My top eight for the NRL in 2019

You are of your head if you think the Broncos won't make the eight

1. Roosters 2. Rabbitohs 3. Cowboys 4. Dragons 5. Panthers 6. Storm 7. Sharks 8. Broncos

My top 4 in no order Dragons (good group of talented players, widdop, hunt and norman combo, kaboom!) Penrith (way too much talent and most are representative/internationals plus their freaky last 10min combacks should scare the comp, all theyve needed is a good defensive coach = Ivan C or trent robbo, but with all that and James Maloney being the weakest link in that team? Watch out) Brisbane (Seibolds analytical coaching style, and those young forwards will run over most teams if they stay fit, its how the backline capitalise, which sees how far they go) Easts ( i refuse to call them sydney,”how dare they” but just based off last years defensive strategies, and the grind they put on teams theyll be there again) Bottom 5-8 Newcastle (experienced tough players, hopefully they gel, along with the flamboyant ponga) Canterbury (watch out for Lachlan Lewis, among the other crop of young talent, these guys will bounce back hard and fast) Souths (bennets influence, plus talent already there, theyll make the 8, injuries will dictate this tho) Warriors ( without johnson, theyll be missing a half, but blake green IS a halfback, shadowing others as a 5/8th (daly, johnson etc) if he takes the reigns himself, warriors will reach higher than last year, there is plenty of 5/8 NZ juniors that know how to flick pass to shadow him) Bottom 8 Melbourne ( billy gone, munster will be the fullback, with cameron smith needs to play 5/8th, brode at half, brandon smith hooking, its the only way storm will win games this year, until they figure thst out, but i see a long year much like the cowboys2018 ) Parramatta ( no more hayne, normans got greener pastures, moses is now the man, alongside a stable spine of gutho, bevan, prichard, but unless their forwards fire, theyll struggle again) Wests ( should do well, dependant on their spines injurys of Mbye, brooks,benji,Farrar, and reynolds efforts off the bench, dangerous team if again forwards fire) NthQld (morgan fit, theyll win most games, but forwards are still slugish, theyll need guys like kyle felt, and ethan lowe to be on field to help morgan otherwise another slump year) Canberra (halfback creation issues, dumb time management in closing out games, backline is selfish, might get close to 8 again, nuff said) Cronulla (lost too many key players in tyhe backline, jesse ramien and luke lewis leaving, have already dropped these guys out of contention, plus shaun johnson, will end up like mitchell moses did for parra2018, too many cooks) Gold coast (tyrone peachey/ash taylor combo will be special highlight reels for them this year, and AJ brimson will improve, theyll rise but injurys might make them miss out again) Manly (daly will realise he shouldn’t be the markee player and captain manly needs, dessy will be needing a few years for manly to get back to the 8 again, my prediction is they get the ugly old assed spoon= and first time too)

Penrith and Gould under pressure with Griffin sacking and I Cleary recruit, I don't see them making the 4. I do though, think Manly will surprise a few people in 2019.

Melbourne are an enigma. On paper, I would have to agree with you but they always seem to unearth players that deliver out of nowhere but the big thing that worries me is the fact that Melbourne have recruited no one this off season. Nothing, no one, nada despite quite a few losses. That says to me that Bellamy has quite a bit of depth and has them lining up to fill the holes. Might be a bit of a rusty start again but they can surprise.

Yeah similar train of thought. The Knights recruited well but they are still C+ team with potential - a dark horse at best. Losing Billy cannot be understated and Drinkwater is a fantastic attacking player, Billy bought so much more. They are starting to resemble the Sunshine Coast team of 2yrs back which were good but not 'Storm' like. Still be in the 8 but 4-6 I believe. Same for Lewis and Cronulla, so many 1% plays... Hopefully Seibold can get the energy out this Broncos team he bought to Souths this year and that same 4-6 should be expected.

With the exception of the Panthers I think your prediction is pretty spot on.

