![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/poster-fallback.png\"\/)
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The Roosters have been boosted by the arrival of Daly Cherry-Evans and Reece Robson to rocket into third favourites, while the Storm are looking to avenge two Grand Final losses in a row and the Bulldogs are looking to take the next step after finishing third and going out of the finals in straight sets. <\/p>\n
Read on for the key questions facing the five leading contenders for the 2026 title. <\/p>\n
2026 NRL PREMIERSHIP ODDS (TAB)<\/p>\n
Broncos \u2014 $5.50<\/p>\n
Panthers \u2014 $6.50<\/p>\n
Roosters \u2014 $7<\/p>\n
Storm \u2014 $7.50<\/p>\n
Bulldogs \u2014 $13<\/p>\n
MORE NRL NEWS<\/p>\n
BUY OR SELL: Storm concerns laid bare; legend\u2019s insane Moses call <\/a><\/p>\n TALKING POINTS: Problem threatening Roosters stars; Broncos\u2019 shock Madge scenario<\/a><\/p>\n SAGA OVER: Shock end to Lomax drama as Eels teammate\u2019s fatal snub revealed<\/a><\/p>\n Toia ruled out of Wahs clash with injury | 00:47<\/p>\n BRONCOS \u2014 Can the Broncos ride the wave and go back-to-back?<\/p>\n Has a coach who won the premiership the season before ever come under so much scrutiny before their title defence has even begun?<\/p>\n We can\u2019t remember one, outside of Michael Maguire ahead of the 2026 season.<\/p>\n Rumblings of player unrest have already emerged following Brisbane\u2019s pre-season campaign, with legendary forward Mark Geyer making staggering comments on 2GB.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I do keep hearing a lot is Madge\u2019s name being mentioned … I\u2019m not gonna say [in] unfriendly [ways], but not in positive ways,\u201d Geyer said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat makes me think that someone like Michael Maguire has a shelf life as a coach in the NRL of around three years, because he is so intense.<\/p>\n \u201cThen it is time for him to take his powers and move on somewhere else that needs his help.\u201d<\/p>\n Last season, heading into the Broncos\u2019 Round 12 bye, Maguire\u2019s side had lost five of their preview six games.<\/p>\n Pressure was mounting, which ultimately subsided after their late surge which resulted in a premiership.<\/p>\n But once again, where there\u2019s smoke, there\u2019s fire and there is a possibility that all the outside noise could derail Brisbane\u2019s premiership defence. <\/p>\n However, given their roster, Braith Anasta believes the Broncos can dominate the competition this season. <\/p>\n Michael Maguire needs to get his players up for the fight of going back-to-back.Source: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t surprise us if the Broncos just dominate this year, they have got the players and they have only lost Hetherington and Smoothy,\u201d Anasta said on the Kayo NRL Podcast. <\/p>\n \u201cThere is some really young guns there in key positions in Carrigan, Haas, Walsh and Mam. We saw Walsh and Mam in the Grand Final were spectacular. <\/p>\n \u201cThey have still got the experience of Reynolds and Hunt and they have got speed and athleticism on their edges.<\/p>\n \u201cThey really should dominate this year. It is hard to say dominate when there are teams like Penrith, but really with their roster and the way they performed at the back end of last year, they are going to be there. <\/p>\n \u201cThe only real concern would be the hangover after a Grand Final. It is just that one or two per cent that you haven\u2019t won a premiership and you want to win one, so can they win it again?\u201d <\/p>\n In saying that, Anasta conceded that Maguire would play a massive role in his ability to get his players up for the fight of going back-to-back, which the club hasn\u2019t done since 1993. <\/p>\n \u201cA lot will come down to the inner sanctum and Michael Maguire,\u201d Anasta said. <\/p>\n \u201cIt will come down to how he coaches them and how he gets them back up after that premiership win. <\/p>\n \u201cDo the systems they have got in place hold up year after year or did they just have a golden run to win a premiership? That will all be told and seen this year.\u201d <\/p>\n Get all the latest news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports NRL Sportmail. Sign up now!!! <\/a><\/p>\n Eels and Storm face off amid Lomax drama | 03:58<\/p>\n PANTHERS \u2014 What does the second year of the Talagi-Cleary combination look like? <\/p>\n For the first time in what feels like a long time, the Panthers enter a season having not lost a major name to a rival club.<\/p>\n Instead, there is much-needed roster stability that has the once four-time defending premiers primed for another tilt at the title again, and that starts in the halves.<\/p>\n Last year, Blaize Talagi was thrust into the spotlight as the long-term replacement for Jarome Luai and while he struggled at times early in the season, Talagi continued to grow in confidence as the year progressed and pick his moments more to complement Cleary at halfback. <\/p>\n What was particularly promising was to see the way Talagi started to really dig into the line and lean into his strengths as a runner of the football, not deferring as much and instead starting to find his feet alongside one of the most dominant playmakers in the game. <\/p>\n Cleary had a similar experience himself when playing with James Maloney, and while Cleary is not going to be retiring or leaving the club anytime soon like Maloney did, the Panthers halfback said the simple fact that both he and Talagi didn\u2019t enter this pre-season carrying any niggling injuries has them well set up for 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really excited to not only see Blaize develop, but also our combination develop as well,\u201d Cleary told NRL.com last month. