The 2023 NRL draw is live and the forensic analysis of it will now begin, with fans keen to see just how their team has fared.
As was leaked earlier in the week, the season opener will see the Eels face the Storm at CommBank Stadium in Sydney in a Thursday night blockbuster. An emotional Warriors will host Newcastle in the Friday twilight, before the defending champs Penrith meet the Broncos in prime-time.
The Dolphins debut against the Roosters on Sunday afternoon, with the Dragons forced to keep their powder dry across the opening weekend.
YOUR CLUB’S THREE DON’T MISS GAMES
Magic Round has fallen in the manner predicted, with the Knights destined to miss out on the festivities and the weekend to be headlined by the Storm versus Rabbitohs on the Saturday night, as well as the Sunday afternoon fixture between the Roosters and Cowboys.
Wayne Bennett’s new charges have been treated kindly across the opening month of the season. The Roosters, Raiders, Broncos, and Knights loom as opponents, with the first three of those played in Queensland on home turf. The Dolphin’s home crowds will be of great interest and the clash with Brisbane hopefully the first of many derby-like encounters for years to come.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Whilst the Eels may have ended the 2022 season as runners-up to the powerful Panther machine, their 2023 campaign begins with a series of matches that will tell us a great deal about whether they are any chance of repeating what was a stellar season.
Across the opening five weeks, the Eels face the Storm, Sharks, Panthers and Roosters, with the Anthony Seibold-coached Manly the least imposing proposition.
There is some relief soon after, based on the expectations of the teams they subsequently meet, yet it appears Parramatta will not have the luxury of easing into the season and face tough early tests.
Seibold’s Sea Eagles begin the year in rivalry heaven and with a Round 2 bye that may or may not be of any use at all. The Bulldogs await them in Round 1 and the Eels a fortnight later, in two ripping matches at Four Pines Park.
Many an eye will be on Cameron Ciraldo’s star-studded Dogs, yet his team will be forced to do well on the road early, with three of their first four matches away from home and the traditional trip to Belmore Sports Ground slated for Round 3 against the Tigers.
No such bad luck for the Broncos, with four of their first six at home and a further game at Suncorp against the Dolphins. Their clashes with the Dragons, Wests Tigers, Dolphins and Raiders are all winnable and important games to potentially excite the Brisbane fans who felt the pain of a sad fade-out in 2022.
Cameron Ciraldo. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
The Dragons will have similar aspirations of a winning start to the season, with three of the first four at home and Anthony Griffin under continued pressure to return the Red V to serious competitiveness. Should there be no signs of that in the opening month, Griffin could well be the number one candidate for the first sacking of the new season.
Despite not earning a trip to Brisbane for Magic Round, the Knights have an interesting start to the season, with the Warriors, Wests Tigers and Dolphins awaiting them in the opening three rounds and the chance to make a quick start obvious.
The Raiders and Sea Eagles await in subsequent weeks and the Knights don’t meet a perceived heavyweight until Round 7, when they face the Panthers in Newcastle.
The Rabbitohs will need to be switched on immediately, meeting the Sharks, Panthers and Roosters in the opening three weeks, in matches that will tell us a great deal about precisely where the 2022 contenders are at early in the season.
A gentle start for the Roosters across the opening two rounds is followed by a full month of challenging fixtures, with Souths, Parramatta, the Storm and Cronulla in the cross-hairs, whilst the Sharks’ cushy draw of 2022 will be quickly forgotten when they take on the Rabbitohs and Eels in the opening fortnight, in what could be telling fixtures in terms of Cronulla’s potential improve on last years’ efforts.
Round 1’s fixture between the Tigers and the Titans may look innocuous to some, yet both will have it circled as vital should they hope to achieve anything at all in 2023. Wests will be looking to parlay an opening win into a second against the Knights in Round 2, with the Titans looking at the Dragons in the second week as a chance to do the same.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Reading the runs home of teams is near impossible at this stage, with significant movement expected on the 2023 ladder. Most likely to shake things up are the Bulldogs, Dolphins and Sea Eagles, with all three a little tough to read due to a freshness in each of them.
A new look 27-round competition accommodates the Dolphins’ entry, three byes have been awarded to all clubs and all three State of Origin matches revert to a Wednesday night timeslot.
Whilst the changes made by the Commission bring a freshness and difference to the calendar, one thing remains the same. Teams suffering poor and unconvincing starts to seasons rarely find their way back into contention.
