2023 Ladder Predictions

[The Rosco]

1.Penrith
2. Roosters
3. Storm
4. Raiders
5. Cronulla
6. Cowboys
7. Souths
8. Bulldogs

9. Dolphins
10. Tigers
11. Warriors
12. Broncos
13. Parramatta
14. Titans
15. Manly
16. Dragons
17. Knights

Now, I don't know where rhyno lives, and I don't really want to know.
But if there's a way I can be there when he reads this list . . . . . .

 

[Vic Mackey]

you haven't really picked anyone from the bottom 8 to move up though? surely the Dogs are most likely to push their way into the top 8. Manly or Titans could surprise... I agree broncos will be around 7th-10th. I can't see any other bottom 8 sides moving up much...

its funny you say that because i noticed once id typed it out lol

theres no teams im confident in tumbling out of the 8 but a couple id say could due to the following reasons:

Souths - Latrell long term injury
Eels - Moses signs elsehwere and phones it in all year
Sharks - I just dont really rate them
Raiders - they’re just all round whacky

the following could jump up if they get some luck but again I wouldnt put money on any of them:

Broncos - they showed for 3/4 of the season what they can do
Dogs - If Ciraldo proves to be a mastercoach
Knights - the new spine works
Manly - Turbo plays all year
Tigers - the 6/7 get their confidence back through an all out attack Sheens game plan

 

[Vic Mackey]

I always enjoy looking at these threads at the end of the season

the rule is you cant give anyone shit unless you do one yourself

 

[MugaB]

Now, I don't know where rhyno lives, and I don't really want to know.
But if there's a way I can be there when he reads this list . . . . . .

Expect the eels to tumble down the ladder, dogs to rise into or close to the 8

 

[The Rosco]

the rule is you cant give anyone shit unless you do one yourself

Profound, Vic. Very profound.
Because we have all done a shit.

 

[MugaB]

Profound, Vic. Very profound.
Because we have all done a shit.

C'mon @The Rosco , post your ladder prediction.... can do it on the potty or the outhouse if it makes you feel better

 

[hesbeendoingitallgameref]

1. Roosters - Having a stable 9 / Walker and Suaalii another year older / B.Smith playing through the middle with Teddy and co supporting should kill it tbh
2. Penrith - Won't be as damaging without Kiks and Api but still top tier
3. Storm - If paps is healthy / Absolute gun spine
4. Souths - Latrell should play more games this season / Tass/Graham deadly centre combo
5. Cowboys - Still very good but I feel they overachieved a bit last year. Could finish up to 3rd.
6. Sharks - Get a feeling if Roosters/Storm/Bunnies have less injuries Sharks can't hang.
7. Eels - Still make the 8, but come back to the pack after losing Ipap and Mahoney / Josh Hodgson is past his best
8. Knights - Have to pick one smokey - Underperformed last year with their roster and was in the 8 year before. Hastings seems to have that dog in him, this is also assuming Miller goes to Knights and Brailey plays full season.

9. Raiders - Not the biggest fan of the back 5 / hope they miss out because it's funny to see Ricky go ballistic.
10. Tigers - Will improve as they had the best recruitment drive but will need more time together.
11. Broncos - Too much internal shit going on, Haas has personal issues, Cobbo thinks the coach is trash etc.
12. Bulldogs - Flanagan isn't the answer / JMK is better than Mahoney / Is Averillo an NRL standard FB?
13. Manly - Siebold lol and Turbo getting injured is almost a guarantee at this stage sadly.
14. Dolphins - If Bennett wasn't the coach I'd put that roster 17th.
15. Titans - Foran is not good anymore / Titans seem to love to underachieve / Players love getting lit on the Goldie / Fifita doesn't get involved enough
16. Warriors - Weak backline / Shaun J hasn't been good for a while / CNK really dropped his standard / Question marks on Metcalf
17. Dragons - Gonna be a long year for them. Mbye at 6 / Liddle at 9 / weak fwd pack

 

[MrBlack]

9. Raiders - Not the biggest fan of the back 5 / hope they miss out because it's funny to see Ricky go ballistic.

Right up there with Sienfeld Episodes in terms of comedy, and like Seinfield you can watch them over and over again and they never get old......

