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Which teams are poised to step it up this season, and improve on their performance from 2016? With only a month to go until the start of the NRL season, it’s the perfect time to take a closer look at four sides primed to make big strides in 2017.
New Zealand Warriors
You know that feeling you get after playing 17 holes of absolute rubbish, only to mother one off the 18th tee? That’s what it feels like to support the New Zealand Warriors. Amidst the disappointment and despair, the Warriors flash just enough potential to leave their fans wanting more.
The 2016 season was no different. The Warriors looked better on paper than a Kandinsky watercolour. The signings of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Issac Luke looked like the final pieces of the puzzle. A top-four finish seemed a mere formality.
Then the season started. After dropping their first three games, New Zealand watched on helplessly as RTS blew out his knee and Issac Luke blew out his waistline. Shaun Johnson’s chiropractor warned him against carrying the team for another season, and so the Warriors missed the finals.
But 2017 will be different. No, seriously. The hiring of Stephen Kearney to replace Andrew McFadden was a smart move. Sure, Kearney’s stint at Parramatta was the sort of occupational abomination you strategically omit from your LinkedIn profile, but that job was a poisoned chalice.
More relevant to the task at hand is the success Kearney achieved with the New Zealand national team. Kearney has a proven track record of getting the most of out the prodigiously talented yet maddeningly inconsistent Kiwi players.
The new coach will have plenty to work with. Ryan Hoffman, Simon Mannering and Ben Matulino give the Warriors the sort of veteran leadership the team hasn’t enjoyed since Ruben Wiki retired.
Kearney also has the luxury of Tuimoala Lolohea. The talented 22-year-old has been rugby league’s equivalent of the karma sutra thus far in his career, such has been his ability to fill so many positions.
And let’s not forget about Kieran Foran. Nobody’s sure exactly when the former Manly star will make it onto the field, but when he does, the Warriors will have the scariest spine in the league.
So expect big things from New Zealand this year, and then watch on in amazement as they actually happen. The Warriors will be the big improvers of 2017, with anything less than a top-four finish viewed as a failure.
Gold Coast Titans
Heading into the 2016 season, Neil Henry was losing sleep over who would wear the Titans number seven jersey. Fast forward twelve months, and worrying about the halfback position still leaves Henry with less shuteye than James Roberts’ agent, but for slightly different reasons.
Lost in the hysteria of the Hayne Plane landing in Robina was the real story: the arrival of Ash Taylor. The teenager was thrust into the halves after starting halfback Kane Elgey succumbed to a serious knee injury.
Taylor responded with the greatest rookie season since Colin ‘Funky’ Miller. He was cool under pressure, exhibited an equally exquisite blend of pinpoint kicking and elusive running, and had no difficulty commanding those around him.
So now Henry must decide who leads his team around the park. Can Taylor and Elgey coexist in the halves, knowing both possess a similar skill set? Will one take a more prominent role, while the other settles for understudy? And what does this mean for Tyrone Roberts, who is coming off the best season of his career? I’ve never experienced a good headache, but this must be as close as it gets.
As one of the few clubs with salary cap space in 2016, the Titans were able to take advantage of the unexpected availability of several marquee players.
When the Eels tossed Nathan Peats out like an unruly patron at Tingha Palace, the Titans were happy to call him a cab. When Konrad Hurrell wore out his welcome across the ditch, Gold Coast were happy to accommodate him. And when the Aussie hero’s American dream was shattered, the Titans gladly picked up the pieces. Someone should really send Daly Cherry-Evans a card.
With the addition of Kevin Proctor, Jarrod Wallace and Dan Sarginson, the Titans are loaded. Their spine of Hayne, Taylor, Elgey and Peats would rival any team in the competition. A lack of big game experience may be the only thing holding them back from a real premiership tilt. But there’s only one way to fix that.
Newcastle Knights
It might seem a little strange to include Newcastle on this list, but hear me out. The Knights were awful in 2016, no debate. Only fans of ageing 80s pop icons did it tougher.
But I’m confident things will be better this year. Not a whole lot better mind you, but Newcastle will certainly improve on the single victory they posted in 2017.
Newcastle’s biggest problem last year was a lack of experience, with Nathan Brown often fielding more debutants than a Jane Austen novel. Youth and inexperience are not necessarily a bad thing, but it does make it hard to intimidate your opponent when your voice breaks at halftime.
With their salary cap still a mess, CEO Matt Gidley was again tasked with cutting bloated salaries and wingers alike. To solve Newcastle’s puberty blues, Gidley needed experienced veterans without paying them Kade Snowden money.
So while Starling, Sio, Kostjasyn and Buhrer aren’t the sort of household names to boost season ticket sales, they were relatively cheap and boast almost 400 first grade appearances between them.
Yes, the loss of Jarrod Mullen hurts, but not as much as you might think. Mullen has been a constant injury risk for years, with his dodgy hamstrings enduring more tweak than a Stuart MacGill leg break.
Brown was already planning on giving Mullen a run at hooker, allowing the Knights a better look at boom youngsters Brock Lamb, Jack Cogger and Jaelen Feeney. The loss of Mullen simply pushes forward the inevitable, while freeing up valuable funds for recruitment and retention.
So what can we expect from the Knights this season? Well, probably more of the same if we’re honest, but with a slightly better outcome. Newcastle won’t have the cattle to compete with the majority of NRL sides, but they will show plenty of improvement.
Look for them to upset a couple of teams, and scratch together three or four wins. But unless the Dragons are even worse than advertised, the Knights look destined to achieve the dreaded hat-trick of wooden spoons.
Canberra Raiders
This one’s a no-brainer. The Raiders were sensational in 2016. Playing some of the most attractive football since Andrew Ettingshausen, Canberra compiled a monster 688 points during the regular season at nearly 30 points per game.
But the Raiders have been here before. Led by the likes of Terry Campese and Todd Carney, Canberra’s high-scoring attacks have carried them into the finals, only for them to collapse the following season.
In fact, the yoho diablos of the NRL bounced in and out of the finals every season from 2004-2013, so it’s fair to question whether they can handle the pressure.
This year, they can. Ricky Stuart has constructed a roster with all the depth and quality of a Roger Federer forehand. Their talent is so well spread that the Raiders enjoyed their best season in over a decade despite uneven performances from both starting halves.
Honestly, it’s hard to find a weakness in the Raiders squad. Their forwards are enormous. Dressed all in green, they look like an old growth forest as they prepare to pack a scrum. The addition of Dave Taylor and Jordan Turner to a pack that already can’t find a spot for Shaun Fensom feels almost unfair.
The backline is just as imposing. Joey Leilua and Jarrod Croker form the most dominant centre pairing in the competition, combining for a ridiculous 28 tries, 27 line breaks and 16 try assists last season.
Jordan Rapana also enjoyed a breakthrough season. His ability to run through defensive lines was reminiscent of Paul Harragon in the EA Sports classic ARL 1996.
With the competition’s most complete roster and Ricky Stuart’s coaching back on point, the time is now for the Canberra Raiders. As other contenders begin to decline, the Green Machine is primed to take the next step.
This is part one of my four-part season preview series. Which competition heavyweights are set to decline in 2017? Tune in next week to find out.