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PRICHARD: Class of 2015 lagging behind the best of past years

31st May, 2015
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Would the Burgess brothers still be around in 2021? (AAP Image/Action Photographics, Robb Cox)
Expert
31st May, 2015
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2415 Reads

No team in this year’s NRL is as good as Sydney Roosters and South Sydney were in 2013 and last year. Not on the form exposed so far, anyway.

North Queensland is the closest you would get, with their nine straight wins, but there is something about the Cowboys that still makes it hard to believe they can go all the way and win the premiership.

They have promised a lot in the past, but have mostly fallen down on the delivery.

Right now, the top teams of the last two years – most notably the 2013 premiers, the Roosters, and the 2014 premiers, the Rabbitohs – are not at the level they were and some other teams have improved.

The result is that the teams that could currently be considered as premiership contenders are all gathered closely at a peak level below what was established in the last two years.

That doesn’t mean a team – or teams – won’t reach that level and maybe even surpass it between now and the end of the season.

But it could also mean you won’t have to be as good as the Roosters and Rabbitohs were to win this year’s premiership.

A lot will depend on what the Roosters and Rabbitohs themselves can muster between now and the end of the season and it’s going to be very interesting to see how the Roosters fare at home against Melbourne on Monday night.

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The Roosters are the premiership favourites, but it’s a very open market.

When there appear to be plenty of chances and it’s hard to settle on a top pick, the bookmakers go for the team with the most class and which has a good recent record in the event and that is what they have done here.

But the Roosters had a rampaging Sonny Bill Williams when they won the premiership and also when they were eliminated by eventual premiers the Rabbitohs in last year’s preliminary finals.

And the Rabbitohs had Sam Burgess when they made it as far as the preliminary finals in 2013 and again when they won it all last year.

The difference in both of those teams minus one superstar is clear. But does it mean neither can win this competition? No, of course not. It just makes it harder.

For the Roosters, a lot will depend on Blake Ferguson making a successful comeback from injury. The Rabbitohs need Adam Reynolds to go right to the end of the season without any further mishaps once he returns from his latest setback.

St George Illawarra and Brisbane are first and second respectively after the weekend games. Is either team capable of winning the premiership? Yes, certainly, in this competition.

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Melbourne is fourth, but could go to the top if they beat the Roosters.

The Storm are interesting. They are so well coached by Craig Bellamy and precise in the way they go about things that they play pretty close to their potential most years.

That was good enough to win the premiership in 2012. Last season, they finished the regular season in sixth place and were eliminated in the first week of the finals.

Melbourne are as good a barometer as you’ll get in this competition and they’re seriously in the running this season because they have lifted and the top level has come down.

The continued rise of Storm forwards Jesse Bromwich, Kevin Proctor and Tohu Harris, who are all a part of the New Zealand team that has won three straight Tests against Australia, is a big reason for that.

The Warriors, as always, are the Warriors. If they make the finals no team will want to play them in case they strike them at their best, but they are just as likely to finish 10th.

Penrith have had major injury problems since the early rounds. Every time they look like they are starting to piece their team back together, something else goes wrong. It has developed into a difficult year for them.

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That rounds out the top eight.

Canterbury, currently in ninth, remains in the running because they are a proven finals team. Last year they finished the regular season in seventh, but made it all the way to the grand final.

As even as the competition is, not all teams are capable of winning it and I can’t build an argument for any of those currently filling the spots from 10th to 16th.

But the other nine teams must all have a chance. Some significantly less of a chance than others, but still a chance. It’s that sort of competition.

Now, whether that is a good thing or not is very much open to debate.

I like the effect of the salary cap in making it possible for more teams to contend for the title, but I also like to see one or two teams really up the ante and still set the bar high for those others to reach.

I’m seeing a lot of good teams at the moment, but none bordering on greatness.

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Not yet, anyway.

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