean grassroots should be neglected in the meantime. There needs to be a balance. But growing the top of the game and investing in the bottom aren't necessarily competing ideas. If done properly (which I believe it is) growing the NRL creates a much bigger pool of money and people to invest back into grassroots later.

I'd rather build a $5.3 billion game capable of sustainably pouring money into grassroots for decades than remain a smaller competition because we were afraid to invest in growth.
 
PingaPonga said:
I agree that grassroots needs more investment, but I think there’s a bigger picture strategy being missed here.
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I agree, But I think funding a lot of the grassroots clubs is really chump change for the NRL and wouldn't put any sort of dent in their wallet. I don't think it's something that's been neglected only during PVL's time but probably before that.
Yes there needs to be some sort of plan where there are areas where people would actually play but it's also about providing opportunities just as much, giving them a place to be at, rather then those kids (and in the bush) be out and about doing uhhh other things.
There have been numerous articles in the past, where places in the bush have just been completely neglected, places that didn't have a clue about what AFL was that now are saturated with it, and again a bit of funding and help it goes a long way.

I may see it a bit different in the point of view that I'd rather get that right, then go to Vegas, have Origins all over the country and in NZ, have games elsewhere etc. I also think the crowd numbers can still be way better, and with the people that watch it on TV might be more inclined to go if the prices weren't so damn expensive for 'okay' seats. Amongst other things.
 
The thing with gambling is it's really up to the individual as a person to choose not to do it. No amount of ads or big shiny lights/buttons have ever made go, **** yeah let's put my whole paycheck through and see if I can win MORE! When they want help they'll get it.....hopefully.

Much like smokers, they're going to do it, drinkers are going to keep boozing on.
 
I agree prohibition doesn't work.

But that doesn't mean the industry doesn't need reform. I think the big problems are advertising (which is aimed at young people *), the predatory nature of incentives, the way they filter out winning punters very quickly, etc.

* When I'm teaching, I often use sport as a way to connect, and you'd be shocked at how many kids can't do basic maths but can talk in terms of odds.
 
Sure the onus is on the individual but advertising clearly has a major effect or the gambling companies wouldn’t spend as much money on it as they do. They also wouldn’t be fighting legislation or lobbying politicians hard to ensure its pervasiveness remains if it wasn’t highly effective.

Wall to wall advertising normalises the behaviour to begin with. No coincidence that Smoking rates decline as advertising did as well, in conjunction with greater restrictions.
 
Newygirl said:
Sure the onus is on the individual but advertising clearly has a major effect or the gambling companies wouldn’t spend as much money on it as they do. They also wouldn’t be fighting legislation or lobbying politicians hard to ensure its pervasiveness remains if it wasn’t highly effective.

Wall to wall advertising normalises the behaviour to begin with. No coincidence that Smoking rates decline as advertising did as well, in conjunction with greater restrictions.
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Smoking declined as the price of ciggies skyrocketed. If you look at figures over the last 2 years it has actually gone up again via cheap cigs and vapes being available readily. Looking at Brian on the packet did nothing for me but I've never smoked in my life regardless. They stink🤢. Beer however......🥲.
 
danknights said:
Smoking declined as the price of ciggies skyrocketed. If you look at figures over the last 2 years it has actually gone up again via cheap cigs and vapes being available readily. Looking at Brian on the packet did nothing for me but I've never smoked in my life regardless. They stink🤢. Beer however......🥲.
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danknights said:
Smoking declined as the price of ciggies skyrocketed. If you look at figures over the last 2 years it has actually gone up again via cheap cigs and vapes being available readily. Looking at Brian on the packet did nothing for me but I've never smoked in my life regardless. They stink🤢. Beer however......🥲.
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The research supports exactly what I said. The ridiculous price increase happened relatively recently - the first major one wasn’t until 2010 and smoking had already significantly declined from the advertising ban and restrictions. Even with insane pricing and cheap knock offs now, the rates of smoking have never returned to pre-advertising & restriction numbers. Vapes are a different product and have never been advertised, which is the issue being discussed
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