I always love this week in any code of sport. It’s the week before the season kicks off, sparking the anticipation of our elite athletes commencing their campaign for ultimate sporting glory.
This week it’s the NRL’s turn. We have sat through the Auckland Nines, trial matches, stories about the best players and what they bring and just who is going to perform in 2016.
Can the North Queensland Cowboys continue their 2015 fairy tale? Can the Sydney Roosters overcome controversy and change? Can the dominant teams really show what they are made of?
I always use this week to think which team can really show change in the new season; who can really prove us all wrong. My thoughts this week are all about the Knights.
The Newcastle Knights start their season with five debutantes, a new coach, three new captains and a new half-back whose skill and experience to drive this young team around the park could really be a secret weapon for the Novocastrians.
But is it enough? The Knights essentially start again in 2016 trying to rebuild what was lost in the Nathan Tinkler era.
They don’t have a lot of experience, but they certainly have taken the first steps to a positive rebuild.
Can they beat the powerhouse teams? Yes.
Can they make the top eight? Possibly.
Are they 2016 premiership contenders? Probably not.
But they will be a team that cause problems for their opponents and you will see some impressive wins from them this campaign.
Give the Knights a few more seasons and they will be a contender once again.
Their biggest hurdle will be consistency. In the 2015 season, they won the first four rounds, which included wins over eventual champions the Cowboys.
At one stage they were at $250 odds to win the wooden spoon (I am sure some lucky punters took this on).
After round 4, they only won six more games for the entire season. They must do better. They must be consistent – something coach Nathan Brown insists on.
I don’t like to single anyone out, but the Knights will need big things from Akuila Uate this season. The club’s all-time leading try-scorer has not been his best for a few seasons now.
Hopefully a renewed love of the game, and an uninterrupted pre-season will help us see the Fijian Flyer at his best this season.
Look out for the Knights – 2016 may just be the start of something magical.
My top eight prediction for 2016.
1. Warriors
2. Manly
3. Brisbane
4. Cowboys
5. Melbourne
6. Roosters
7. Eels
8. Knights
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