NRL 2025 Pre-Season Thread

[Fitzy]

Yeah hard to argue with any of those choices. I think Pasifiki Tonga is arguably the most exciting young forward coming through, I think he will be a mainstay most of the year but whether he can last an entire season at his age and as a forward is a big question mark. Flanagan will need to manage him but he is a future leader of their pack.

Don’t you worry about that. Helen will have him in excellent nick all season.

 

[Big Pete]

Sloan on the wing makes sense, but Flanagan is a by the numbers kind of coach, so I would say he'll want yardage and tough carries out of his wingers.

Is that really going to fit Sloan??

He can't play centres because they've got Suli and Val there, but he's so much x factor that they should be looking to find him a place in the team.

It's one of those picks that looks good on paper, but you wouldn't lock it in with any confidence. On top of his ability to work it out of yardage, he's only played two games on the wing and that was two years ago when the season was all but over.

On paper, you potentially have the second-coming of Addo-Carr who will keep the defensive line honest and punish them for compressing their line.

I've got Feagai there, but thinking about it more, I think Tuipulotu won the spot last year and the only reason he didn't see out the season was due to a hamstring injury. So he could very well have that left wing spot leaving the right wing to Ravalawa/Sloan/etc.

After making my bold prediction that they'll make the eight, I had a look at their draw and I'm beginning to get second thoughts.

vs. Bulldogs
vs. Rabbitohs
vs. Storm

All home games mind you, but I wouldn't be shocked if they start slowly and we see a couple of early changes.

 

[Big Del]

I think he's missing the physicality that Lomax brings though, and that's one of the main things in his game that makes him so good... yardage, quick ptbs, broken tackles, etc.

Sloan could definitely get up in the air and compete on bombs... but Lomax was someone who was physical in the air and physical in his running.

That just doesn't look like something that is in Sloan's game at all.

Sloan needs to gain a half dozen kilos of muscles similar to JAC .
Might take more than one off season though .