After yet another fairytale year in the NRL, we look forward to 2017 expectantly, our hopes raised by off-season signings and articles about our clubs all over the internet.
Here’s my outlook.
Premiers:
It’s so hard to go past Canberra.
The only sides to finish ahead of the Raiders in 2016 were Cronulla, who have since lost Michael Ennis and Ben Barba, and the Melbourne Storm – who they would’ve beaten but for Edrick Lee’s butterfingers. The green machine haven’t lost many important cogs over the off-season and are my tip for the title in 2017.
Runners-up:
Either Brisbane or Melbourne here.
Brisbane, like Canberra, wouldn’t have changed their line-up since last year. Benji Marshall won’t get much game time over younger, more promising players, so he won’t make much of an impact.
Whilst at Melbourne, The return of Billy Slater is tough to predict. He could change the Storm’s style for better or worse, it’s hard to say.
Wooden Spoon:
Totally left-field.
I’m going to call Newcastle improvers this year, and say that St. George-Illawarra will take the spoon in 2017. Newcastle surely can’t get any worse, can they?
Dally M:
Another left-field call, but Matt Moylan should lead an experienced Panthers side late into the finals, almost single-handedly and as such he’s my tip for the Dally M Medal.
He tends to run Penrith’s side, so whether Te Maire Martin or Nathan Cleary are prominent or not, will prove a big factor.
State of Origin:
NSW decide this.
Whether or not they can find a settled backline will be a decisive factor in the series. I’ll settle with my heart and say QLD to win it in Game 3.
Buy of the year:
Nominees include:
Kieran Foran (Warriors)
Blake Green (Manly)
David Taylor (Raiders)
Robbie Farah (Rabbitohs)
Jamal Idris (Tigers)
Josh Addo-Carr (Storm)
Winner: Robbie Farah (Souths)
He’s got a new club, so Farah will be a new man. He’ll take his Blues jumper back.
Most improved team:
I’ll go with the Warriors.
They will make 5th spot, and charge into the finals on a winning streak.
Biggest sliders:
Cronulla have lost Michael Ennis and Ben Barba over the off-season. They’ll struggle to replace those two, but not disappear completely.
Team of the year 2017:
1. Matt Moylan
2. Corey Oates
3. Konrad Hurrell
4. Jarrod Croker
5. Bevan French
6. Corey Norman
7. Cooper Cronk
8. Jesse Bromwich
9. Cameron Smith
10. James Tamou
11. Wade Graham
12. Elliot Whitehead
13. Trent Merrin
NRL ladder after Round 26:
1. North Queensland Cowboys
2. Penrith Panthers
3. Melbourne Storm
4. Canberra Raiders
5. New Zealand Warriors
6. Brisbane Broncos
7. Gold Coast Titans
8. Parramatta Eels
9. South Sydney Rabbitohs
10. Canterbury Bulldogs
11. Cronulla Sharks
12. Manly Sea Eagles
13. Sydney Roosters
14. Wests Tigers
15. Newcastle Knights
16. St George Illawarra Dragons
There we go. Prediction done. Your thoughts?
Paul David Newton
Guest
Spot on
Gary
Guest
Roosters 13th?? are u serious...look at their roster Rest s good
Jonno
Guest
Raiders could do anything incl miss the eight. If you were wondering what the arguments were for the next pay deal, the ARL Commission spending money on "marketing" ?? You had Luke lewis on the Big bash between innings and then in another game a cross to Gilchrist at the MCG showing Lyon and another Sixer passing a Steeden ball right behind Gilly and he saying "and the Sixers playing RL at the MCG" For a network that has the RU rights they will do anything to grab other codes money just to advertise.
