As we prepare for Week 1 of the NRL finals, all the talk is about who in the top eight is going to go deep into the season and claim the ultimate prize in the game.
Can Melbourne continue their run of control and efficiency? Will the Cowboys manage the elusive repeat? Can Wayne Bennett do the impossible and win from outside the top four?
What does it say about the finals that the Titans can compete for the grand prize having lost more than they won in 2016?
But this article is not about the eight teams that will battle it out in September. It’s about those who are already on their holidays and are contemplating where it all went wrong – or maybe never actually went right in the first place.
We might even find ourselves in a very speculative prediction for 2017! And let’s see if we can avoid that all too common phrase of being “in transition”.
Rather than writing one mammoth article it seemed to make sense to break it into two – so look out for the second one coming in the next day couple of days.
So in true countdown style let’s start at the bottom and work our way from wooden spoon up to the heady heights of ninth by talking about the Newcastle Knights.
Knights
The 2016 season will sadly go down in Knights history for the wrong reasons. A season this poor really has to doesn’t it?
One win from 24 rounds and an average of fewer than 13 points scored per game is always going to result in a shocker of a season. The Knights achieved seven more ladder points than the Eels – problem is that the Eels only had points from their final 15 games actually count.
On their best day, with their team playing their best footy, they were still huge underdogs going into each game. But here’s the thing – everyone knew that. Very quickly in 2016 it became clear that nothing else could be expected from the team from Newcastle.
The post-Tinkler and Bennett era was still taking shape and with the roster that Nathan Brown had to play with, many fans found themselves aspiring to the spoon.
This then meant that the pressure was always on their opponents. “Surely (insert opposition team here) can’t slip up against the Knights this weekend” – and everyone had resigned themselves to who was going to take 16th place in the league from about May onwards. The only hope they had was that the Eels received a Storm-esque punishment but when Todd Greenberg handed down his sentence, 2016 was over for the Knights.
The only thing that is worse for the Knights? 2017 doesn’t look much better. Fans and commentators alike are saying the “rebuilding phase” at Newcastle is only just beginning and could take years.
Through some questionable transfers in 2014 and some poor roster management the club finds itself looking at a tricky salary cap situation that is going to take some careful improvement over the next few years.
The upside is that there are a number of Knights players (including some young ones) who have had a brutal experience this year. If Brown can use this to bring them together and build a siege mentality for a while then there could be a nucleus that builds of strength and determination that serves the club well in 2017 and beyond.
Prediction for 2017? The kitchen development continues as the Knights add another wooden spoon to their cutlery draw.
Roosters
What the hell happened? Talk about a fall from grace. Minor premiers in 2013, 2014 and 2015 and grand final winners in 2013, the Roosters never got their 2016 campaign into anything better than second gear.
While the Knights were never expected to beat anyone, everyone kept assuming that the Roosters will eventually turn the corner and start tearing teams apart. Yes Mitchell Pearce’s absence in the first part of the season was not a great start but the Roosters are not a one-man team.
Sadly the Roosters were also without Boyd Cordner and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and were never able to start putting a proper run of wins together to threaten the top eight
As long as Pearce can keep it in his pants and his mates can contain their desire to speak to the tabloids then 2017 will be better. Having to play so man youngsters caused problems in 2016 but that could reap big benefits next season.
I said the same about the Knights but the difference with the Roosters is that they have some great talent in their older player group to lead the way.
Prediction for 2017 – Roosters back in the finals with a finish in the top eight.
Eels
So much has been written about the Eels in 2016. At times there were rumours that the writers of the Young And The Restless were actually driving the Parramatta Board such was the non-stop series of calamities and laughable decision making.
What was perhaps the saddest thing was that on the pitch the Eels were actually performing well.
Some have argued that the off-field dramas helped to create a siege mentality – the likes of which teams like Manly under Des Hasler have used to great success.
Others point to the combination of talent both in the playing roster and in the coach. Whatever the reason, the Eels season will not be talked about in years to come for the performance of the players but instead for the way in which a group of individuals at the top of the club drove it through scandal after scandal.
This was done with no apparent consideration for the impact their ongoing decisions was having upon the people around them they claimed to be doing it all for.
But a new organisation is emerging. One run with ethics at its core instead of vendetta.
Arguably, the Hayne Plane’s diverted landing at Gold Coast International is part of this re emergence and not getting Hayne’s signature could turn into a very good thing.
Only time will tell and right now it certainly doesn’t help to see the Eels’ favourite son landing game winning drop goals in a Titans jersey. If the club can keep Brad Arthur happy and Cory Norman can update his Facebook list of friends and use his pockets purely for his phone and car keys, then 2017 is going to be better than 2016.
It won’t be as good as 2016 could have been but then to be fair they did start the season with an illegal roster.
Prediction for 2017 – Eels will just miss out on the eight but as an organisation it will be one of their best seasons for a long time.
Sea Eagles
It’s not often that you find it hard to describe the ethos and culture of a Manly side. For years they have been defined by this effective combination of grit, stubbornness and talent. But the times they are a changing.
I remember back in 2011 when Manly were playing the Storm. Glenn Stewart and Adam Blair had both been sent to think about their behaviour for ten minutes and as they were walking off they went at it again.
As punches were exchanged between the two a Manly defining sight was seen – four of Stewart’s teammates had sprinted from the far goal-line where play was meant to be resuming and waded in to protect their brother in arms.
As Blair disappeared under a tsunami of Sea Eagles he must have been thinking “Where the bloody hell are my mates?” That was Manly.
But now I just don’t know who they are, and a season of just eight wins suggests they don’t know either.
Yes there is change and they are having to cope with a brand new coach at the same time as some seriously talented old guard players are waving goodbye.
Injuries have been cruel to the Sea Eagles for sure and after having retained DCE from under the Titans’ noses it must have been so frustrating to see him miss so much game time.
The lack of depth, an ageing roster and injuries to key players meant that any momentum the Sea Eagles did build was quickly undermined.
The future looks a bit brighter. Key players back from injury will be a good start and the Trbojevic brothers (especially Tom) are showing that 2017 could be a time for much cheering at Brookvale.
Many have argued that if Tom T and Jarryd Hayne were both available right now, it would be the man whose name brings panic attacks to commentators who would be getting the most phone calls.
But there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to replace the loss of talent over the past couple of seasons and Manly need to get their identity back. DCE has to remind the NRL why he is worth so much and must force his way into Kev Walters plans for Origin 2017.
Arguably it would be best that he didn’t get selected for the Maroons but Manly do need DCE to be in the form that makes Walters think long and hard about having him in the squad.
Prediction for 2017 – Manly will be in a battle for eighth spot and just miss out.
Positions 12th to ninth to follow soon.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
The rugby league community is in mourning following the sudden death of former Kangaroos centre Terry Hill from an apparent heart attack in the…
Warriors coach Andrew Webster wants to see Shaun Johnson suit up alongside boom recruit James Fisher-Harris in 2025, saying the star halfback is "huge…
1. Tigers earning their stripes The Tigers played Souths last year when the Bunnies were at their very highest point. Tim Sheens coached them…
Manly have snuck home against the Titans in a wild game on the Gold Coast, running out 34-30 winners on a night in which,…
Who are the hardest working big men in the NRL?
1. Manu is not No.1 at Roosters Everyone knows Joey Manu is a really good fullback. He’s probably in the top five in the…
