NRL 2020 Season Preview
March 8, 2020
The new NRL season is here. How will your team fare in 2020? Here is the run down from Parallel Partners’ author and historian, Matthew Geddes.
BRISBANE
The Broncos will miss the experience of Matt Gillett, who has been forced into retirement with injury. However, they have one of the best young forward packs in the game. David Fifita, Tevita Pangai, and Payne Haas are all players of the future. The signing of Brodie Croft from Melbourne should take some pressure off star five-eighth Anthony Milford. Darius Boyd will be looking to perform well in his last season, and Jack Bird wants to prove his value after a long period with injury.
Prediction: 3rd
CANBERRA
The last time a team won the premiership with an English halfback was in 1976, when Manly beat Parramatta in the Grand Final with Gary Stephens in the number seven jumper. George Williams is a quality player, but it’s a big ask for him to take Canberra one step further. The loss of Aiden Sezer may be felt more than they think. Outside backs Jordan Rapana and Joey Leilua have moved on, while there remains a question mark about new recruit, Curtis Scott; who on his day is one of the very best centres in the competition.
Prediction: 7th
CANTERBURY
The Bulldogs started to come good towards the end of 2019. They have a number of promising youngsters which tells me 2020 will have some inspiring wins and some crushing losses. The injury to Kieran Foran is a major blow. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak should improve after half a season in the blue and white, and will have plenty of support from veterans Will Hopoate, Josh Jackson, Aiden Tolman, and Dylan Napa. It will still take a year or so for the Berries to be a true force though.
Prediction: 12th
CRONULLA
The Sharks have lost a tanker load of experience with the retirement of Paul Gallen, and the departure of Matt Prior. Promising youngsters Jayden Brayley and Kyle Flanagan have left a hole in their depth. Rumours continue to surround the future of Josh Morris and Josh Dugan. On the upside, Jesse Ramien is back. Cronulla really need to sort out their halves combination. Chad Townsend and Shaun Johnson need to work out their roles if the Sharks are going to make an impact. Factor in they have no home ground this year due to renovations; I feel this a rebuilding year.
Prediction: 11th
GOLD COAST
The good news for Titans’ fans is Ash Taylor is coming into the season full of confidence. The bad news is Ryan James is out for the season, and Michael Gordon has retired. And Ryley Jacks and Brenko Lee have moved on. It makes me wonder where points are going to come from. New coach Justin Holbrook will no doubt inject some enthusiasm into the club, but it’s a long season. If Bryce Cartwright and Tyrone Peachey don’t fire, it could be a very very long season.
Prediction: 16th
MANLY
Manly put all their hooker eggs in the Manase Fainu basket in the off season, and it nearly blew up in their face. Danny Levi is solid, and Cade Cust and Lachlan Croker may well prove valuable backups. Manly need the Trbojevic brothers and Daly Cherry-Evans to stay healthy for the entire season to improve on their 2019 season. Depth could again prove a problem, but they have one of the very best coaches in the game, who has a knack of bringing the best out of his team. They could go all the way, but they have some quality teams ahead of them.
Prediction: 6th
MELBOURNE
The loss of centres Will Chambers and Curtis Scott will hurt the Storm. The fact that both key wingers, Suliasi Vunivalu and Josh Addo-Carr both have a foot out the door won’t help. And Brodie Croft has moved on. Still, this is Melbourne Storm we’re talking about. They were stastically the best team of 2019, and there’s no reason why they can’t be again. The finals is where it might get tricky if they don’t sort out of the lack of strike power in the centres.
Prediction: 5th
NEWCASTLE
Newcastle should have made the top eight in 2019. Now, with a new coach, and the loss of experienced players Jamie Buhrer and Shaun Kenny-Dowall, it’s hard to see how they will be able to improve. The Knights have some great rookies such as Bradman Best and Tex Hoy. Lachlan Fitzgibbon would be a State of Origin player in any other era. I think they will again just fall short.
