Buyer beware: Manly and the Warriors already under pressure

And yet easts and manly were amongst the leaders in terms of one club players

2013? Gyng bought that one.

Barrett is safe. McFadden's fortunes hinge on the fitness and form of Shaun Johnson, as we saw last year. That's despite the acquisitions of Luke and RTS. Most coaches are under some kind of performance pressure. I suspect Maguire is nearing the end of his tenure at Redfern. How he exits will be interesting.

Oh, and the not so minor clause in Kieran's contract...it's Brad Arthur as coach or Kieran says bye bye.

I agree with you, Brad Arthur probably should be on the list as well, but I think the board will want to back him in. Also I believe Foran has an out clause if Arthur gets punted so that's another big factor.

Koroisau won't be starting at hooker , Matt Parcel will be the hooker, he is a gun a natural 9 and has played there all his life. Manly have big wraps on him and rightly so, i don't think they'll be using koroisau there because parcel will excel there.

Wow, seriously what a ridiculous article, every coach is under pressure, especially first term coaches. McFadden is under pressure because hes underperformed in the past, he's now has one of the best spines in the comp. Im pretty sure he would be glad they bought well, he was gone if they didn't perform and now at least he has a chance. As for manly, the only reason they will have a poor season will be injuries. They now have one of the best packs in the comp, except foran they have what everyone said was the best backline in the comp for the past few years. Walker may take awhile to fire who knows, but hes a pretty handy replacement, Tom T will also add extra spark. As I said if they have a lot of injuries then there depth may be tested, but it probably better then past years as well, especially the pack. Every single premiership team has done so by buying players and mixing them with up and coming juniors, if your 5 year plan doesn't include buying some star players over those years then your going no where. How did the 5 year plan and going with juniors work out for cleary? If manly and warriors win the comp it will probably be an overachievement but they will expect to have good seasons and with some more wise recruitment in the next couple of years expect them to be hard to beat that for a number of years to come. If you don't think JT has the most pressure on him, your kidding yourself. Bennett is expected to win the comp, after all hes the master and they lost it in last few seconds last year, nothing short off winning it will be good enough for Brisbane fans this year. Nathan Brown will be under pressure in Newcastle but I imagine he will be cut some slack this season as he has such a young team. Flannery and sharp has also tried to buy a premiership (your words) I think sharp will be given slack, assuming they make semis, if they fall apart so will the fans love for sharp. Flannery has been there for a long time, he has a pretty decent team, I imagine the fans are sick of excuses. McGregor had a petition going around after 4 games last year, what happens if they start struggling again. Pretty sure hasler hasn't won anything yet for the dogs, he was going to be there saviour, how much longer will they put up with not winning a premiership. What about griffen, they sacked cleary out of the blue, so they much be expecting griffen to improve there performance. What a about Stuart, his excuses for not making the semis must be waring thin by now, especially as they have bought quite well this year as well. McIntyre will be under some pressure to improve, especially with burgess back, but I doubt hes in any real danger unless they fall in a complete hole. About the only ones not under pressure as such are green, no one expects them to win 2 in a row, the GC coach (cant even think of his name) with there problems and such a young team no one expects them to get close to the semis, Robinson, they have lost 3 or 4 of there best players permanently and a few more for a few weeks, so if they fall down the table no one will be surprised and Bellamy, he will be safe, even if melbourne don't perform as well as thought its unlikely there fans will be calling for his head.

Cleary will have McFadden's job by mid season unless the Tigers grab him to replace Taylor in the next few weeks.

I like the cut of your gib Dr Yes. The only changes I'd make to your comment in regards to Manly is that Stewart would likely re-injure his hamstring (he and Foran would have the 2 worst hamstrings in the NRL). And if Lyon was to go down I reckon they might bring in Satini or Willame. Or alternatively, and this would be the most likely scenario, shift Taufua to centre (he played there during trials) and promote Lavaka to the wing, who has got everyone pretty excited on the beaches right now. In the forwards you've also got guys like Liam Knight who will get a run this year at some stage, as well as Nathan Green who was brought over purely as a backrower. And if disaster strikes in the prop rotation you've got Starling or Burgess who have previously been part of the 17 but are well down the pecking order now. Or even Vave who used to play with Barrett at the Sharks and has impressed to date. Certainly not world beaters but handy replacements in worst case scenarios. And definitely depth in the pack Manly hasn't seen for years.

