General 2016 NRL Top 8

[Defence]

I think the majority of us are pretty confident of making the finals this year but just remember there would be another dozen clubs who's fans would be just as confident ( if not more ).

Here's last years finalists and my take on their chances of backing it up this year (all things- injuries etc being equal- which they won't be).

Roosters- certainties
Broncos- certainties
Cowboys- certainties
Storm- not certainties but id have them at short odds with the big 3 running the show and a forward pack spearheaded by the kiwi connection of bromwhich, proctor and Harris.
Bulldogs- i think hodgkinson is an underrated loss for them- Reynolds and mbye doesn't inspire a lot of confidence. Not one of the better spines getting round but still some quality outside backs and a big pack ( will be interesting to see how they cope with reduced interchange ). I'm loathe to write off a hasler coached side tho.
Sharks- I picked them to make the 8 last year so that was no surprise to me. They've got a good side there. Townsend and Maloney in the halves is a bit- well don't know- I'd rather them than us. Mind u they went alright with robson and bird last year so they should go alright again.
Rabbitohs- lost a lot of good players since their gf victory but having the burgess brother reunite and inglis at the back they're still gonna be a handful.
Dragons- probably over performed last year. I'd like to see them do well with a real warrior connection in their pack now- packer, ah mau, seb and silver wind but they're probably the most likely to drop out this year IMO.

Looking at the other sides who missed out last year-

Manly- should go close- recruited well but have lost foran and some of their key strike players are getting a bit long in the tooth. My biggest doubt over them is Barrett as coach.
Penrith- smashed by injuries last year- should improve.
Canberra- got a decent side with some under rated players.
Parra- along with us they've recruited the best- should see a big improvement.
Us- read eels above.
Tigers- could be in for a long season
Titans- could be in for a longer season.
Knights- can't see them making the 8 but the only way is up.

So looking at all that I'll make a prediction that the dragons and bulldogs will drop out of the 8 to be replaced by the Warriors and eels.

My stab in the dark at a top 8 for 2016-

Broncos
Cowboys
Sharks
Storm
Roosters
Warriors
Rabbitohs
Eels

So who u got and most importantly will we be there?

 

[CompletionRate]

The Panthers and the Raiders have got to be in the 8 somewhere, I just couldn't tell you for who though.

 

[Jordan G]

Titans, Tigers, Knights can be crossed off the list. Agree with the certainties. The rest it comes down to injuries/form/luck.

 

[t-wade23]

We should make the 8 bar any significant Injurys loss of form or anything of that nature. However do see us struggling the first two months of the Comp just trying to Work out combinations and defensive systems plus having an pretty rough schedule in the first half of the draw proberly get right about origin time and finish strongly for once. I think we either get 5-6 spot don't think this team will go that far in the finals could see us bouncing after the first week just down to the experience factor alone ala 2010

 

[Johnnyray]

Awesome.

Just to add to discussion here's my top eight for this year :

1.) NZ Warriors
2.) Sydney Roosters
3.) Brisbane Broncos
4.) Cronulla Sharks
5.) Melbourne Storm
6.) Nth Qld Cowboys
7.) Canberra Raiders
8.) Paramatta Eels

Go New Zealand Warriors ! Kiwi Power ! Peow ! Peow !

 

[Sup42]

Pretty much agree with the OP.

There is that extra bit of pressure on the Warriors, the weight of expectation.

They tend not to deal with expectation well.

I bet McFadden wishes he could get in the minds of these guys motivationally as much as technically.

They need the three Marquee players to stay fit and they need Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad to be kicking down the door to make it in that spine. That would be real depth.

 

[flying coconut]

As much as I hate to say it, I can't see the Warriors making the 8 this year

 

[t-wade23]

As much as I hate to say it, I can't see the Warriors making the 8 this year

Interesting most Warriors fans have this squad making the 8 with the amount of talent they possess now care to elaborate why you think this??

 

[matiunz]

My 10 cents
Cowboys- will suffer a little from premiership hangover, likely top 4 still but depends on their drive after winning last season.

Broncos- should be top 4 probably be pretty hungry after missing out last year.

