Hard to ever write Canberra off for the Top 8 but I don't think they'll be premiership contenders in 2012 - not with Furner around and some drastic changes.
Obviously their hopes lie in their big two - Josh Dugan and Terry Campese. They really missed them last season and keeping them both on the field would be a huge step forward. Dummy half still remains a problem. Waddell has been a huge disappointment and Buttriss isn't a long term option. One would hope McIllwrick would be able to make the step up but after missing the majority of 2011 through injury one would have to assume his first year ambitions are a work in progress.
Still, I like their junior stocks. Papalii, Williams and Massey showed some real promising signs last season and the likes of Croker, Ferguson, Fensom and Thompson still have a lot of improvement left in them. Thompson in particular really interests me. I hope Furner shifts him into the backrow where he belongs as I believe he has all the skills to make it big in that position. If Ferguson can get his act together, he could challenge the likes of Uate, Gordon & Yow Yeh as one of the best wingers in the game. He just needs to learn how to die with the footy and stop pretending every game is like the one he had against Melbourne.