Thing about Manly in 2015, they had the bogey trifecta: worst team disruption for first half of season, coach & board instability, and worst injuries in the comp. And their pack was awful. They hadn't scouted and groomed the necessary juniors during the previous few golden years. And Watmough and G Stewart were no longer on board, though they were shown to be past peak. But Manly came home with about the second wettest sail (won 6 of last 7 and beat the competition leaders 44-14, whereas Roosters won 12 of last 12). This year, would be very hard to match any of those bogey categories. You'd think the worst case would still improve wins by a few games, meaning top 8. Yeah, I know how good Foran is. But I also, know how good Walker is. And Foran was one of the more injury-prone last year. Maybe Parra won't have him for a chunk of 2016? If Manly lose Lyon and Stewart to knee injuries (likely), they have a spine of Koroisau-DCE-Walker-TTurbo, replacement centre of Moltzen or Symonds, and their pack is Myles, Koroisau, Lawrence, Brown, Leary, Kapow plus JTurbo, Lussick, Buehrer/Symonds, Mateo. Also Mattai & Taufua. I know hooker Hodges is out for 2016, and Buehrer will miss 6 weeks from the bench, but Parcell/Brown/Symonds can backup Koroisau. Other injuries were small ones. I know the Warrior spine is top-rate. But Johnson has had injuries and if that happens, the spine''s below-par. And question marks over props 3 & 4 (not Lilyman & Matalino). Might make the 8, but I don't think they have the depth to make top 4. If you pay over-the-odds for contracts (800k a fullback??), then you pay on the field at some point. 1st rule of Moneyball. Surely Lauititi & Leuluai are second string reserves / assistant coaches? Probably the same for Parra. Foran + Jennings + Ma'u + Peats + Semi has them sailing at the top, but last few years says they'll lose 2 of the spine and suffer. And their props are iffy (well, worse than that). But I'll gamble that Manly & Cronulla might be the good new stories, mostly due to killer packs. But also fast, strong backlines.

Agree, I have no clue as to what Barrett will bring, usually it can be identified with rookie coaches but he is pretty quiet, typical country boy. I know his family and wish him the best but I'm still unsure. McFadden on the other hand is not up to it I know that, for me he doesn't come across as a naturally performed person that naturally gets respect, therefore this game will spit him out IMO.

Melbourne Storm have the perfect formula. The best coach In the game who can turn a pumpkin into a Rugby League superstar within a season, Superb administration, Brilliant "youth" recruiting, A great NRL playing squad currently developing for the eventual departure of "The Big Three", always under the radar because they are so far away, Amazing record in making Finals footy, and players just love being part of The Storm system. We are all aware of their dramas in 2010 with the salary cap dramas but that was 5 years ago. The bad guys have departed and they have since won an NRL Premiership. They don't spend big time off season and even develop top local junior talent from Aussie Rules territory. Their coach will never be sacked. They have stability. You also know that you are going to generally get 100% effort each game. I'm a Cowboys supporter and still celebrating, but gees The Storm System impresses me. Amazing.

John Carthwright was assistant coach at the Panthers and Cowboys last year when they won premierships. I think he will be a key behind the scenes man for the Eagles.

Seems to me that every team that goes through a poorer period, takes the punt on recruiting as big as their salary cap (and extras) can handle and who they can attract, and that depends on the general success of the club. Manly, Auckland, Parramatta are just the latest to do it. Nothing new here Dane. Old territory. And just as in the past the coach that succeeds gets the bickies, the one that doesnt finds the door. Success is demanded by all clubs, especially those in the top group such as Melbourne, Canterbury, Sydney City, Brisbane and Manly, who dominate consistently. They expect success and going back over the post 20-30 years they are the teams that get success more often. And actually Manly and Auckland go on a big recruitment drive less frequently than many others sides. Manly goes through a major change about once a decade. The last time they did it, they won the premiership twice and were runners up twice during the following 7 years. That's how premierships are won Dane. Best cattle you can get. Best coach you can get. You're more likely to be a winner that way.

At West Tigers I'd opt for JT, Milford and Mannering. You've already got Tedesco and Farah. I reckon even Taylor would go close to premiership glory with his new look squad!

Barrett will be grey and unemployed by the seasons end.

Not that I want to be a Jason Taylor knocker - BUT I reckon if you gave him Cam Smith, JT, & RTS, he would still manage to stuff it up. Aw heck I did knock him after all.

Hmmmmmmm. Not sure about Manly or The Warriors being stuffed already Dane. If you could lure any three players in the world to your club with an open Nick Politis style chequebook, who would you pick? Surely the arrival of Thurston and two other guns would put most clubs in good stead for a tilt at the premiership regardless of the quality of the current coaching staff.

Said with towel over head, "charter boat what charter boat?" I wanted to get a zinger in about my team but I thought I was getting predictable.