Titans-feel sorry for them but no chance, they'll be favourites for the spoon sadly

Manly- seem to have recruited pretty well and should be in the 8

Roosters- Will miss Roger Tuivasa-Sheck/Maloney and possibly Jennings(if rumours are true) will slide and may miss the 8

Souths- With the players they've lost for Burgess I can see them being a little divided and slip out of the 8

Dragons-Either just miss out or just get in 7-10team

Cronulla-have recruited well and had momentum last season should be pushing for top 4

Eels-recruited well but seem to have a pretty crap culture SHOULD be in the 8 but have the potential to self destruct.

Tigers-basket case club that I can't see them doing much

Bulldogs-usually seem to be there or thereabouts

Panthers- should do better if they stay injury free.

Knights-can't see them doing much

Raiders- due for a good season solid team

Storm- with the big 3 aging the slides gotta happen soon right?

Warriors-don't know if we are gonna be the instant success some are hoping for but with our squad we should feature in the 8 and push for the 4.

Really hard to pick an 8 anyone apart from the Tigers Titans and Knights can make a go of it if circumstances fall in their favour

 

[flying coconut]

Interesting most Warriors fans have this squad making the 8 with the amount of talent they possess now care to elaborate why you think this??

Most Warriors fans have the warriors making the 8 every year.

What I can see happening this year is us struggling with all the new combinations and by the time the team gets it right we will be talking about 2017

I think Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is going to struggle going from being a cog in a well oiled machine to someone who is going to be expected to do too much

I also am concerned about how long it will take Johnson to find his feet returning from injury and I think that Cappy is going to muck around with Leuleui in the halves for half the season which is going to be a mess.

Overall I think that other teams are going to improve quicker than we will

As much as we like to think that the team are not scarred from the end of last season I think we may see they are when things start going against them, we have a hard start to the season and the fans will turn on this team quickly

 

[t-wade23]

Most Warriors fans have the warriors making the 8 every year.

What I can see happening this year is us struggling with all the new combinations and by the time the team gets it right we will be talking about 2017

I think Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is going to struggle going from being a cog in a well oiled machine to someone who is going to be expected to do too much

I also am concerned about how long it will take Johnson to find his feet returning from injury and I think that Cappy is going to muck around with Leuleui in the halves for half the season which is going to be a mess.

Overall I think that other teams are going to improve quicker than we will

As much as we like to think that the team are not scarred from the end of last season I think we may see they are when things start going against them, we have a hard start to the season and the fans will turn on this team quickly

I agreed with most of these points like Roger Tuivasa-Sheck won't be putting up 200 plus metres a game our forward pack is simply not as good as the roosters pack and like you said Roger Tuivasa-Sheck maybe asked to do too much early on top of the fact that Shaun Johnson is coming back from an serious injury as well and the hard draw proberly gonna have an sub par record to begin the year. Plus like you said as well many new players equal many new combinations and fiddling around to see which fits best the quicker that comes together the better for this team.

However I'm simply of the mindset that despite all that this team is far too talented to finish bottom 8 and with the added experience that was added in the offseason to add to the veterans we already had I think this team is good enough for at least 5-7 spot this year.

 

[Defence]

I agreed with most of these points like Roger Tuivasa-Sheck won't be putting up 200 plus metres a game our forward pack is simply not as good as the roosters pack

Thing is Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is the one who gets the sets rolling- it's often the forward pack working off the back of his runs not the other way round.

 

[warriors4eva]

for me its all about the top 4

get in the top 4 either get a life or get a home playoff

i think with the amount of travel we end up doing, get in the top 4 , we win the comp !!

sounds pretty simple i know LOL !!

 

[eudebrito]

I like the Sharks and Dragons to fall out of the top 8, sharks forwards getting a bit old, dragons havnt really improved while most other teams at their level have.

Warriors and one of manly or parra to take their places.

some highly fancied team will get the manly/Penrith/warriors injury toll from last year and fall out of it, no way of knowing who

 

[surfin]

One thing about the Cowboys I haven't seen mentioned too much about this season was the number of games they won in the dying couple of minutes with a clinch play, GF included. I just can't see that happening two seasons in a row. They will still be top 8 but I don't see them having as many at the death close wins.

 

[facefacts]

Most Warriors fans have the warriors making the 8 every year.