 

[The Rosco]

C'mon @The Rosco , post your ladder prediction.... can do it on the potty or the outhouse if it makes you feel better

MugaB . . . I abide by Vic's rule from the other direction . . . . I'm woefully bad at picking these sort of things, and so will never come back at season's end to hang shit on anyone that put up his ladder 6 months earlier.
Even if it's rhyno.

 

[MugaB]

MugaB . . . I abide by Vic's rule from the other direction . . . . I'm woefully bad at picking these sort of things, and so will never come back at season's end to hang shit on anyone that put up his ladder 6 months earlier.
Even if it's rhyno.

I feel better if i can hang shit on you after you pick your predictions tho....


its not all about you

 

[Valheru]

1 - Storm - Caveat is that the spine stays healthy, I can't see a spine of Paps, Hughes, Munster and Grant not winning 18 games. They are rebuilding in the forwards but Bellamy will fit the pieces in
2 - Roosters - Worked things out the last third of 2022 season and I expect them to hit the ground running this year and not need to win 10 in a row to make the top 4.
3 - Panthers - The loss of Api cannot be understated. Kikau will be a loss but not as big as Api. They will still be elite but will have a higher number of tighter games resulting in a few more losses
4 - Cowboys - Giving them the benefit of the doubt and will say that they maintain top 4 with an excellent home field advantage

5 - Souths - Too much talent to not make the 8. I don't think they will get to a 6th consecutive prelim though
6 - Sharks - 6th is a true indicator of where they were at last year and I think they will be much the same this year
7 - Manly - Very difficult to know where to put them. Even without Turbo, they were looking at top 8 last year until the pride jersey fiasco. If he plays his fair share of games this year they have enough to make the 8
8 - Bulldogs - This looks to be a breakout year for them. Not sure they actually will make the 8 but I can't justify having them behind any of the other teams

9 - Broncos - Wanted to put them higher but the internal stuff is bizarre. Probably the team with the greatest variation in ceiling to floor. Wouldn't surprise me to see them push either the top or bottom 4 so I will plug them in the middle
10 - Eels - Probably my biggest call on this list. I don't think they will rebound well from a flogging in the GF and they are always good for a capitulation
11 - Raiders - I said it last year and still maintain it, this place is ready to explode
12 - Tigers - Will be improvers but another year off challenging for the 8 IMO. Could get higher with some key injuries to teams above.

13 - Dolphins - Bennett factor has them getting a few more wins than they otherwise would
14 - Warriors - Will enjoy being at home but their roster just isn't very good
15 - Dragons - At a real low ebb for what is one of the glamour clubs of the NRL. Hard to see them getting out of it any time soon.
16 - Knights - Unless Ponga is a revelation at 6, a tough year ahead
17 - Titans - Just a failure of a club at this stage. Perpetually under-performing and this year could be rock bottom

Like others have said, normally you get 2-4 teams moving in/out of the 8 but I found it very hard to shake up this time and TBH was clutching a bit getting Manly/dogs in there.

As usual, I look forward to being laughably wrong.

 

[Iamback]

Actual positions particularly 7-16 seem very hard

Knights are locks for the spoon
Parra and Canberra to miss the 8 from last years finalists.

Manly to get in if Tom Turbo plays 75% of their games

 

[skeepe]

Lock it in, I'm never wrong. I guarantee it*

1. North Queensland Cowboys - best coach in the league. I love what Payten has done and expect them to kick on even further
2. Wests Tigers - now look. stop laughing. bags of potential, great recruitment, great coach.
3. Canberra Raiders - best forward pack in the game. best 5/8th in the game. any less would be a failure
4. Cronulla Sharks - I like what Fitzy is doing here. will have a lot to prove.
5. Melbourne Storm - they just never seem to go away, do they?
6. Dolphins - the fairytale of 2023
7. Sydney Roosters - a good team on paper, but that can't hide a poor coach. can't see them threatening this year.
8. New Zealand Warriors - back home will be a much tougher prospect. can see them doing better than most expect

9. Penrith Panthers - Cleary's shortcomings as a coach will finally be exposed
10. Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles - is Seibold the answer? I don't think so. will disappoint again, with Turbo only playing 10 games
11. Brisbane Broncos - the coach has lost the dressing room. not looking good.
12. Parramatta Eels - the window has well and truly closed.
13. South Sydney Rabbitohs - not enough support around Latrell. he can't carry them all forever.
14. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs - Ciraldo is not the messiah.
15. Gold Coast Titans - will be thanking their lucky stars the Dragons and Knights exist. awful coach somehow still has a job
16. St George Illawarra Dragons - too dysfunctional. something's gotta give.
17. Newcastle Knights - hopeless coach, hopeless team in a hopeless city

* Not a guarantee.

