2026 Season
- Thread starter Celticman98
- Start date
The Artist Formerly Known as Aku'd
Jarrod Mullen
I like what we’re doing with our cap management but **** me it would’ve been good to bring Barney back! He was immense in that game. Warriors are unreal.
Don’t worry, we signed a warriors reserve grader for about the same price.
Celticman98
Timana Tahu
Warriors won't leave NZ again until the GF barring a Week 1 choke. Starting to think it might just their year.
Said right at the start of the year they might win it. Have looked dominant right from the start.
HarVeeGee13
Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
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.
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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The media will only focus on Doms one which will definitely get him a higher grade charge.
Frank McWilliams
Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
Makes you wonder where it will all end with Perth, PNG and another, likely NZ then every team will be weaker due to filling the new teams and those locations will probably take years to develop juniors to fill future needs. How fans will react is another some may fade away due to lower standards compared to cost of attendance.
I guess time will tell.
Plenty of juniors in NZ for the NZ team to pick from, look at Manuleleua coming from the Union junior ranks over here.
Honestly, every time they say there's not enough talent to go around, the NRL produces more talent. The issue isn't a lack of potential quality; it's how clubs are managed and how they identify, develop, marshal and harness that talent.
Finally, getting our front office right and having money behind the club is what will turn the Knights from perennial top 8 hopes (and/or wooden spoon worriers) to regular top 4 contenders.
It's why the Roosters, Storm* and more recently the Panthers have been welded to the top of the table for so long, it's why the Wahs have emerged as a new force, and it's why the Broncos can have a wealth of talent win a premiership (almost 2) and be a basketcase a season later.
* Recent changes to the Storm ownership may shake that up...here's hoping.
Finally, getting our front office right and having money behind the club is what will turn the Knights from perennial top 8 hopes (and/or wooden spoon worriers) to regular top 4 contenders.
It's why the Roosters, Storm* and more recently the Panthers have been welded to the top of the table for so long, it's why the Wahs have emerged as a new force, and it's why the Broncos can have a wealth of talent win a premiership (almost 2) and be a basketcase a season later.
* Recent changes to the Storm ownership may shake that up...here's hoping.
It could be worse then that with PVL saying out loud why stop at 20!!
Lefty
Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
Any sensible person would say stop at 20 teams for a few years at least so the new and established teams can build up the strength of their rosters.
PVL is too $$$$$$ orientated, decisions made by the NRL should be for the benefit of the game not chasing more and more income each year.
PVL is too $$$$$$ orientated, decisions made by the NRL should be for the benefit of the game not chasing more and more income each year.
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Agree, Lefty, but I doubt that St Peter will be around much after NZ South joins.
But whatever they do, a large chunk of that income has to go into development and support at the junior and local level to strengthen the game long-term.
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).
But whatever they do, a large chunk of that income has to go into development and support at the junior and local level to strengthen the game long-term.
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).
HarVeeGee13
Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
Exactly right mate.
The amount of talent doesn’t stay static & as much as we hate the Chooks, most of their forward depth is players who made their debut there. They’re good at that transition from promise to production. The Warriors have all that depth due to player development.
And also I reckon the fact you had a bunch of carrying really quite good forwards on their bench as luxury players 5 years ago is a sign that we WERE ready for expansion, it’s just that that doesn’t mean it’s gonna be a neat process where every team contributes equally to the new ones and it all balances out. There will be winners and losers.
“How much expansion” and “where the expansion occurs” are the questions I haven’t liked the answers to as much.
Celticman98
Timana Tahu
Dylan Lucas and Mat Croker both on the Matty Johns show after Roosters Tigers.