What I can see happening this year is us struggling with all the new combinations and by the time the team gets it right we will be talking about 2017

I think Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is going to struggle going from being a cog in a well oiled machine to someone who is going to be expected to do too much

I also am concerned about how long it will take Johnson to find his feet returning from injury and I think that Cappy is going to muck around with Leuleui in the halves for half the season which is going to be a mess.

Overall I think that other teams are going to improve quicker than we will

As much as we like to think that the team are not scarred from the end of last season I think we may see they are when things start going against them, we have a hard start to the season and the fans will turn on this team quickly

There are a lot of things that have to go right to turn a mentally weak team with a soft club culture into a high flying contender in the space of a single off season...i think your points are valid and sadly prophetic.

We have a couple of fantastic signings no doubt, but at the moment it looks like the same defensive frailties are going to haunt us in the same old positions....fullback and hooker weren't defensive soft points before Luke and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck signed, so i'm not seeing much of a difference there.

It all comes down to McCrappin and whether he can pull his head out of his ass, or at least listen to someone who has a clue.

 

[Defence]

There are a lot of things that have to go right to turn a mentally weak team with a soft club culture into a high flying contender in the space of a single off season...i think your points are valid and sadly prophetic.

We have a couple of fantastic signings no doubt, but at the moment it looks like the same defensive frailties are going to haunt us in the same old positions....fullback and hooker weren't defensive soft points before Luke and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck signed, so i'm not seeing much of a difference there.

It all comes down to McCrappin and whether he can pull his head out of his ass, or at least listen to someone who has a clue.

Don't know about that- opposition forwards continuously spotted friend and tomkins was piss weak as a last line of defence. Defensively Luke and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck are a massive upgrade on them two.

 

[Ever Hopeful]

Most Warriors fans have the warriors making the 8 every year.

What I can see happening this year is us struggling with all the new combinations and by the time the team gets it right we will be talking about 2017

I think Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is going to struggle going from being a cog in a well oiled machine to someone who is going to be expected to do too much

I also am concerned about how long it will take Johnson to find his feet returning from injury and I think that Cappy is going to muck around with Leuleui in the halves for half the season which is going to be a mess.

Overall I think that other teams are going to improve quicker than we will

As much as we like to think that the team are not scarred from the end of last season I think we may see they are when things start going against them, we have a hard start to the season and the fans will turn on this team quickly

I agree with the above. However, the single biggest determinate for me is whether Justin Morgan can provide us with a minor miracle and sort out our defence. You can have all the rock stars you want in a team, but if they can't do the basics well, the team will be an also-ran. Further, top four requires perfection of the basics. We still have the same personnel in the backs, for me we have the same problems until it is proven otherwise. Personally I am totally unconvinced about Kata as a top first grade centre and like many my favour for Konnie is based on the romantic notion of his highlights reel. Ayshford has been woeful in defence (shirt grabber) for a number of years now, Lolohea and Fusitua probably fall in the same shirt-grabbing boat (although I think both have exciting potential in the outside backs). Where are the solutions to outside defence? Can Morgan really bring that big a change? Let's hope the answer is yes.

I'm picking 6-8 as our final position. However, a team like our 2016 team has the ability and x factor to grow a third leg in the one-off games that are the finals.

 

[Sup42]

Most Warriors fans have the warriors making the 8 every year.

What I can see happening this year is us struggling with all the new combinations and by the time the team gets it right we will be talking about 2017

I think Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is going to struggle going from being a cog in a well oiled machine to someone who is going to be expected to do too much

I also am concerned about how long it will take Johnson to find his feet returning from injury and I think that Cappy is going to muck around with Leuleui in the halves for half the season which is going to be a mess.

Overall I think that other teams are going to improve quicker than we will

As much as we like to think that the team are not scarred from the end of last season I think we may see they are when things start going against them, we have a hard start to the season and the fans will turn on this team quickly

Good reality check.

I too don't disagree with anything you said there.

On a positive note, we should rightfully look forward to seeing some positive changes, and some real exciting wins with that roster.
The roller coaster will have more thrills, as long as they show some grit I'll be pretty happy over all and anticipate that next season with real optimism.

You're right not to expect it to be built in a day.

 

[Iafetas Kickstand Wang]

1 Warriors
2 to 8 unfortunate cu**s