The comp leaders (Warriors/Saints)...how far will they go?

[JJ]

Ayshford too?

Early days yet, standard for the Dragons and new territory for us

Both possible top 8 teams but lot of improvement potential in other teams

Great thing for us is we're normally 1/4 now

 

[Valheru]

Ome of the 2 will finish 7th or 8th, if not miss the 8. It happens every year to at least one team.

The other will finish top 4.

Good luck picking which one at this point.

 

[LatK7]

Warriors I have no idea.

Saints I think will drop off mid year but will do enough to finish 5-6th this time. Perhaps top 4 if lucky with injuries and the younger forwards are given more minutes.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Johnson
Mannering
Gavet
Beale
Lisone
Papalii
Roache

They were all out.

Probably the thing I’ve liked most so far is blokes like Isiah Papalii, Bunty Afoa and Jazz Tevaga (let alone Mason Lino the other night), they seem to have come of age. Maybe Afoa may have got a bench spot if all were fit, but their improvement is phenomenal. Jazz was players player last week, Bunty was in round one.

Beale is no star, but he is a test player. I legitimately cannot find a place for him.

Worth noting that only one of those (Roache) is a season ending injury, and as it happened before the season started he’s probably not even under salary cap this year. The others are all either short term or due back mid season in the case of Papaali’i and Geale. Our depth is being tested at the right time and we’re passing, so far.

 

[Meapro Ham]

Still on top these two. How much longer can they maintain it?

The dragons have some tough games coming up. Sharks then Warriors then 5 day back up into roosters then storm. Then into origin. Testing times for them. Will they slide again?

 

[footy75]

Ome of the 2 will finish 7th or 8th, if not miss the 8. It happens every year to at least one team.

The other will finish top 4.

Good luck picking which one at this point.

i reakon they both make 8 now

Just a matter of top 4

 

[Rabbit toes]

Little to no representation for SOO for both teams and with the start they’ve had. I’d expect both inside the top 6 easily.

 

[Meapro Ham]

Little to no representation for SOO for both teams and with the start they’ve had. I’d expect both inside the top 6 easily.

Dragons could potentially have a half a dozen origin players.

 

[JJ]

Dragons will have a few in Origin, a few more if the Blues selectors get over their Woods, Jackson and to some extent Cordner obsessions

 

[Rabbit toes]

Dragons could potentially have a half a dozen origin players.

It is possible but I doubt they’ll all be there.

 

[Juju]

Depth could be a bit of a issue for the Dragons imo... Certainly no big names running around in ISP for them.

Warriors have good depth and competition for spots.
But I still have that nagging feeling they could flame out / 7 years of pain does weird things to your psyche.

 

[Tommy Smith]

Both teams can legitimately win the comp imo.

Not only are they both going great, but the opposition isn't looking terrifying which is always the other key side of the story.

It's proven impossible to go b2b in the NRL era, and then there's also losing one of the great modern halfbacks in Cronk - and Tohu and McLean as well - so I'd be stunned if the Storm win it again.

The Cowboys look like a shower of shit. Very early days of course but even their most loyal fans can sense that this is a tired and stale football side. Father time has never lost.

As the final member of the pre season "big 3", the Roosters certainly look the most likely to put it all together when it counts the most. But even then we have very poor depth and a season ending injury to one of Teddy, Keary, Cronk or Cordner puts a line through us. Even an injury to Latrell or Fergo would be a fatal blow imo when you look at our depth in the backs. So we're walking a serious tightrope and will need Cowboys 2015 or Sharks 2016 levels of luck with injuries to win it imo.

As for the rest, the Broncos apparently have a bizarre fetish for sending all their best players to the Titans. So this is probably the worst Wayne Bennet coached Broncos side I've seen.

The Sharks look old and outdated... #thuglyfe footy doesn't seem to win the day in 2018.

Penrith look the goods. Swapping Moylan for Maloney was immense. They've started the season well and look like a traditional Premiership side in the sense that the mechanics are all there but you also see bucketloads of improvement in them.

The only other legit team at this point are the Tigers and I don't think even the most optimistic Tigers fan would suggest that they have the class and polish to go with the admittedly unbelievable steel and determination to win the comp. The Warriors and Dragons have much better spines it must be said.