In 2022, the top seven teams were occupying a finals position by Round 6, with only the plummeting Sea Eagles bringing change and allowing the Raiders to make their way in. I’ve said it before and I will say it again. Start poorly at your peril. The draw will once again play a significant role in teams being able to avoid a sloppy start and position themselves for a run later in the season.
The fixture is inherently compromised and there will always be a few winners and losers in retrospect.
Robbo
Roar Rookie
Love a good public prediction - it obviously shows commitment to a well assessed analysis....and you've got to back yourself as you do :happy:
JennyFromPenny
Guest
I Googled 'five winds' and found this from National Geographic. I think know which one is the Broncos. .."The Earth contains five major wind zones: polar easterlies, westerlies, horse latitudes, trade winds, and the doldrums."
JennyFromPenny
Guest
I don't see how any team going 15 rounds before their first bye, lasts the season out.
JennyFromPenny
Guest
It's usually the team that jumps up into the 8 that you don't want to play twice. Next year it's likely the Bulldogs, who should 1/ get the easy draw accusations half-way through the season, and 2/ have teams complain why they were drawn to play them twice. Those teams being Knights, Manly, Gold Coast, Warriors, Sharks, Eels, Raiders, Souths
Robbo
Roar Rookie
I've got Dragons potentially 7 x 2 points in first 10 rounds. I get to see them play 4 times this year - in Brisbane, GC, Redcliffe and Brisbane again..... good times
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
No worries....... So we can be sure that a ''good'' team from 2023 will be a good team in 2024? If you met the Storm and Chooks at the right time last season you had an easy win so it's not as simple as you would like to believe. I'd be sure that some seasons a team or two gets lucky and meets the top teams when they are having a flat spell and their position on the ladder is inflated . That can't be determined in November of the previous year , just like ''good'' and ''bad'' teams can't be given a label.
Rellum
Roar Guru
Everyone is talking about how hard the Broncs draw is but if we are fair dinkum next year we need to start with 5 winds from the first 7 games
astro
Roar Rookie
I don't think its a stretch to say the Panthers, Roosters, Storm, Sharks and Cowboys will all be good this year...Same is probably true for Souths and Parra. And conversely, there's nothing to indicate the Dolphins, Warriors or Knights will be awesome this year. Therefore if a team is one which plays those good or those bad teams more than once, and away from home or on short rest for example, saying that team has a 'tough draw' or 'easy draw' is perfectly reasonable.
Adam
Roar Guru
Good luck with that...
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
The Cows were meant to be easy beats last season and Manly , the Knights and Titans were meant to put up a bit of a fight. The Chooks were dodgy for a fair while and then almost unbeatable for a fair while. The Storm couldn't beat Manly and a few other plodders at times. Anyone know if Manly make the top 4 or the bottom 4? How about the Broncos? They were a fierce opponent for a long stretch in 22 and then they were duds. This annual declaration of who has a hard or easy draw is bordering on farce.
Dumbo
Roar Rookie
” the Sharks’ cushy draw of 2022 will be quickly forgotten when they take on the Rabbitohs and Eels in the opening fortnight, ” in the same way that their first two matches of 2022 were the Raiders and the Eels. Let’s face it, you cannot tell BEFORE the season starts which teams have an easy set of matches and which have a hard set. In 2021 the Titans and Newcastle ended the season in the eight. Teams drawing them in 2022 were concerned. However, they both had poor seasons, and teams playing them found that the 2021 end of season placings was a poor indicator of form for 2022. I will be surprised if the same does not happen this year: at least one of 2022’s eight will fall out. Some of 2022’s easybeats will be a lot better, and estimating the end of the season positions – at this stage – is no more than guesswork and wishful thinking.
andrew
Roar Rookie
With McCullough retiring today I hope that Griffin's obsession with ex Broncos is done.
HR
Guest
The Dragons will have similar aspirations of a winning start to the season, with three of the first four at home and Anthony Griffin under continued pressure to return the Red V to serious competitiveness. Should there be no signs of that in the opening month, Griffin could well be the number one candidate for the first sacking of the new season. I'm pretty sure that because the Dragons will be certainties to be in 9th spot after round 1, the hierarchy there will give him a contract extension.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
Cowboys , Roosters on the Sunday afternoon of magic round. How good is that. Put me down for a Friday , Sunday ticket. Saturday , is family day. Then I get to come back next year. Whatever you do in 23, make sure you get to Magic Round.