{"id":503750,"date":"2026-02-25T19:39:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T19:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/503750\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T19:39:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T19:39:11","slug":"the-top-eight-bolters-who-will-shake-up-the-nrl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/503750\/","title":{"rendered":"The top-eight bolters who will shake up the NRL"},"content":{"rendered":"

The surprise packet this year might just be the Titans. Yes, you have to be careful with pre-season form and the strength of the opposition. But to me, the Titans looked incredibly fit and disciplined. I really liked those early signs and the way the played under new coach Josh Hannay<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Storm, Eels and Titans will all be fighting for a spot in the bottom half of the top eight.Credit: Michael Howard<\/p>\n

It also looks like they\u2019ve got a quality young half in Zane Harrison to add some real depth to their playmaking stocks. To have a youngster like him with Lachlan Ilias arriving adds extra competition to a group already boasting Jayden Campbell and AJ Brimson. If the Gold Coast get that mix right they\u2019ll be a great side to watch.<\/p>\n

Ditto South Sydney, though they just have to keep their big guns fit<\/a>. Cameron Murray back and fully fit, a left-edge of Cody Walker, David Fifita and Latrell Mitchell \u2013 just keep them on the paddock and they\u2019ll trouble any defence.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Melbourne and Cronulla \u2013 finals regulars for so long now \u2013 are the top eight teams I\u2019m worried about most this year.<\/p>\n

The Storm won\u2019t have Eli Katoa in the back row, Ryan Papenhuyzen at the back or big Nelson Asofa-Solomona as their enforcer and forward pack X-factor. A bit like the Panthers last year too, their champion playmakers Cameron Munster and Harry Grant have played so much footy the last few seasons, it could take a toll at some point this year.<\/p>\n

Cronulla are also missing some key figures, such important characters for the club \u2013 that has me concerned too. Ronaldo Mulitalo won\u2019t play until late in the year after rupturing his ACL. Captain Cameron McInnes is coming off his own knee reconstruction and won\u2019t be back until halfway through the season.<\/p>\n

And this roster has been so settled for so long under Craig Fitzgibbon. The talk out of the Sharks camp is that this is the last chance with this group of players. If they don\u2019t have success in 2026, this is probably their last chance to do it.<\/p>\n

In no particular order, I think you can lock in the Broncos, Roosters, Panthers, Bulldogs and Raiders for the finals.<\/p>\n

Then there are seven teams fighting for positions six, seven and eight \u2013 where anything can happen with injuries, suspensions, rep footy and whatever else the rugby league gods toss up.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve got the Storm and Sharks in that group, along with the Dolphins, Eels, Titans, Warriors and Souths.<\/p>\n

Again, good luck predicting how it plays out. But I think Kristian Woolf and Ryles will be coaching in the finals for the first time, with Craig Bellamy and Melbourne just tipping the Warriors out as well.<\/p>\n

Big boys and big questions: The great unknowns in Knights overhaul<\/p>\n

How Newcastle will play in Las Vegas this Sunday, and right across the season, is the great unknown.<\/p>\n

I saw new coach Justin Holbrook quoted saying the Knights need to be unpredictable and that excited me.<\/p>\n

A lot more than their 28-0 trial loss to Canterbury anyway, where there was nothing unpredictable at all, just the same mediocre attack as last year.<\/p>\n

Fletcher Sharpe being named at five-eighth to play the Cowboys surprised me and again, we just don\u2019t know how Dylan Brown, Fletcher and Kalyn Ponga will combine as the 7, 6 and 1.<\/p>\n

\"Great<\/p>\n

Great unknown: New Knights playmaker Dylan Brown.Credit: NRL Photos<\/p>\n

My biggest questions: who\u2019s the boss in that spine<\/a>? And who does both the long and short kicking \u2013 especially when they\u2019re on the attack in Vegas, given the smaller field impacts your grubbers and crossfield kicks so much?<\/p>\n

Winning games in the first month of a season, when everyone is understandably still a little rusty and building match fitness, focuses so much on your kicking, completing at or above 80 per cent, and defensive energy and discipline. That game management is a massive test for Newcastle\u2019s new playmakers.<\/p>\n

And maybe having so much upheaval with Brown and Sandon Smith arriving is an advantage. Teams don\u2019t have much to work with as far as planning.<\/p>\n

The big worry for me, aside from how Newcastle\u2019s spine clicks, is their depth in the middle.<\/p>\n

I asked Warren Ryan once: \u201cHow many front-rowers do you need to play first grade at your club?\u201d<\/p>\n

He responded: \u201cWell, you need two starting front-rowers. You need two front-rowers on your bench. And you need another two out suspended.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tyson Frizell is now playing at lock with Jacob Saifiti and Trey Mooney as the Knights\u2019 starting props \u2013 if either of those props go down this year, Newcastle are in big trouble.<\/p>\n

North Queensland, meanwhile, are pretty stable with Reed Mahoney their only major signing. Their forwards are a strength with Jason Taumalolo, Reuben Cotter and Coen Hess up front and Heilum Luki \u2013 a future rep player in my eyes \u2013 returning from injury.<\/p>\n

\"Tom<\/p>\n

Tom Dearden could have a field day down the Cowboys left edge.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n

Tom Dearden was in career-best form last year and is only going to be better with another pre-season. He and Scott Drinkwater will be North Queensland\u2019s trump cards against the Knights. They love to play down the left and expect Dom Young to be targeted and put under real pressure given he can produce poor defensive reads.<\/p>\n

Joey\u2019s tip: Cowboys by eight<\/p>\n

First try-scorer: Heilum Luki<\/p>\n

Man of the match: Scott Drinkwater<\/p>\n

The defence doesn\u2019t rest, especially in Las Vegas<\/p>\n

In Sunday\u2019s other clash, the Bulldogs are so settled with their first-choice 17 and know the bedrock of their game is a fast-moving, aggressive defence.<\/p>\n

That serves them so well at the start of the season<\/a> \u2013 it\u2019s perfect for this time of year and another off-season training together for Lachlan Galvin and their playmakers will only help their attack.<\/p>\n

The Dragons are definitely the more adventurous of these two sides; they love coming down the left with big, powerful bodies Luciano Leilua and Moses Suli.<\/p>\n

Those two are genuine threats with the ball, but they\u2019re also targets without it as well, especially when you consider the hole-running of Ashes tourist Jacob Preston on Canterbury\u2019s right edge.<\/p>\n

The Dragons have some great young local forwards like Hamish Stewart, Dylan Egan (who is sidelined with an ACL rupture) and the Couchman twins that the club can keep building around. I also like the signing of Daniel Atkinson as a run-threat No.7. He needs to straighten their attack, which can go sideways very quickly.<\/p>\n

On the narrow Allegiant Stadium field though, the Bulldogs defence will be far too strong. At most, I can only see the Dragons scoring 14 points, and Canterbury will have them covered.<\/p>\n

Loading<\/p>\n

Joey\u2019s tip: Bulldogs by 10<\/p>\n

First try-scorer: Jacob Preston<\/p>\n

Man of the match: Lachlan Galvin<\/p>\n

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport are sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The surprise packet this year might just be the Titans. Yes, you have to be careful with pre-season…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":503751,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-503750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=503750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/503751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=503750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=503750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=503750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}