Prediction: 9th
NORTH QUEENSLAND
It’s all about Valentine Holmes in Townsville. Or is it? 2019 saw the Cowboys learning to adjust to life without Johnathan Thurston. A year removed, they should improve. The retirements of Matt Scott and Scott Bolton rob the pack of experience, but the addition of Holmes, and centre Esan Marsters from the Tigers gives them plenty of strike power out wide. It’s time for the revival of the Cowboys.
Prediction: 8th
PARRAMATTA
Eels’ fans have waited a long time for premiership glory. The signings of Ryan Matterson and Reagan Campbell-Gillard will bolster their pack; but it’s the spine which is most encouraging. Clint Gutherson is close to the best form of his career, as is Mitchell Moses. Dylan Brown will benefit from a year in the top grade, and Reed Mahoney is being talked about as the next hooker for Queensland. Throw in explosive wingers Maika Sivo and Blake Ferguson, and Parramatta should go very close this year.
Prediction: 2nd
PENRITH
The Panthers are going through another rebuilding phase. The retirement of experienced players such as Tim Grant and Sam McKendry; the departure of James Maloney to England, and the defection of Regan Campbell-Gillard to Parramatta leaves several holes in their line up. Api Koroisau returns to the Panthers, but they will be relying heavily on rookies such as Jack Hetherington, Brent Naden, Matt Burton, and Brian To’o. Penrith will have their moments in 2020, but they may be few and far between.
Prediction: 15th
SOUTHS
All the talk over the summer was the signing of Latrell Mitchell. The two time premiership winner looks relaxed at the Rabbitohs, but he must be under considerable pressure. Sam Burgess, George Burgess, John Sutton, and Kyle Turner have left the Bunnies, leaving a big void, especially in the forwards. Cameron Murray reminds me a lot of Paul Sait from the Bunnies’ golden era; but he will need a lot of support. Liam Knight should step up this year after seasons of promise.
Prediction: 4th
ST GEORGE-ILLAWARRA
The Saints welcome home Trent Merrin, but the veteran Dragon won’t be able to solve all their problems. More concerning is the loss of Gareth Widdop. The Saints were doing fine in 2019 until Widdop was injured. Exciting backs such as Zac Lomax, Matt Dufty, and Euan Aitken need to be fed the ball; and the Dragons have opted not to go into the market for a top five-eighth to replace Widdop. I can’t see where they can score enough points to trouble the top teams.
Prediction: 14th
SYDNEY ROOSTERS
The Roosters are vying to become the first club to win three consecutive premierships since the great Parramatta side of 1981-1983. They are also attempting the task without the legendary halfback Cooper Cronk, who has retired; and star centre Latrell Mitchell, who has moved on to Souths. The Roosters have signed Kyle Flanagan from Cronulla. He should slot into five-eighth, while Luke Keary will run the show at halfback. The Roosters still retain the majority of their premiership winning teams. Victor Radley is ready for a break out year. He was forced to play hooker for parts of 2019, but with Jake Friend fit, Radley should run riot in the back row. I don’t see how the other teams have caught up to the Roosters, although anything can happen in the finals.
Prediction: 1st
WARRIORS
Predicting the Warriors’ form is like trying to pick a Melbourne Cup winner in April. On their day, the Warriors are one of the most exciting teams in the league. However, they seem to have a late season slump that precludes them from being mentioned as a top eight candidate. They have an almost identical squad to that which finished 13th in 2019. Wayde Egan replaces Isaac Luke at hooker.
Prediction: 13th
WESTS TIGERS
The poor old Tigers seems to always fall just short of the finals. This year they have lost Ryan Matterson and Esarn Masters, limiting their attacking ability. Robbie Farah has retired; but there is good news with the signings of Adam Doueihi, Joey Leilua, and Billy Walters. I’m not sure that can make much difference to a die which is always just thereabouts, but never a real contender.
Prediction: 10th