The Heat is on....

[Bates]

Fahu was very impressive last year and can only get better but not in the class of those players yet obviously.

Agreed.

Interestingly enough, he swung momentum back to New Zealand's favour when he came on in the Pacifica Cup final.

Fahu was outstanding as was JFH!

[ism22]

Rubbish 6, 7 and 9. Plus three lazy trouble makers. They will struggle to make the Top 16.

IMO Wayne will know how to squeeze every last bit of juice outta those lemons. It's still gonna taste sour though...

[Vasco]

I worry about our go-forward in the middle if Whyte ends up out/injured for any length of time.

Collins is a pillow these days. Shillington-esque.
Gus is getting old and is no where near as effective as in the past, and gives out as many penalties as he does tackles.
We've got a tiny second row with Rads and Watson in there.
Steep & Foketi are still largely unproven long term.
Leniu adds dynamic impact, but he doesn't lay the platform.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think our pack is bad.

But Whyte was the only Roosters guy lighting up the forwards stats sheet for the comp overall last year.

There are currently other packs much better balanced and perform the yardage stuff better.

If we have a weak point this year, that is it imo.

I reckon Steep proved himself. He's not there for his go forward though.

Foketi dropped right off after a few good games early on.

As Brain has pointed out, it depends on how Walker goes in big games. His last effort was woeful.

I'm not convinced we have enough speed in the three-quarters.

[ism22]

You forgot to mention PVL and Xi signing a deal to launch the season in Hong Kong for the next 10 years. Move over Vegas

Honestly that's probably PVL's master plan to draw in Chinese gamblers. He doesn't care about the game, he just wants there to be more games to bet on so that he can be like 'ooookay sponsors line up... I present to you twice as many games and a fark load of novelty rule changes to make your multis more exciting!!!'

Beyond having lotsa mates in the betting industry, he's got NFI.

The next CEO's probably gonna be bundled with a perfect storm of unviable expansion teams, talent being stretched beyond its limit (or all piled into a couple of anointed clubs that are 'owed' a premiership), a blanket ban on bookies sponsoring sport (will happen eventually) and a stack of novelty rules that need rolling back.

By that time Murdoch will have carked it and the concept of cable TV will be prehistoric. Hoping this happens sooner rather than later so that we can get out game back before too much damage is done by old mate.

[Vasco]

Im telling ya Batesy if the Dolphins stay fit theyre as good as anyone.

Defence is their biggest problem.

[Bates]

I reckon Steep proved himself. He's not there for his go forward though.

Foketi dropped right off after a few good games early on.

As Brain has pointed out, it depends on how Walker goes in big games. His last effort was woeful.

I'm not convinced we have enough speed in the three-quarters.

Speed helps as does big bodied outside backs that can crash over the line.

It'll be interesting to see how Billy who's no speedster goes with Sammy playing down the left edge.

I reckon Tommy Talua may end up locking down the left centre position as I'm not completely sold on B Smith.

[Headless Chook]

100% and I'll add Maquire 1 vs Robbo 0 in the 6 again era.

Our biggest issue is we don't have a Haas or Tino or Tapine or JFH or AFB.

A big dog that leads the way and brings out the best in those around him.

Are you talking premiership wins here? If so Maguire is better than every coach other than Cleary and he's the equal of Bellamy based on that criteria

[Bates]

Are you talking premiership wins here? If so Maguire is better than every coach other than Cleary and he's the equal of Bellamy based on that criteria

The Broncos are the team to beat based on their roster and recent success imo. The other big plus for them (and the thrust of my point) is that their coach has had success in the 6 again era. This is something that Robbo hasn't achieved.

Bottom line - Maguire has a playing system that works moving forward.

[David Sutherland]

The Best Defence ( least points conceded during the season) wins most comps

Since the 6 again era

Penrith best defence from 2020 to 2024 - 5 Grand Finals and 4 comps ( 2021- 2024)
Storm 2nd best defence in 2020 - Won Comp 2020

The Anomaly was Brisbane in 2025

7th best defence and won the comp in 2025.

