Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
These things are always difficult to predict with some clarity until we get into the swing of things, but I'll have an uneducated stab.
Wests Tigers
Why they can:
Learned to play slightly ugly, still had some razzle dazzle when it mattered, can be better than they were in 2010.
Why they can't:
No real reason barring injuries, unless Sheens f**ks with something.
St George Illawarra
Why they can:
Defensive masterpiece, can attack when required, seem to be a hell of a lot fitter than many other teams, monkey off the back, best coach ever, Dan Hunt was going great guns before injury in about round 11, if he can come back to his previous form he will play origin and plug some of the gap left by Costigan,
Merrin will be a better player in 2011 and Green showed in the preliminary he has the naus to play in the big ones (THAT catch on the line).
Why they can't:
Lost Costigan, Saffy and Smith - Smith may not have played a sh*tload of games in his 2 years, but you can cite him as one of the main reasons they won the comp, hopefully his toughness and technique rubbed off on a few others before he left.
Costigan was a machine and even out of position was a revelation under Bennett.
Roosters
Why they can:
f**king young team (barring a few), will have the hunger for it after coming close in 2010, have the ability to go with that hunger.
Why they can't:
Did not posses the defensive steel of some of the other top sides throughout the year.
Titans
Why they can:
Experienced line up, will want to make amends for last years capitulation, might get the luck on the day, Prince can pull something out of a hat every now and then.
Why they can't:
Getting a bit f**king old.
Warriors
Why they can:
Possess speed, size and power - if they can go injury free or close to they can finish top 4 and give it a real shake, I thought they might have last year but it was not to be.
Will need to keep winning away from home though to do that.
Why they can't:
Will need to possess passion above all else first.
Canterbury
Why they can:
Ummmmm, no real reasons actually
Why they can't:
Lost too much too quickly, vital pieces of the machine gone.
In saying that they can throw up a surprise every now and then.
Cowboys
No chance, even with the foul mouthed raging f**kwit in the halves
Panthers
Why they can:
They can score points, lots of them.
Why they can't:
One dimensional in extermis attack, need luck with injuries, 2010 may have just been a flash in the pan
Raiders
Why they can:
Showed they can razzle dazzle and win games with an onslaught of points.
Why they can't:
As was exposed by Wests in finals week 2, they are not made of the hard stuff just yet and pretty much spent the game playing catch up after getting blitzed early and came up agonizingly short.
TC's injury might f**k them over too.
Knights
Why they can:
No real reason at all actually
Why they can't:
They probably wont make the 8
Storm
Why they can:
Managed to hold onto 3 of the big 4 despite rampant cheating, managed to sign Beau Champion in spite of being near the limit.....................................anyway, Champion goes alright and he will produce something decent outside the cheat in the halves, the cheat at fullback and the biggest cheat at hooker.
Why they can't:
To say every team will be aiming up to beat them is an understatement, even though they finished last year with a spoon they are f**king hated.
Might scrape it for the middle of the 8, will depend on how Bellamy goes without his excess talent.
Rabbitohs
Why they can:
They keep f**king telling us they will.....
Best forward pack in the league yadda yadda yadda, now they have Ingli$.
Why they can't:
Halves are f**king useless, unless Burgess himself slots into the halves (that boy has balls and power) I can't see them doing jack sh*t.
Maybe the halves will prove me wrong though, they could set it on fire if they keep the injuries under control, although a lot of their injuries may come down to player fitness.
Manly
Why they can:
They wont.
Why they can't:
Lost it, they might make the 8, but the hunger is gone
Sharks
Why they can:
f**k.................................. maybe god will show mercy.
Seriously, not a realistic chance.
There is hope though, and his name is Jeremy Smith.
He has balls, strength and no fear.
He might not be able to take them through to the promised land, but maybe ala Kennedy at Manly he can leave a legacy for them to aspire to and replicate in his absence, one of real toughness, not dive taker Gallen.
Why they can't:
They are the Sharks, and many have suggested they are destined to wander for an eternity without a title.
Parra
Why they can:
See above, although they might go alright with Hayne if he has another brilliant individualist year.
Reni will be fit and raring, Carl is a fat has been and Walker is a f**king moron.
Stranger combinations have worked, and a team full of misfits under a coach who ended his career in disgrace might just be the f**ked up combination to jam Parra back into the finals.
Why they can't:
Again, see above, everything that means they could play like motherf**kers and finish in the top 4 is also the exact reason they could finish in the bottom 4.
Walker hits the piss, Carl hits Maccas and Reni hits the drugs - worst case scenario.
Ian Hindmarash should have come out of retirement.
Broncos
Why they can:
They wont, but they'll make the 8 in a much improved year benefitting from blooding so many youngsters last year.
Why they can't:
Coach is f**king useless.