So could 3 Preliminary Finalists really be Mary, Hook and Kearney coached sides? Maybe that's the real apocalyptic alignment the Mayans were referring to.

And just a word on the influence of the refereeing clampdown on playing style... what a God send it has been! To me it seems like good old fashioned footy is winning over touch footy.

The Dragons and Warriors lead the league for post contact metres. So they're running the hardest. And they're both right up there along with the Tigers in offloads which has always been the best way to break down a defence.

The Cowboys have excelled in the past few years by playing a mistake free brand of footy which I felt was aided by the touch footy brand the NRL promoted with the quick play the balls. The Storm and Sharks benefitted from the ugly rucks too.

But now by cleaning that area up perhaps we're seeing traditional footy win the day. Run hard, tackle hard, offload and play what you see in front of you in attack.

Which is f**king great to see. And I for one hope the Warriors keep it up. And the Panthers and Tigers. The Dragons however can get f**ked. See you on Anzac Day ya merkins.

 

[footy75]

Both teams can legitimately win the comp imo.

Not only are they both going great, but the opposition isn't looking terrifying which is always the other key side of the story.

It's proven impossible to go b2b in the NRL era, and then there's also losing one of the great modern halfbacks in Cronk - and Tohu and McLean as well - so I'd be stunned if the Storm win it again.

The Cowboys look like a shower of shit. Very early days of course but even their most loyal fans can sense that this is a tired and stale football side. Father time has never lost.

As the final member of the pre season "big 3", the Roosters certainly look the most likely to put it all together when it counts the most. But even then we have very poor depth and a season ending injury to one of Teddy, Keary, Cronk or Cordner puts a line through us. Even an injury to Latrell or Fergo would be a fatal blow imo when you look at our depth in the backs. So we're walking a serious tightrope and will need Cowboys 2015 or Sharks 2016 levels of luck with injuries to win it imo.

As for the rest, the Broncos apparently have a bizarre fetish for sending all their best players to the Titans. So this is probably the worst Wayne Bennet coached Broncos side I've seen.

The Sharks look old and outdated... #thuglyfe footy doesn't seem to win the day in 2018.

Penrith look the goods. Swapping Moylan for Maloney was immense. They've started the season well and look like a traditional Premiership side in the sense that the mechanics are all there but you also see bucketloads of improvement in them.

The only other legit team at this point are the Tigers and I don't think even the most optimistic Tigers fan would suggest that they have the class and polish to go with the admittedly unbelievable steel and determination to win the comp. The Warriors and Dragons have much better spines it must be said.

So could 3 Preliminary Finalists really be Mary, Hook and Kearney coached sides? Maybe that's the real apocalyptic alignment the Mayans were referring to.

And just a word on the influence of the refereeing clampdown on playing style... what a God send it has been! To me it seems like good old fashioned footy is winning over touch footy.

The Dragons and Warriors lead the league for post contact metres. So they're running the hardest. And they're both right up there along with the Tigers in offloads which has always been the best way to break down a defence.

The Cowboys have excelled in the past few years by playing a mistake free brand of footy which I felt was aided by the touch footy brand the NRL promoted with the quick play the balls. The Storm and Sharks benefitted from the ugly rucks too.

But now by cleaning that area up perhaps we're seeing traditional footy win the day. Run hard, tackle hard, offload and play what you see in front of you in attack.

Which is f**king great to see. And I for one hope the Warriors keep it up. And the Panthers and Tigers. The Dragons however can get f**ked. See you on Anzac Day ya merkins.

good summary, good read.

 

[Meapro Ham]

Both teams can legitimately win the comp imo.

Not only are they both going great, but the opposition isn't looking terrifying which is always the other key side of the story.

It's proven impossible to go b2b in the NRL era, and then there's also losing one of the great modern halfbacks in Cronk - and Tohu and McLean as well - so I'd be stunned if the Storm win it again.

The Cowboys look like a shower of shit. Very early days of course but even their most loyal fans can sense that this is a tired and stale football side. Father time has never lost.

As the final member of the pre season "big 3", the Roosters certainly look the most likely to put it all together when it counts the most. But even then we have very poor depth and a season ending injury to one of Teddy, Keary, Cronk or Cordner puts a line through us. Even an injury to Latrell or Fergo would be a fatal blow imo when you look at our depth in the backs. So we're walking a serious tightrope and will need Cowboys 2015 or Sharks 2016 levels of luck with injuries to win it imo.