Bulldogs had the best defence in 2025.

Pretty easy to see what's needed to give a team the best chance of winning a comp most times. - Defence

[Steggles]

The Best Defence ( least points conceded during the season)

I’d have never had made this correlation without this insightful post. Thanks for pointing this out KS.

[Avalon Rooster]

not sure it's been mentioned above, but we are 4th favourites for the comp this year behind Brisbane, Penrith and Melbourne. There's then a big gap to the Raiders (we are $7.50 and Raiders and Dogs are $14)

personally I think Bris and Pen should be further ahead of us Melb, Dogs and Raiders all close together. I agree with the front row depth concern and as I keep posting...I really hope De la Salle Va'a steps up because he's a monster.

and then as I wrote in the other thread - I worry about our attack without Holbrook who worked miracles for us

[David Sutherland]

At this stage, 17 clubs can either win the comp and or make the finals — of course by the half-way mark of the season, that number will be reduced.

Often wonder how players from clubs that, in reality, have no chance of winning a comp, let alone make the finals prepare for the new season and games week in week out.

The usual culprits will be there or there abouts — Penrith, Storm, Broncos, Raiders, Sharks, Dogs, Roosters, Warriors, Eels, Dolphins and Souths as top 8 chances.

Hard to see Dragons, Titans, Knights, Tigers, Cowboys , Sea Eagles making the finals, but one never knows.

[Bates]

not sure it's been mentioned above, but we are 4th favourites for the comp this year behind Brisbane, Penrith and Melbourne. There's then a big gap to the Raiders (we are $7.50 and Raiders and Dogs are $14)

personally I think Bris and Pen should be further ahead of us Melb, Dogs and Raiders all close together. I agree with the front row depth concern and as I keep posting...I really hope De la Salle Va'a steps up because he's a monster.

and then as I wrote in the other thread - I worry about our attack without Holbrook who worked miracles for us

Seriously?

Our last game against the Sharks sum's it all up imo.

Our attack was atrocious when it mattered most. Attacking game plan vs Sharks was either get the ball to Marky or kick it to his corner and hope for the best.

We literally resembled his old club The Titans.

[Avalon Rooster]

Seriously?

Our last game against the Sharks sum's it all up imo.

Our attack was atrocious when it mattered most. Attacking game plan vs Sharks was either get the ball to Marky or kick it to his corner and hope for the best.

We literally resembled his old club The Titans.

yes, seriously. In 2023 we were 15th in scoring. The two years when Holbrook was the attack coach we came 1st and 5th and we were #1 in scoring last season once Sam came back

we looked awful in the Sharks game but in the main that was because we got monstered up front. Sharks were bigger and tougher than us in the middle in both the games we lost to them late in the season and....as ever, it all starts with winning the ruck. Yes Sam played badly too and finding ways to dominate when he doesn't have the perfect platform is an area he needs to develop, but we lost that game because they walked over us, not because of Holbrook

[Bates]

yes, seriously. In 2023 we were 15th in scoring. The two years when Holbrook was the attack coach we came 1st and 5th and we were #1 in scoring last season once Sam came back

we looked awful in the Sharks game but in the main that was because we got monstered up front. Sharks were bigger and tougher than us in the middle in both the games we lost to them late in the season and....as ever, it all starts with winning the ruck. Yes Sam played badly too and finding ways to dominate when he doesn't have the perfect platform is an area he needs to develop, but we lost that game because they walked over us, not because of Holbrook

There are no prizes for scoring the most points at seasons end. It's about formulating an attacking system that wins you games and wins you comps!

It's pointless playing high risk footy that scores maximum points when on the flip side you're turning over unnecessary possession through errors and losing games.

Attacking coaches need to understand the teams skillset and limits. They also need to factor in game management. E.g closing out games. Plan B when plan A isn't working etc . None of that was visible with Holbrook at the helm of our attack. Key for me is control and we definitely had zero control of our attack.

If I had to describe his coaching style it would be 'Back Yard Footy'. It was at it's best on Anzac Day and at it's worse against the Sharks when we were eliminated.