Here is my take on spines in 2012...
1. Storm; Pure class.
2. Manly; Form young players on the up + a couple of solid old heads.
3. Cows; Best halfback, great FB, Impact 9 Segyaro + consistenty of Lui
4. Tigers; Quality, can score points. A whole season together injury free would help.
5. Eels; Im an eels fan so probably biased, Hayne on his day along with the new halves is a great combo. Keating... Meh.
6. Knights; Unknown as a team but highly rated 1,6,7 + Old head in Buderus coming back add depth and experience.
7. Warriors; Proven to be able to go all the way to the grand final but missing that extra 10%. Addition of N. Friend is helpful.
8. Roosters; Strong 1,6,7. Friend is a workhorse who should be an 80 min player (brian smith at it again!). Lack of exciting attacking options is only weakness.
9. Raiders; On paper look the goods, top 5 FB, quality 6, but the lack of ability to put it all together on the day as a team slow them down.
10. Bulldogs; Again similar to the Raiders, strong but not amazing line up with X factor FB and tough 9. Halves are yet to really click, maybe Dessy will see to that...
11. Broncos; Lots of options at all positions, I really like the FB Hoffman but cant see much from the rest. Not sure how long they can keep playing Mcculloch, seriously when was the last time he had a good game?
12. St George; Untested as a unit after the Loss of D, Boyd. 9 is up in the air and the halfback is not getting any younger. Soward playing like half the player he was in 2010.
13. Cronulla; They have a good coach who can get them fired up, a few good combos coming together but still lots of unknowns about 2012 for the sharkies. Which Carney will turn up to play this year? Great FB.
14. Penrith; They play well as a unit, just not good enough to win a game. Unless they all become better players over the summer it will be another tough year for the panthers. Walsh, too small.
15. Souths; Where do you start? Just a woeful spine. Its actually a shame because they have some fantastic players across the park in other positions who dont see enough ball. Sutton plays 1-2 good games a year & Issac is a tough little battler.
16. Titans; A great 7... 5 years ago. No quality in any of the other positions down the spine. Zillman, Srama & whoever at 6, least inspiring of all the teams.