Brisbane - Have one of the most talented packs, but it's going to take time to develop the most important quality: toughness. Su'A and Gillett are the only players you wouldn't want to run at, and there's plenty of question marks surrounding Gillett at the moment. There's a real risk that guys like Glenn and Gillett are going to get in the way of their more talented counter-parts. I have similar thoughts on Tagataese and Fensom, if I see them in the Broncos pack, then I'd have to question the ability of Haas, Flegler and Carrigan, supposedly the best group of forwards the Broncos have ever produced.
Canberra - I'm having a difficult time seeing any improvement. For starters, they're lacking two quality middles. Soliola, Sutton, L. Bateman, Lui even Havilli in that loose role do nothing for me. Their hopes ride on younger players like Emre Guler and Corey Horsburgh being able to step up and lead the way. That's difficult to imagine, especially since Guler has yet to play longer than 30 minutes of NRL and Corey has yet to debut. The edges are as good as any, but I wouldn't consider them exceptional.
Canterbury - Klemmer is such a huge loss. He was the one player who worried opposition sides, they really had to do their homework on him. Still, they'll catch a few teams out with their rugged defence and strike coming off the bench. Sue, To'omaga and Fualalo are the type of bench forwards I like - strong runners and in the case of Fualalo skillful. Their biggest challenge is going to be rotating the bench and ensuring Harawira-Naera and Faitala-Mariner get enough time. I rate them as better players than Rhyse Martin, but Rhyse's boot and form last year maybe enough to retain him.
Cronulla - The bloom is off the rose now that Lewis is retired and Graham is out for the opening two months, but they're still the best grinders in the competition. When they want to shut the game down and play it on their own terms, rarely anybody can go with them. They still have the middle rotation capable of putting those performances together, it's just a question on their edges. Sorensen and Capewell have had their moments for the Sharks, but I don't see either as long term options. They need some of their young guns like Nikora, Magoulas and Topai-Aveai to stand a chance.
Gold Coast - They've got individuals capable of churning out quality numbers, but they rarely go into matches as a cohesive unit. The Gold Coast's biggest problem is their maturity, too often they let their emotions get the best of them and give away unnecessary penalties. I'm also not a big fan of their edges, Taylor and Proctor have no chemistry which is more than I can say for the other edge forward as I currently have no idea who it is. Ryan James? Bryce Cartwright? Tyrone Peachey? Surely it's not Keegan Hipgrave.
Manly - Similar thoughts as the Titans, they've got individuals but they're lacking that team mantra. I feel Des will do a better job of sorting this out than Brennan will at the Titans, but he still has his work cut out for him. I rate Trbojevic as one of the best middles in the competition, he can be a match-winner and Taupau, Fonua-Blake, Tanginoa, Paseka are a real handful in the middle. The edges leave something to be desired and like the Titans, I'm having a difficult time picturing who will replace Shaun Lane on their right edge. Curtis Sironen? Jack Gosiewski? Corey Waddell? Moses Suli?
Melbourne - The most cohesive unit in the competition. Everybody knows what their role is and they execute on it so consistently they've been able to make three straight grand finals. I can't see a lot changing and with players like Tino Fa'asuamaleaui coming through, I feel tales of their demise have been grossly exaggerated.
Newcastle - They've got a strong pack on paper, I'm interested to see it in practice. I rate the middle rotation of Klemmer, Glasby, Ese'ese and Saifiti they're going to create plenty of opportunities with the football, it's just a matter of how they'll perform defensively. That's why I like the signing of Glasby because it strikes a nice balance so I'm curious to see it in tandem. I'm also curious to see their edges go around again. They played some good footy last year, in the case of Fitzgibbon, was it a fluke or does he really have that great a combination with Ponga? Hopefully it's the latter.