Hmm some interesting comments and as you say everyone will have their own opinion. On face value I look at which teams have the most upside and for this reason I'd say the Cowboys to bounce back into the 8. Titans have plenty of upside and based on recruitment I'd put them ahead of the Knights into the 8 My lock on the Top 3 Roosters Rabbitohs Panthers 4-8 Storm Broncos Dragons Cowboys Titans or Warriors or Sharks- this is really a toss up for me, Titans on upside (and culture change with Meninga), Warriors to slide (over achieved last year and lost Johnson) and Sharks losing Lewis, Graham, Holmes & possibly Flannigan could get ugly slipping out of the 8)

Melbourne, Penrith and Roosters are a lock for the top three with the order unconfirmed. Melbourne lose Slater but Scott Drinkwater isn't a bad replacement and they will still be tough with Bellamy at the helm. Roosters are the same with Robinson. Ferguson's a loss but they'll still be fine. Hard to see Penrith going anywhere but up considering how well they did considering injuries among other things. Cleary already has a solid understanding of the players there and if they could finish 5th considering what they had to go through then they should be in premiership contention when you also consider their improvement at head coach. Had Cronulla in the conversation but their issues with Holmes and now Flanagan potentially not being there this season has thrown a spanner into the works. Hard to see them going all the way.

I get how you've come up with that top eight and it's always just speculation this far out from kick off but I reckon you've overrated the Knights, Sharks, Storm & Panthers. Excluding the roosters anomaly of jumping from 13th to the top 4 a few years back, I can't see Newcastle making that big a surge on last year's finish. Melbourne are only one Cam Smith injury or drop off in form from a decent slide, Holmes was far more valuable for the Sharks than Johnson will be & the loss of Lewis plus Graham for half a season is significant, while Penrith are still a flakey side that have yet to prove they have the mettle for sudden death games. Souths look much the same with Inglis also starting to show wear and tear but they'll be hard. I like where the Broncos are heading but it might be a year of development for that group, although signing Perisi will be a positive by mid-season, he was in the centres for Qld U16's origin a few years back so he's no stranger to league. They need Gillett & Glenn fit for the full season to lead the young forwards & I'd say O'Sullivan will lock down the halfback spot with Nikorime a bench impact player at hooker by mid year. I like the forward pack the Titans have assembled & they've now added punch & depth to their backs so they'll make life hard for a lot of teams. Tigers also got a bit of quality so apart from Manly & Parramatta who've got nobody and Bulldogs who look a bit short on depth, every other team is in the mix.

..... and there was me thinking how strange that we haven't had any predictions yet. My top eight are as follows :- 1 Roosters - way too good a roster 2 Souths - Bennett will be good for them and he has a point to prove 3 St George - last year will have hurt, I think they will pace themselves better this year. 4 Cowboys - I think they will bounce back 5 Storm - Billy is a big loss and they will miss him early on. 6 Newcastle 7 Manly - I think Dessie will have a big impact 8 Penrith

Interesting eight and probably fairly close to what I think it will be. Not sure about NQ without Thurston. If Smith doesn't play another season, Melbourne will slip without Cronk, Slater and Smith. With Smith, they should make it. Panthers will improve and with the new coach they could challenge for the title. But a maybe to come 2nd. If Newcastle fail, with the class they have bought, then Brown has to go. They should be in the 4 with what they've got. Sharks will struggle but may just slip in. Look out for the Sea Eagles to move up the ladder. Maybe not the 8 this coming year unless they avoid injuries, but by 2020, they'll be contesting again

