I’ll put all the “doom and gloom” aside and give my ratings for this years ro - which I actually think is quite good due to persevering with the young guys who where originally blooded too early.
1. Walsh 7/10
Walsh has an extremely high ceiling when it comes to potential. He is probably the player that I’m least certain about when it comes to rating. His potential is up there with any player in the comp but he has had an up and down career so far. Consistency will be key for Walsh and finding the balance between backing himself and taking the smart play. May have underrated him due to my lack of faith in fullbacks over the last few seasons.
2. Oates 8/10
Big Cozza has had a resurgence. His attitude and performances have been great and should continue with Reynolds, Walsh, and Mam creating opportunities for him. Not the fastest winger and his defence can be hit or miss but was pretty damn good last year.
4. Herbert Farnworth 8.5/10
One of the best young backs in the comp on his day. Strong defender, huge output, and has big plays in him. Just needs to learn to set up his winger.
3. Staggs 7.5/10
Staggs has the potential to be the best back at the club if not the comp but while his one on one defence has improved his defending as part of the right edge unit needs work. His attack has also become 1 dimensional and he doesn’t have the work rate to make up for drops in attacking stats. When Cobbo and Staggs clicked for that period it was obvious how potent they could be.
5. Cobbo 8/10
Cobbo is another player in the Staggs and Walsh mould - the best in his position on his day an error riddled mess when he’s off. Hopefully he has come back bigger stronger and more consistent however there are some concerns regarding attitude. All he needs to do is return kicks with gusto, have a few scoots from hooker, and receive hand fed tries from Reynolds.
6. Mam 7.5/10
Mam is again similar to Walsh. The sky is the limit but sample size is too small to make a strong judgment. His toughness in defence and ability to time and weight passes perfectly are incredible for his age. Heaps of ability. Hopefully the experienced Reynolds and cocky Walsh will take a lot of pressure off of Mam and allow him to pick his moments.
7. Reynolds 9.5/10
Not much needs to be said. Hopefully can stay on the field more this season because we do not have the halves depth of last season. Will hopefully click with his spine in attack and edge in defence.
8. Flegler 8/10
Flegler is getting better every game. Although I personally think he provides more balance to the team coming off the bench with Jenson starting. He’s big, aggressive and skillful. Needs to avoid suspension and sin bins.
9. Billiam Walters 5/10
Does a job and can’t fault his efforts. Will hopefully improve with a full preseason at hooker. A journeyman utility bench hooker who has become the starting 9 due to circumstances. Currently our weakest position.
10. Haas 9.5/10
One of the best in the comp regardless of how you feel about him as a person. Mr Consistent. Would like to see him work toward quick play the balls rather than forcing a few extra metres. With the quality of the pack, he shouldn’t need to play more than 60 minutes once Hetherington returns
11. Capewell 7.5/10
Capewell is a cool head with experience and utility value. He’s never going to be a Fifita or Kikau type back rower and his biggest value occurs off the field. His main focus should be helping Mam develop in defence.
12. Riki 6/10
All the athleticism you could want in an edge forward but struggled to capitalise on it due to a fairly poor understanding of the game. Will need to step up this season to remain in the broncos long term plans. Personally think he would be a better bench middle forward.
13. Patty 9/10
Everything you could want in a man…I mean player. His improvements in ball playing have been nothing short of impressive and he has won over a lot of us who thought he had no business at lock. Hopefully continues to build on last year.
14. Paix 6.5/10
Good utility hooker option but needs to improve defence
15. Jensen 7/10
Reliable work horse. Extremely valuable
16. Taupau 6/10
Will be good value for his experience and aggression. Plenty of flaws in his game but overall a good pick up.
17. Palasia 6/10
Bench depth. Does a job at prop. Terrible on an edge.
Coach: Kev 6/10
Good bloke but not a good coach. Doesn’t need to be amazing to experience success with the team. Anything short of finals is an abject failure.
Depth: 5/10
We are fortunate to have starting players with decent utility value that can cover for other positions but our actual depth is far below last season. Any massive injury toll could be a real problem.
All of the above gives a total average of about 7.25/10 which I feel is fairly accurate if you consider Penrith last year a 9.5 and south’s an 8 and the rest of the top teams somewhere in between