 

[MugaB]

Lock it in, I'm never wrong. I guarantee it*

1. North Queensland Cowboys - best coach in the league. I love what Payten has done and expect them to kick on even further
2. Wests Tigers - now look. stop laughing. bags of potential, great recruitment, great coach.
3. Canberra Raiders - best forward pack in the game. best 5/8th in the game. any less would be a failure
4. Cronulla Sharks - I like what Fitzy is doing here. will have a lot to prove.
5. Melbourne Storm - they just never seem to go away, do they?
6. Dolphins - the fairytale of 2023
7. Sydney Roosters - a good team on paper, but that can't hide a poor coach. can't see them threatening this year.
8. New Zealand Warriors - back home will be a much tougher prospect. can see them doing better than most expect

9. Penrith Panthers - Cleary's shortcomings as a coach will finally be exposed
10. Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles - is Seibold the answer? I don't think so. will disappoint again, with Turbo only playing 10 games
11. Brisbane Broncos - the coach has lost the dressing room. not looking good.
12. Parramatta Eels - the window has well and truly closed.
13. South Sydney Rabbitohs - not enough support around Latrell. he can't carry them all forever.
14. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs - Ciraldo is not the messiah.
15. Gold Coast Titans - will be thanking their lucky stars the Dragons and Knights exist. awful coach somehow still has a job
16. St George Illawarra Dragons - too dysfunctional. something's gotta give.
17. Newcastle Knights - hopeless coach, hopeless team in a hopeless city

* Not a guarantee.

I actually like this list although penrith won't be dropping out of the 8, not with all those rep players, only missing api, top4 for sure, then push the rest down... agreed with knights being the spooners... even tho their fans dont deserve it

 

[hesbeendoingitallgameref]

Not a knights fan, but with a spine of Brailey / Hastings / Ponga / Miller (if ponga is healthy and Miller is signed) doesn't seem like a wooden spoon spine. Dragons on the other hand... Sloan / Mbye / Hunt / Liddle lol

 

[skeepe]

Not a knights fan, but with a spine of Brailey / Hastings / Ponga / Miller (if ponga is healthy and Miller is signed) doesn't seem like a wooden spoon spine. Dragons on the other hand... Sloan / Mbye / Hunt / Liddle lol

Normally I would agree with you, but it's the Knights so f**k 'em.

 

[Fangs]

Lets see then:

1. Penrith
2. Storm
3. Roosters
4. Sharks
5. Cowboys
6. Souths
7. Canberra
8. Broncos

9 Eels
10 Bulldogs
11 Manly
12 Dolphins
13 Tigers
14 St George
15 Newcastle
16 Titans
17 Warriors

Penrith losing big names Api and Kikau, but no other team has improved their roster significantly enough to challenge them. Still the clear favourites for the premiership and would cement their place as the greatest team of the century (Not really in doubt tbh).

If the Storm spine stay fit they are destined for the top 4. Roosters should improve. Likewise Sharks who I think will learn their lessons from 2022, will have a better finals campaign. Cowboys perhaps as well but quite a few young guys and will have plenty of Origin reps. Broncos handled post-origin poorly this year so if they can amend that they will sneak the 8.

Raiders make the 8 my surprise team. Fit spine to start 2023 unlike last year. They will start strong. Eels to drop out, they know their window is firmly closed and star players have their minds on $$$ rather than wins.

Bottom 4 almost picks itself. Toss up between St George and the Tigers. One has improved their roster and a new coach but this club doesn't deal very well with positive expectations. They'll probably beat the bottom 4 on differential.

 

[Ashfield Panther]

1 Roosters
2 cowboys
3 panthers
4 storm
5 Sharks
6 rabbits
7 eels
8 Broncos

9 raiders
10 bulldogs
11 tigers
12 Eagles
13 knights
14 Titans
15 Dragons
16 Dolphins
17 warriors


Broncos my Smokey to make the top 8

 

[MugaB]

Broncos my Smokey to make the top 8

Dont know how, apparently the coach can't coach

 

[Ashfield Panther]

Good point
But enough talent to overcome Kevvie
The halfback stays fit all year they are a chance