Which team will be the surprise packet this World Cup

[Irish-bulldog]

Which team will advance that no one sees coming and why ?. I think Ireland will put together a good squad and will upset Lebanon to make the final 8.

 

[jim_57]

Which team will advance that no one sees coming and why ?. I think Ireland will put together a good squad and will upset Lebanon to make the final 8.

PNG and/or Ireland

PNG I could see causing an upset or 2 and making the semis or even the final. They are in Tonga’s group and they’ll likely play either England or Samoa in the quarter assuming they finish top 2 in the group. They don’t need to beat Australia or NZ to make the final.

Ireland can put out a mostly Super League starting side with Keary confirmed and possibly a few other NRL players who could play for them like Curran, Finucane, J & K Nikorima or Joliffe. Fair chance they’ll be stronger on paper than Lebanon IMO. Virtually zero chance they make it past the quarters but that would be a very good result on the same side of the draw as Australia, NZ, Fiji & Lebanon.

 

[The Partisan]

Personally I'm hoping for at least one of the Northern Hemisphere teams outside of England to crack into the quarter finals.

Ireland probably being the best chance.

Bugger that France is in the same pool as England and Samoa as unfortunately I don't see them progressing past the pool matches.

Hopefully strong showings against both of them and a comfortable win over Greece will appease the greater international community of rugby league fans.

As hosts they are guaranteed a spot at 2025 where they ...with an ounce of luck.. get a less tougher assignment.

 

[magpie_man]

Ireland really impressed me in the last WC, I remember them getting absolutely brutalized by PNG in the suffocating heat of Port Moresby but just refusing to throw in the towel. Impressive stuff.
Throw in Luke Keary, who is starting to hit his straps, and they may surprise a few.

If Moses and Doueihi play for Lebanon, they're going to be a force. We saw from the PNG vs Fiji mid-year test the effect a quality half and a sprinkling of NRL experience can have on an otherwise NSW Cup level team, Lebanon have even more.

 

[Irish-bulldog]

Samoa could really make the last 4, they will be absolutely stacked, could shake England too, it’s a genuine NRL stacked team. I think they surpass Tonga and Fiji this cup, I reckon Tonga has had there time, they will still be solid, but the Tonga stars are ageing.

 

[Billythekid]

Hoping for PNG. To me they’re the team most likely to be able to compete at the top long term and is possibly the most important market for RL market going forward.

Samoa and PNG are my picks.

Ive mostly given up hoping for anything from the NH and considering how little we get to see of them it’s hard to predict.

 

[Clarkent]

Samoa could really make the last 4, they will be absolutely stacked, could shake England too, it’s a genuine NRL stacked team. I think they surpass Tonga and Fiji this cup, I reckon Tonga has had there time, they will still be solid, but the Tonga stars are ageing.

The Tongan team that faced the Kiwis was probably the most youngest teams they've fielded lol Which is one of the reasons the Kiwis had the upper hand in that game. Too many new players. The tongans will get their experienced players by the world cup time tho. I wouldn't discount the Tongans that's for sure. But you are right about the Samoan team. If they get there act together they have the potential to beat Tongans and the English. Only because the Samoans have way better halves than Tonga.
I'm picking the Samoan team to surprise everyone and make the final. Only because they have better halves than Tonga and maybe England. Tbh I don't watch any SL so I don't know who England have in the halves

 

[yakstorm]

Tonga has smartly recruited Bennett into the coaching mix which will be a huge benefit come Finals time for Mate Ma’a.

Tonga should breeze through the Group stages against Wales and the Cook Islands and whilst the Kumuls may challenge, I don't see them winning.

That means they'll finish top of Group D and will face most likely Samoa in what will be a brutal quarter final and then England in the Semi Final. Having Bennett on-board will help the team no end to trying to ambush both teams.

Ireland and Lebanon both are unlucky in that they are in a competitive group to begin with and secondly will face the Kangaroos in the Quarter Finals.

 

[Perth Red]

Ireland, Samoa or Lebanon could be a surprise packet depending on who is available for them, Cook Is are my adopted team for the tournament but don't think they will do much.

 

[Foreign Legion]

Australia, they look like they can't fill a proper side

 

[Perth Red]

If Munster goes down they could be in strife.
Cleary, DCE, Hunt. Hardly salivating half back pairings left. Especially behind a pack that looks weaker than a number of teams in the comp.
They'll have a very decent back line though.

1. Tedesco
2. Ado-Carr/Tupou
3. Mitchell
4. Holmes/Burton
5. Cobbo/Coates

 

[Clarkent]

If Munster goes down they could be in strife.
Cleary, DCE, Hunt. Hardly salivating half back pairings left. Especially behind a pack that looks weaker than a number of teams in the comp.
They'll have a very decent back line though.

1. Tedesco
2. Ado-Carr/Tupou
3. Mitchell
4. Holmes/Burton
5. Cobbo/Coates

Tupou is playing for Tonga

 

[Clarkent]

Suali'i might be starting with Fox if he gets picked for Australia

 

[Billythekid]

If Munster goes down they could be in strife.
Cleary, DCE, Hunt. Hardly salivating half back pairings left. Especially behind a pack that looks weaker than a number of teams in the comp.
They'll have a very decent back line though.

1. Tedesco
2. Ado-Carr/Tupou
3. Mitchell
4. Holmes/Burton
5. Cobbo/Coates

They’ll still likely be the best halves in the WC. With a strong back line and forward back they’ve got the goods to deliver.

My opinion is Australia should and will start massive favourites for the tournament.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Personally I'm hoping for at least one of the Northern Hemisphere teams outside of England to crack into the quarter finals.