North Queensland - With Taumalolo, they'll always be thereabouts. McGuire is a good get, McLean will surely have better luck with injury so at the very least they won't be one of the worst packs like last year. I spose it just becomes a question about how the older heads like Scott, Bolton and Cooper will perform. We saw flashes of form from Scott last year and I think if Green can use him in a modified role it can work out. In the case of Bolton and Cooper though, I'll be surprised if they're able to get anywhere close to their best. A lot of their fortune rests with Coen Hess. On his day, there isn't a more destructive edge forward, so I hope he's able to get back to that form.
Parramatta - I like their recruitment. After years of trying to replace Junior Paulo with similar players, they finally have the real thing once again. If Arthur can get Paulo playing the type of footy he did in 2016, the sky is the limit for this Eels pack. Lane is a solid get on that right fringe, he's a strong strike player close to the line, if he can build on what he showed at Manly, he could be the buy of the season. And while he isn't a forward, Ferguson is a huge get for the Eels and turns what was their biggest weakness into a strength. There's a lot of big ifs though and I imagine the Eels will have to fly under the radar for it to come into fruition.
Penrith - Their pack is beginning to come of age. I have a high opinion of Kikau and Fisher-Harris, they're right up there with any players in their respective positions. Campbell-Gillard and Yeo fill the pack out nicely, and Leota looks like a player of the rise. They're just an experienced campaigner or two short of being right up there. Something has got to give with Tamou, he's been worse than Merrin for mine, so either he shapes up or ships out. The recruitment has left something to be desired, but I do think Hame Sele could be a good buy. He impressed me in the limited minutes he got with the Dragons and think he can bolster the pack. Dummy half has been a real area of weakness for the Panthers since Segs went off the boil, I'm curious to see how Egan will go. In the few opportunities he had last year, he kept getting injured or it was at inopportune moments. If he can seize the moment, it will give the Panthers a much needed dimension to their attack.
South Sydney Rabbitohs - Last year, they had one of the best starting pack in the competition and one of the worst benches. Outside of Murray, they got very little value out of their bench players which eventually took it's toll on the starting pack. All too often Sam Burgess would take it upon himself to force the play which usually ended disasterously for Souths. Wayne is a big believer in balance, so I wouldn't be surprised to see one of the Burgess Twins off the bench and one of the recruits like Liam Knight being given a shot.That should off-set some of the changes, but I feel Crichton is a huge loss for them. He was such a strong runner on that right edge and I have my doubts whether Sam will be able to fill that void. If you aren't going forwards in this competition, then you're going backwards and I feel that's the case for Souths. A lot of their hopes fall on Bennett and outside of the bench, there's nothing he can bring that Seibold already didn't.
St. George Illawarra Dragons - The worst thing that happened to St. George was that clean bill of health for the opening 10 or so weeks. All the players were battered and bruised come the Origin season and with so many of them fulfilling their dreams at once, it took such a toll on them. Before all that went down, they had the best pack of anyone in the competition. For mine, that was still the case before the de Belin drama. With his career up in the air, it's difficult to make heads or tails on them, especially since a lot of their hopes will rest on younger players like Blake Lawrie and Jacob Host. If de Belin is right to go, then the pack should be able to match it with the rest of them. If not, they'll become a pack of also-rans. Leeson Ah Mau --> Korbin Sims is a pretty nasty downgrade, albeit there will be moments where the Dragons fans will feel they're onto a good thing. Korbin is one of the streakiest players in the competition. One week he'll bag a double, the next he'll give away three tries, it's extradinary.
Sydney Roosters - The rich just keep getting richer. After achieving success with the Ryan Matterson experiment, the Roosters went ahead and bought one of best edge forwards in the game at the low, low price of Dylan Napa. The loss of Napa for mine is a net positive, he cost the Roosters two games with his stupidity and the Roosters have another raw-boned forward coming through in Collins who will fill the void nicely. The middle rotation maybe the most balanced in terms of mobile, aggressive, hard-working, skillful in the competition and the edges are both fantastic at bending the line. I also really like the junior prospects they've got coming through - Egan Butcher, Josh Curran are players I want to see in first grade and I believe they can compliment the pack nicely. Discipline will be the Roosters biggest problem, but not enough for them to be hovering in the Top 4 all year.