As for the rest, the Broncos apparently have a bizarre fetish for sending all their best players to the Titans. So this is probably the worst Wayne Bennet coached Broncos side I've seen.

The Sharks look old and outdated... #thuglyfe footy doesn't seem to win the day in 2018.

Penrith look the goods. Swapping Moylan for Maloney was immense. They've started the season well and look like a traditional Premiership side in the sense that the mechanics are all there but you also see bucketloads of improvement in them.

The only other legit team at this point are the Tigers and I don't think even the most optimistic Tigers fan would suggest that they have the class and polish to go with the admittedly unbelievable steel and determination to win the comp. The Warriors and Dragons have much better spines it must be said.

So could 3 Preliminary Finalists really be Mary, Hook and Kearney coached sides? Maybe that's the real apocalyptic alignment the Mayans were referring to.

And just a word on the influence of the refereeing clampdown on playing style... what a God send it has been! To me it seems like good old fashioned footy is winning over touch footy.

The Dragons and Warriors lead the league for post contact metres. So they're running the hardest. And they're both right up there along with the Tigers in offloads which has always been the best way to break down a defence.

The Cowboys have excelled in the past few years by playing a mistake free brand of footy which I felt was aided by the touch footy brand the NRL promoted with the quick play the balls. The Storm and Sharks benefitted from the ugly rucks too.

But now by cleaning that area up perhaps we're seeing traditional footy win the day. Run hard, tackle hard, offload and play what you see in front of you in attack.

Which is f**king great to see. And I for one hope the Warriors keep it up. And the Panthers and Tigers. The Dragons however can get f**ked. See you on Anzac Day ya merkins.

So you’re basically saying the top 4 will remain the same all the way through to the prelims except for maybe the tigers. Big call. It’s only been 5 rounds. A lot can and probably will change.

Are the early leaders really that good or are results just skewed by the high penalty counts which will probably disappear in the coming weeks as the “crackdown” peters out. Too early to say in my opinion.

 

[King hit]

The Dragons usually start the season well so we don't know if they will maintain the form they are in but they have been excellent over the first month. The Warriors really look like a serious team and a genuine contender but you always don't know what happens with them.

Really hope they can continue the form they are in it has made the competiiton much more interesting seeing the Warriors, Dragons and Titans ripping it up at the top. Even the Titans have grabbed 3 wins from their first 5 games.

 

[hrundi99]

"dumb idiots"

 

[Pedge1971]

So you’re basically saying the top 4 will remain the same all the way through to the prelims except for maybe the tigers. Big call. It’s only been 5 rounds. A lot can and probably will change.

Are the early leaders really that good or are results just skewed by the high penalty counts which will probably disappear in the coming weeks as the “crackdown” peters out. Too early to say in my opinion.

Penalty Melbourne.

 

[Hutty1986]

Funny reading this myth about us being great starters to the season-pretty sure this club had never won its first 4, let alone 5 games.

A superb start to the season for saints, but we'll see where we're at against the chooks and Warriors in the next few weeks. Anzac Day is going to be massive this year-well, more so than usual. Should beat the Sharks this weekend and then an incredibly tough fortnight after that.

If Origin is picked on form, and we all know that's never the case for NSW, then Friz, Vaughn and JDB should be absolute certainties. Mcinnes should be a decent chance too, because Peats offers zero in attack. But with Mythchell Pus playing 72 SOO games, the selectors have made it crystal clear that picking a Blues side that can score tries is not a priority.

We are a contender, but at this stage not a genuine premiership heavyweight imo. If the dragons can win on Anzac Day and start knocking off the current favourites like the Storm and Cowboys, then ill start thinking otherwise. A finals win would be a start; we haven't had one since Tommy Smith cried into his lukewarm phillip seymour froffman after the 2010 grand final

 

[Grapple]

All the way. You gotta get behind Warriors. #metoo

 

[Clifferd]

Depth could be a bit of a issue for the Dragons imo... Certainly no big names running around in ISP for them.

Warriors have good depth and competition for spots.
But I still have that nagging feeling they could flame out / 7 years of pain does weird things to your psyche.

Warriors got flogged 40-0 by the Wests Tigers feeder team on the weekend

Depth? Tigers have amazing depth