Ireland probably being the best chance.

Bugger that France is in the same pool as England and Samoa as unfortunately I don't see them progressing past the pool matches.

Hopefully strong showings against both of them and a comfortable win over Greece will appease the greater international community of rugby league fans.

As hosts they are guaranteed a spot at 2025 where they ...with an ounce of luck.. get a less tougher assignment.

Yeah tough for France but if you think about it, amazing problem to have for RL. We've never had a world cup before where group winners were seriously in doubt.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

The Tongan team that faced the Kiwis was probably the most youngest teams they've fielded lol Which is one of the reasons the Kiwis had the upper hand in that game. Too many new players. The tongans will get their experienced players by the world cup time tho. I wouldn't discount the Tongans that's for sure. But you are right about the Samoan team. If they get there act together they have the potential to beat Tongans and the English. Only because the Samoans have way better halves than Tonga.
I'm picking the Samoan team to surprise everyone and make the final. Only because they have better halves than Tonga and maybe England. Tbh I don't watch any SL so I don't know who England have in the halves

Definitely not mate, Johnny Lomax, George Williams and potentially Jackson Hastings will be the halves for England. They are world class. Luai and Milford are good but they are both genuine 6's, not halfbacks.

I agree though, Samoa will be tough for England in the opening match and whoever wins that match makes the final on that half of the draw.

 

[MKCS]

There are a lot of teams that could do some real damage, I'm not counting Fiji, Samoa or Tonga in this as they're quite strong but look at some potential players who could turn out for the lower ranked nations

Cook Islands - They've already got 7 younger players who are signed to NRL teams and Klokstad, Holmes (If not picked by Australia), Tamou, Moeroa and Robati could all come in.

Ireland - Already have Keary and many professionals playing in the Super League and Championship. Probably won't upset things too much with just Keary but they instantly become much more dangerous if eligible players such as Dale Finucane, Josh Curran and Patrick Carrigan agree to play.

Italy - Have the Johns brothers available plus Paul Vaughan, Daniel Alvaro, Trent Loiero and Nathan Brown.

Lebanon -If Lebanon could get Jacob Kiraz, Mansour, Douhei, Mitch Moses and Alex Twal all in their side they could do quite well. They also have Jason Saab, Brandon Wakeham plus a bunch of players signed to NRL teams who haven't debuted yet.

Papua New Guinea - Have all the talented lower grade players plus Johnston, Olam, Lachlan Lam and Kyle Laybutt who all have played NRL. De Belin and Xavier Coates are available for them also.

Scotland - Their last team included Lachlan Coote and Kane Linnett so you'd have to assume they'd get the call up along with a ton of guys who have Super League experience. Campbell Graham, Crichton Brothers, Euan Aitken, Kevin Proctor and Nicho Hynes are all apparently eligible for Scotland also. Could be a banger team there if they could get all of that first grade experience in.

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So with that little assessment I'd say Papua New Guinea are the most likely to go deep but would they be a surprise? All the other teams if they can get that NRL experience in could do well.

The only ones I don't see being able to do amazing are Greece, Jamaica and Wales.

 

[Irish-bulldog]

There are a lot of teams that could do some real damage, I'm not counting Fiji, Samoa or Tonga in this as they're quite strong but look at some potential players who could turn out for the lower ranked nations

Cook Islands - They've already got 7 younger players who are signed to NRL teams and Klokstad, Holmes (If not picked by Australia), Tamou, Moeroa and Robati could all come in.

Ireland - Already have Keary and many professionals playing in the Super League and Championship. Probably won't upset things too much with just Keary but they instantly become much more dangerous if eligible players such as Dale Finucane, Josh Curran and Patrick Carrigan agree to play.

Italy - Have the Johns brothers available plus Paul Vaughan, Daniel Alvaro, Trent Loiero and Nathan Brown.

Lebanon -If Lebanon could get Jacob Kiraz, Mansour, Douhei, Mitch Moses and Alex Twal all in their side they could do quite well. They also have Jason Saab, Brandon Wakeham plus a bunch of players signed to NRL teams who haven't debuted yet.

Papua New Guinea - Have all the talented lower grade players plus Johnston, Olam, Lachlan Lam and Kyle Laybutt who all have played NRL. De Belin and Xavier Coates are available for them also.

Scotland - Their last team included Lachlan Coote and Kane Linnett so you'd have to assume they'd get the call up along with a ton of guys who have Super League experience. Campbell Graham, Crichton Brothers, Euan Aitken, Kevin Proctor and Nicho Hynes are all apparently eligible for Scotland also. Could be a banger team there if they could get all of that first grade experience in.

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So with that little assessment I'd say Papua New Guinea are the most likely to go deep but would they be a surprise? All the other teams if they can get that NRL experience in could do well.

The only ones I don't see being able to do amazing are Greece, Jamaica and Wales.

Wales will have Brandon best and Tyson frizell ? They might need 2 to 3 more decent players to compete.

Jamaica will have dominicyoung from the knights , but mostly mid level super league players.

Greece will have south’s number 7, plus a few other lower grade players in aus, but Greece will struggle, they don’t have the forwards.

When will we actually see if more players are committing? Must be soon.

 

[England87]

Considering they have made the Semi Finals for the last 3 world cups it shouldn't come as a Surprise but I really like a full strength Fiji to do some damage. If Korasau plays at nine they have Lovodua from Hull FC who is a genuine threat at half.

 

[Black Panther]

Lovodua is more of a Hooker or Lock. Not a Half, but been thrown in the halves..