Given this is all in the realm of "Crystal Ball science", I differ with you on several points Willie. 1. Barring serious injuries to key personnel the Rabbitohs will finish top 2. (lack of depth and a quality bench are real concerns though). 2. The Roosters will miss the top 4, Dragons should make the top 4 (unless they sign Corey Norman). 3. The Storm will still finish in the top 4 even without Cronk, Slater and carrying an ageing Cameron Smith on their backs when Brandon Smith would be a better option. 3. The Knights will struggle to make the top 8 and if they do they shouldn't finish above 7th. 4. The Sharks will struggle to make the top 4 given the circus surrounding their coach (who should be banned for life) and if rumours are true that Trent Barrett is in line for the job then the Sharks are gone in 2019! The Sharks could also be in financial trouble in 2019 with no sponsors and a HUGE fine coming from the NRL. It could leave them beached and struggling to survive. 5. I don't see the Panthers finishing above 5th. The top 8 as I see it for 2019: 1. Storm 2. Rabbitohs 3. Dragons 4. Broncos 5. Roosters 6. Sharks (depending on Flannagan's future, if he goes 8th at best more likely 10th) 7. Panthers 8. Knights/Tigers (toss a coin) 9. Raiders (will finish above the Knights, Tigers and Sharks IF they get their defence right. They had the second best attack (just behind the Rabbitohs) in the NRL in 2018 even though they finished 10th but had the 5th WORST defence in the NRL and let in just 10 points less than the last placed Eels. Defence and ill-discipline are the only things keeping the Raiders out of the top 8 IMO. That and having Ricky Stuart as a coach.

I agree with Newcastle, they will definitely make the eight. Manly will be hard to tip amongst the also rans, with Hasler back at the helm and still a core of great players. Probably wont make the eight, but better than 15th is what I am hoping for heheh. Year on year, i continually wonder how the Roosters beat the salary cap.

Lol, Edrick Lee tops my list as one of the players who keeps knocking on the door but never quite gets in I'd be too stubborn as a coach and refuse to drop him believing that next week will see him advance into stardom. He'd be my first pick each week , but I'd be pacing the sideline with a six pack or 2. PS. My last crack at coaching I was sacked I was sacked after 4 weeks. They were under 13s.????

Tough gig predicting before a ball is kicked. There could still be some major player swapping going on before we get to September 19 given the current musical chairs. Injuries and Rep selections? I think the Storm maybe in danger of missing the 8 for the first time in years. The Sharks wouldn’t have made the 8 without Holmes last season. The touch football style attack from Johnson and Moylan combining could be a massive win or lose. I don’t think they’ll be consistent enough to make the 8. The Knights are on the rise but teams won’t be taking them lightly so who knows. The Rabbits are full of weapons but are rudderless if and when Reynolds doesn’t play IMO. 5th at best. The Broncos have an awesome amount of talent and they started to mature during 2018. If they respond to Seibold they will be in the 8 I believe. I’m really excited by the new Cowboys squad and look with confidence to returning to finals football, hopefully they stay healthy. Who knows it’s a lottery.

We still have the best part of four months for a key player at a club to go to jail, a coach to change or a club to be probed. And that is before the season starts, not factoring in the actual season. Good luck with your predication's, I might wait a little longer to see how the chips fall before predicting an eight... hmmm, that said, looking at how the clubs finished in 2018. Teams will improve or go back incrementally for a range of reasons. At a glance, the Warriors will drop out of the eight (I don't see how they win with one decent half) and the rest of the top 8 teams have stayed reasonably stable (we will see if Seibold can coach I guess). Meanwhile the Knights continue to improve, but I am not sure which other team has improved enough to make a push into the eight. So that is it, but history says there will be more to it than that.

It’s a tough gig. Standout for me was describing Edrick Lee as a great back. I reckon he loses as many games as he wins and struggles to make a full strength Knights team. No way the Warriors are better without Johnson and they will miss him far more than he misses them. I’m going to have s sneaky little punt on Johnson for the Dally M. Roosters the standout. Sharks top four if the Flanagan stuff gets sorted. Panthers as always look good on paper but the wheels tend to fall off at some stage and the usual excuses will get dusted off. Bottom half of the eight.

You have the Bunnies as the big winners out of the great coaching swap, soap opera. Bennett to work his magic despite being over the hill and Seibold to struggle. It will be mighty interesting. Bennett will have to work his magic much better than he did at the Broncos at the end of the season. Mary gave him a terrible touch up.