Which NRL teams will drop out of the top eight in 2019?

One day, after writing the same article over and over, the Broncos will miss the 8. This will not be the year. The 'young forwards' you say are inexperienced have multiple years of first grade football in them with the exception of Haas. Sims and Thaiday were bit players in the side last year regardless. Gillett returning is most likely a net positive over McGuire, who probably had his worst season in 2018. The halves are better than the amateur pundits say, and there's an option there with O'Sullivan if Nikorima doesn't improve. Oates, Isaako, Roberts and Bird are all current representative players (or in Bird's case, in 2017 prior to injury). The team is chock full of rep talent. More likely in the top 4 than missing the 8.

Dragons a huge chance of dipping out the 8 with the JDB drama, Widdop being home sick and the 2nd half of 2018. Jury out on Warriors until time is given for new half to be introduced, remember SJ was in his first year of 1st grade last time they made the GF, young forwards like Afoa, Papall’i will improve alongside all pro’s like Tohu and Blair. Storm lost Slater and Hoffman, experience aplenty. They may dip a fair bit too. Roosters look a lock to be favourites again, Panthers, who would know they could look like winners or go like busteds, Souths with Sam B issues, GI appearing to be unmotivated could also struggle. Broncos have lost some experience, Friday night footy should see them limp into the 8. Sharks are a bit of a rabble but they usually embrace the siege mentality but with a new coach and a No.7 who has history of going MIA when his team needs him, may struggle to hold out the Knights. Gotta love the NRL, clubs that missed the 8 look stronger aside from possibly Manly and the Eels. I fear the depth at those 2 clubs will make for a long season for their fans. We could have close to 11 sides finishing around the 30 point mark.

Dodgy late penalties got Broncos home against Tigers & Dogs. Suncorp no longer a fortress. Poor halves. Lazy centres. Match Officials will help them in tight games as usual. Broncos success = good revenue for NRL. Those regular Friday night games sure come in handy for recovery purposes.

Turn it up! Last year, Broncs won't make it due to crappy halves combo. Then somehow young forwards got them in. This year, halves ok but young forwards lack experience so they won't be in the finals. Good grief, it's the same halves and same forwards !!!??? Surely this broken record needs to be gone already.

Ba ha ha... I probably did take undue note of Gus gushing over him.. "a star is born' or something like that it was... I could certainly do with less of Mr Gould, Ray however, I do enjoy at times. As far as Haas goes - here's to hoping the Broncs bring him along at an appropriate pace.

Well that will teach you to listen to Phil Gould and Ray Warren. But even then, he was really only portrayed as exceptional for an 18 year old (and rightly so 18 is damn young for a prop) not by the standards of the average NRL forward. It’s not like he was the starting prop from the first game of the season. He was getting eased into first grade mid way through the season off the bench and wasn’t even selected for every game he was available.

True, however this kid wasn't portrayed as the ordinary and it wasn't a season. He was on the medi-cab inside 10/20 minutes of being on the field with a leg injury and then a couple of games later a popped shoulder = season over. I'm not ragging the guy, but you have to be worried when a unit built like that is hurt in a basic tackle and then gets a shoulder knocked out of place. It's not a question of his guts or ability, it's a question as to whether, built like the proverbial brick dunny or not, his body needs a bit more growing or developing to deal with what is expected of him.

I don't know the answer, but my guess is very few rookie halfbacks ever make it deep into September. Which does't mean the Warriors can't make the 8 I suppose, but from what I have seen, the halves are a ways off yet - and it isn't like they have a superior coach guiding them either..

Not unusual for an 18 year old to get hurt in their first season of professional football.

Haas is spectacularly brittle. I remember the huge build up to this kid making grade and then after a short time in the first game he was limping off with an injury after what looked like a fairly innocuous tackle. Then next game back he has crumpled again. I may be hazy on the specific details but I clearly recall my surprise that this man mountain seemed to be floored by stuff that JT encountered every other tackle.

Walter, as an obvious Dragons tragic, you'd have to be holding your breath early in the season to see if Corey Norman brings a toxic culture with him as your big signing. There's every chance your lot will struggle to gel with their established combinations from 2018 disrupted and if they don't fly out of the boxes, the whole team could implode. The only thing that saved the dragons from missing the 8 last season was the fast start. I'm also wary of the Knights & Titans living up to expectations. Remember reading an article somewhere about clubs who have multiple new signings struggling to make a mark on the ladder because it took time for combinations to settle in. They had examples and can't remember where I read it but it would apply to both the Knights & Titans.

