Disagree and this ongoing game is further proving my point.
So far this season they are scoring 6 points less on average and conceding 4 more which is a 10 point average turnaround game to game compared to 2023. They are also finding themselves in battles most weeks which has not been the case the last 3 seasons which will naturally result in a few more losses.
We were 4 wins and 4 losses from the first 8 games last season, even with Cleary not missing any games. We lost to the bloody Wests Tigers 12-8 lol.
This year we are 6 wins and 2 losses from the first 8 games with Cleary missing 4 games already. We certainly aren't playing to our potential, but we haven't been fit and firing by any measure. Several players have been playing with niggling injuries.
I'm not saying we are just going to stroll to another comp or anything or that we should even be favorites to do so but we're putting ourselves in the picture and that's all a team can really do at this stage of the year. Being in top form only really matters at the back end.
I think the Broncos and Storm are probably the most impressive teams right now and would be happy for them to be the competition favourites.