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was starting to go really well last year and that was with only one year together. <\/p>\n \u201cLast year\u2019s pre-season we were both in rehab pretty much the whole time so we\u2019re both fit this year and able to work on that combination from day one. I\u2019m hoping to build on that and go out there and see how it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n Penrith start season minus Premiers tag | 01:05<\/p>\n There will still be the same defensive concerns given Talagi\u2019s slighter frame, but that wasn\u2019t isolated to the 20-year-old\u2019s game anyway given he was part of a new-look left edge alongside Casey McLean, who also emerged as a key difference maker for the Panthers down the stretch. <\/p>\n Talagi will be better for the run against the Broncos in the preliminary final last year, even if he perhaps was guilty of going into his shell a bit where the Panthers of old would have benefited from having a genuine game-breaker in the energetic Luai to pick them back up as the contest slipped away. <\/p>\n Premiership-winning halfback Cooper Cronk told foxsports.com.au he expects the Talagi-Cleary combination to \u201cgo further\u201d, while Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said the lack of player turnover more broadly will only help Penrith in its bid to win another premiership.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a positive (not to lose anyone),\u201d Cleary said earlier this week.<\/p>\n \u201cLast year we sort of had a few changes in the team, particularly some young guys throughout the season they become more familiar with the team.<\/p>\n \u201cSo to be able to have a good pre-season together as a team definitely (helps) feel (more) connected and hopefully they show that on the field.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s all to happen yet but again, happy with our pre-season has gone and those sorts of connections have only grown which are important.\u201d<\/p>\n Young Panthers playmaker Blaize Talagi. Pic: Panthers InstagramSource: Instagram<\/p>\n ROOSTERS \u2014 Will their halves live up to the hype?<\/p>\n Daly Cherry-Evans and Sam Walker.<\/p>\n Their names have been said together in the same sentence more than any other two players this pre-season, and rightly so.<\/p>\n Cherry-Evans arrives at the Roosters as one of the club\u2019s most high-profile recruits, having departed the Sea Eagles, a club he looked destined to end his career at.<\/p>\n The veteran wanted a new challenge, namely winning a premiership with a new club, a glamour one at that, alongside one of the game\u2019s most exciting halfbacks.<\/p>\n But as we know of big-name signings, they don\u2019t always work out and Walker is urging fans to be patient.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully it clicks straight away but we know most likely it\u2019s going to take a little bit of time,\u201d he said to AAP.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cBut as long as we work hard at our fundamentals, work hard with what we can control at the start of the year, that\u2019s going to be a really important step for us to win games while we\u2019re still building our combination.\u201d<\/p>\n Daly Cherry-Evans has shifted to five-eighth.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n However, the question stands \u2014 how patient can you be with a 37-year-old playmaker, who has a one-year contract with an option for another?<\/p>\n The Tricolours have a small premiership window if DCE is their missing piece, and Trent Robinson will be desperate for his halves to click.<\/p>\n To make sure they do the most damage, he also has a plan \u2014 a roving halves… trio.<\/p>\n James Tedesco is set to play a ball-playing role alongside Walker and Cherry-Evans, who won\u2019t be boxed in to rigid halves positions.<\/p>\n \u201cWe won\u2019t be the traditional six or seven, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d Walker said to News Corp.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAt different times, we\u2019re going to share the load a fair bit.<\/p>\n \u201cWe both have the freedom to roam around, I won\u2019t be stuck on one side of the field, as a footballer I can\u2019t do that, and he\u2019s very similar as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Tedesco echoed that sentiment, saying: \u201cThe thing with Chez and Sammy is they can both play the first receiver, second receiver or third receiver.<\/p>\n \u201cAll three of us can interchange into those different roles, and I like it because it gives us a bit of freedom.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like with Sammy and Chez, they\u2019re not a genuine halfback, they\u2019re not a genuine five-eighth, they can fit between both and that\u2019s going to add to our game.\u201d<\/p>\n 2026 SEASON PREVIEWS<\/p>\n WARRIORS: What \u2018fractured\u2019 the Warriors\u2019 season… then it ended with a cold reminder<\/a><\/p>\n PANTHERS: Big change puts rest of NRL on notice… it has Panthers primed for revenge<\/a><\/p>\n