Jacko
Guest
Earlier you predicted the Tigers to win like they did in 2005 and that aint going to happen so perhaps your Knock-ons, forward passes, 1 step too many before passing predictions will prove to be as accurate as the Tigers winning will be. Souths 6th-Tigers 14th
Jacko
Guest
Well James Graham certainly is a mongrel and he will fit in perfectly at the Tigers, but if he thinks having Hasler as coach is not good then wait till Taylor gets to him
Jacko
Guest
Best hooker in NSW and you want him in reserve grade? Glad you arnt coaching my team with judgement like that. Lets hope the team is selected on talent rather than bias. I dont think he will be buy of the year tho as I think Foran will earn that title
Jacko
Guest
Union already being pro-active here and have introduced a set of new rules aimed at reducing the amount of concussions thru illegal play but their stats say the ball runner is more likely to get concussion than the tackler (78% to 22%) so more rules to come I believe
Glenn
Guest
What many people forget was that Raiders had the easiest draw by far of all the teams last year. This year Dogs have the easy draw so may still make the 8. So will be interesting how Raiders fare this year.
Swannies
Guest
Raiders won't make the top four. Storm and Broncos will be the teams to beat.
Nayfo
Guest
Nice article CC. Although i don't agree with all your picks good on you for putting them out there. I will say that Moylan is hardly a left field pick to win Dally M as he is currently equal 3rd pick with the bookies but i do agree he will go very close.
Paul Newton
Guest
I like your prediction but for me the bunnies recruitment for 2017 along with limited injuries puts them back amongst the top four. The club seems to have moved on from last seasons internal dramas. With the resigning of coach Madge, Inglis, Reynolds and now adding Farrah clearly indicates it is a much happier place. This was evident at the end of 2016 with a change in their attitude and they clearly showed they can still beat anyone on their day. The way they finished their last 5 games and who they beat including the premiers was impressive to say the least. I can't see the warriors improving. They will disappoint again. Bring it on, can't wait.
Pud
Guest
I agree with most of it except I think the Raiders will Finish higher than 4th
Dean - Surry Hills
Guest
What are you claiming Big J? Will the Titans win in 2017, or won't they?
Norad
Guest
Prediction for 2017 is the media to keep portraying league as evil. Study out today says concussions can lead to dementia in later life. So what does the media do? Goes straight to sport and in particular rugby league as being at big risk and dangerous for the kids. Not a mention at all of AFL. There's never any concussions in that sport. http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/new-research-finds-link-between-concussion-and-dementia/news-story/91a3122d7fbf9e04a761099a0ed2b25e The findings are likely to rock sporting bodies such as the NRL and ARU, which have a high risk of concussions among young people participating in contact sports .
andrew
Guest
I agree with you on the Raiders. I hope they do well, because they are great to watch. But it is all well and good to say other top teams may go backward slightly becasue this player has gone and that player has gone, but you also have to show where the Raiders are going to improve, which I haven't really seen from anyone predicting a Raiders success yet. I think the majority of their key players played to their maximum last year, so just to repeat a top 4 finish will be a challenge. But like I said, I would be happy to be proven wrong because they are enjoyable to watch..
ChristopherGrant
Guest
Manly have the spoon in the draw. Blake was an above average player, when he was playing alongside 2 possible immortals, a fantastic forward pack and the best coach in the business. Dump him in Manly... Horribe
Chris
Roar Pro
Well there have been a number of fairytales over the last few years, so I won't count that out!
Magnus M. Østergaard
Roar Guru
I looked through Tims articles and I couldnt find it, but they had an increase.
no one in particular
Roar Guru
They'll finish top 6
Aem
Guest
But the difference between Cronk and DCE is.... well, see Origin 2014. DCE is a really good player, but not the kind of half that some seem to think he is. And Blake Green is a decent enough guy who thrived in the Storm system... we've seen this film before, I think. We can take a pretty good guess at where it's going. The Storm likely won't fall much at all (when the big guys retire they of course will, I expect them to shift forward heavy at that point). Slater for Green? I'd take it every day of the week. Proctor is undoubtedly a significant loss, though not catastrophic. Beyond that, the young guys coming through do look good. Drinkwater, Croft, Scott, Stimson, Britt...