Serious post - I’m gonna do tiers:
Contenders: Roosters, Panthers, Sharks
Good, but not contenders: Storm, Bulldogs, Dolphins
Peloton of mediocrity: Knights, Broncos, Raiders, Wahs, Eels
***/spoon contenders: Sea Eagles, Titans, Tigers, Dragons, Rabbitohs, Cowboys
I think a lot of these explain themselves but I will justify a few:
Roosters - Deepest team in the comp. I think people questioning the DCE thing are crazy, and it’s hard to overstate what an upgrade on Savala he is even at this age and he’ll look amazing playing in a dinner suit behind that pack. Also Robson is potentially the signing of the season, will stiffen up that middle so much. They are going to cruise to the minor premiership IMO and will get more rest/have the fittest squad primed for finals.
Panthers - They are clearly not done. Still have more winning knowhow and better systems than everyone else. Not a juggernaut anymore but I’m not betting against them and they don’t have a lot of roster churn to figure out early in the season this time so they’ll be good right away.
Sharks - I really think they demonstrated that they’re a serious team now in the 25 finals. I don’t think they have a good enough team overall to win it all but it wouldn’t shock me if they did.
Storm - They’re never “bad” but they are about to enter into another thing where they turn over a lot of the squad IMO, a lot of the team is sneaky old now, and in the past they’ve dipped down into 5-8 during those periods. Katoa is a massive loss, he’s their second best player, and their depth has kind of been decimated.
Dolphins - If it’s not going to happen this year they’re actually in a bit of trouble IMO.
Knights - Wanted to put them in the “good” tier but realistically we have a lot of unproven forwards. Also don’t love that there is apparently still uncertainty about who’s playing where in the spine when IMO we finally now have square pegs for our square holes. I don’t think any team has a larger range in terms of where they could potentially finish.
Broncos - Won the comp off the back of having the best players in the game right now playing at an all time great level + absurd fitness levels, rather than like a really great culture/systems, and they also won it all in a very lucky, hard to replicate way. I don’t think they’ve become a different team overnight and are going to continue to yo yo between amazing and meh. Also just think they are very likely to get key player injuries. I’m going to pick them as a top four team when they replace Reyno with Pezet though.
Raiders - Fluky minor premiership - 14 win team that had everything break their way for an entire season. Replacing Fogarty with an inexperienced 7 (who they don’t think is ready) makes them a 8-12 win team.
Wahs - Didn’t 100% buy they were as good as ladder position indicated.
Sea Eagles - Another “you all don’t realise how good DCE is” take. More likely to finish last than be in the fight for the 8. Even with Fogarty who’s at least okay.