I can't see any of those teams missing the finals. For the Warriors to lose Johnson is big but I think between RTS, Green and Luke, that's pretty inexperienced surroundings. By all reports, they've got a few good young options vying for that #7 position. Otherwise, They've got plenty of points in their backs if the forwards are consistent. Adding Johnson into the Sharks gives them a flair that only Holmes could provide last year. Morris' inclusion and it's an experienced, rep-quality team from. Lewis was great and the Sharks will be poorer for him retiring, however, Gallen, Graham, Prior, Fifita, Woods... come on. For mine Sharks and Storm will come back to the field but still within the top 8. The Broncos have to make the finals. With all their FTA games and TPAs the NRL ensures to have them there. Maybe one point about their Origin commitments, they won't be as heavy this year. There's a distinct chance more will don the Blue jumper than the Maroon.

Consensus seems to be that the Broncos slide out of the 8 from respondents so far but I'm not so sure. I reckon Gillett & Fensom in and Sims & Thaiday out is a fair swap on 2018, providing Gillett 2019 is the one we saw in 2015-17 before a broken neck. That's always a concern. Gray-Hand is harsh on Isaako, good finisher, reasonable defender, great goal kicker and only needs to improve his carry back returns to go up a notch. I'd prefer O'sullivan at halfback with Nikorima on the bench to cover the hooker and halves spots and won't be surprised if it turns out that way. Spelling McCullough at the end of each half would give them great spark, he's a top defender who's lost some zip over the years. Everyone seems to judge this coming season on that Dragons final wipeout but the Broncos (read Bennett) got sucked in by getting the home final against the team they thought they had covered. Bennett never prepared them for a tough final & missing Alex Glenn put the rookies under extra pressure. IMO the Warriors, Sharks, Rabbitohs & Panthers are under more pressure than the Broncos. Souths won't surprise teams this season & Bennett's forward orientated approach might see them lose that edge that Seibold created, plus Inglis is starting to fall apart at the seams. Penrith so far is all show & we've yet to see the 'go' plus they've got a coach with a 45% success rate as their saviour. They're under more pressure than the Broncos. Cronulla don't seem to have gone forward in recruitment, veterans a year older, key player out until mid season & yet to see if Johnson can do what Holmes did for them.

I think the Broncos can hang in - The roster is good enough to make the eight, the question is around the coach. If he has changed nothing teams will play him the way they played Souths in the back half of last year and then there will be problems. The Warriors seem no chance to me and I have no reason to think the Raiders will improve dramatically. Knights and Titans are the biggest contenders to move up which will be good for the game. With the Warriors plummeting and then eighth spot being a scrap with the Sharks fighting it out with Souths to keep the Titans and/or Knights out.

Warriors, Sharks, Dragons and Broncos are the the most likely contenders to drop out. I think the other 4 (Storm, Roosters, Rabbitohs, Panthers) are all safe. Titans, Knights, Cowboys and Sea Eagles would have the most improvement in them but do they have enough to climb into the 8?

A club can often appear to have a hard start to the season by looking at the draw but it often works out to be a lot different in reality. The two teams you didn't want to meet at the start of last season were the Saints and Tigers , while some of the big guns from the previous year were like the Cows and Eels were a piece of cake. A couple of big guns are going to misfire again this year and we might not see it coming.

Tipping Oates to find another gear this year and get back into the Maroons..really looking forward to this pack Fifita and Haas especially,but theres just as much to see from Ofenhague and S'ua ..they'll be a huge threat ..

I think the Broncos are hoping Haas steps up as a dominant prop even only playing limited minutes. Joe O and TPJ are really hitting their straps and Sua, Fifita and Mago got good experience last year. They will need to use Nikorima more and get some impact from Bird. Resigning Oates was huge and having Gillett back will stiffen the defence. Warriors will be strong - Green is an experienced half and RTS may get more of the ball. They have a strong pack of hardworking guys around the 50 -100 game mark and have signed Ah Mau from Dragons who always makes plenty of metres. Sharks will need to find some pace and enthusiasm in the backs, but that's what young guys usually have in spades - and they still have Dugan, Townsend and Moylan to back up Fifita, Gal promising 2nd rowers like Sorensen and Capewell. I'm hoping they crack down on the wrestle, 10 m play the balls again and use the sin bin- the rules are the rules. Lets promote a faster game!

The forwards did the job last year though. Unspectacular, clunky playmaking was what held them back.

I wouldn’t go that far - their spine just isn’t good enough. McCullough, Milford and Isaako are all very solid, but still second tier. Nikorima is probably one of the weakest halves in the competition, if I’m being honest (best utility in the competition, though).