NRL 2025 Pre-Season Thread

1. Ponga
4. Manu
6. Brown

Yep I could see them pushing hard for that. Which middle and second-rower do you think they might try to shake free from other clubs? They tried hard for Haas and Fifita and missed both. Do they come for Haas again?

I'd love to see them go after Drinkwater, he's incredibly overrated in my opinion, so when they overpay for duds like they have with B.Smith, I'm happy.
 
Sproj said:
1. Ponga
4. Manu
6. Brown

Yep I could see them pushing hard for that. Which middle and second-rower do you think they might try to shake free from other clubs? They tried hard for Haas and Fifita and missed both. Do they come for Haas again?

I'd love to see them go after Drinkwater, he's incredibly overrated in my opinion, so when they overpay for duds like they have with B.Smith, I'm happy.
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Not sure they will chase hard for middles... I think they let May go, because they have those young brothers coming through... is it Va'a?

On top of having White from last year looking promising.

I think they will see how those guys go this year before deciding on where to vulture the market i.e. proven stud or infinite potential.

Second row... not sure... they've got Angus, and Radley was playing some edge last year. Given they went after Fifita there is a chance they are actively looking at the market, but they may have some young studs coming through. There's so many edges that fit the rorters archetype though... probably just need to track whoever is getting hyped up for origin. Haumole would've been someone right up rorters list, but he's been locked down now. Cows always seem to have an abundance of edges so maybe one of them gets promised greener grass in Bondi.

Robbo does like the Butcher brothers though, so holding tight on them at a lower price (for Uncle Nick's expert property advice) might be where they go instead of near $800k on a strike edge when they've already got Angus.

Haas will be free to negotiate come Nov 1 2025, so expect the Haas contract circus to kick off again sometime this year.

Will be interesting to see what happens.. Madge should be able to get plenty out of Haas (potentially Mozer as well given what he does with BTK), but will he see him as a million dollar player 🤔
 
Ponga is no hope of going to the Roosters. They sell the club to their players to take unders to play with the club and Ponga is never taking unders for anyone. That bloke is all about the money regardless of the success.
 
mitch222 said:
I doubt the Roosters are going to pay anyone 1.6m to play for them. But we know the knights are desperate enough to do so
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Yeah but $1.1m and some sweetners on the side can help with that.

Sandon Smith is a nothing player in their squad and he was renting a house in Vaucluse from a "friend" whilst running over people in his Audi A5.

Median house price there is about $8.1m... Ponga might be able to make similar "friends" if he's playing out of Bondi.
 
Ponga wouldn’t go to the Roosters unless it’s on a season by season deal later in his career. He doesn’t want to get caught out by their ability to offload any player they want without any consequence
 
Plus Ponga already got caught once in the knights shady third party deals that werent eventuating. I highly doubt he wants to take the risk at the Roosters for that when there are clubs dumb enough to give him what he wants on the books straight off the bat.
 
Big Pete said:
Let's take a look

Sydney Roosters 2025
1. James Tedesco
2. Daniel Tupou
3. Billy Smith/Fetalaiga Pauga
4. Robert Toia/Fetalaiga Pauga
5. Dominic Young
6. Sandon Smith
7. Chad Townsend
8. Spencer Leniu/etc
9. Connor Watson
10. Lindsay Collins
11. Angus Crichton
12. Nat Butcher/etc
13. Victor Radley

14. De La Selle Va'a/etc.
15. Naufahu Whyte
16. Siua Wong/etc.
17. Egan Butcher/etc.

Somehow they have to fit Mark Nawaquanitawase in there but I'm not sure if he'll be able to play centres or if either Tupou or Young can accommodate him.

It was always going to be a difficult year following the departures of JWH, Keary, Manu and Suaalii but then you toss in the injuries to Walker and B. Smith and their campaign looks over before it's begun.

To touch on one of your questions Sproj, I'm not sure if they were in the market for a lot of the big name players like Luai or Holmes. The only names I recall were David Fifita and Ben Hunt and I'd have to question how seriously they chased after Hunt. It seemed like they inquired but with Townsend there and Robson on the way they likely weren't that keen.

You can't say the same about Fifita. They absolutely wanted him and it seemed like such a Roosters signing too. Here's this player the Penrith Panthers are bending over backwards trying to sign and then at the 11th hour the Roosters get jealous and decide to poach them like a spoiled rich kid. It seemed like another Brandon Smith situation until at the last minute Fifita pulled out.

Maybe it was a blessing in disguise. Wasn't Crichton going to leave the club if they signed Fifita? Maybe Roosters management would have shown Angus the light, but if you had to pick between the pair, I think you'd had to go with the devil you know, surely. Crichton's 2024 was as good as I've seen from any second row.

As far as the team goes, I've played it safe with the 1-13 and largely just named players with first grade experience. The exception is Robert Toia in the centres, he was the brightest prospect out of Queensland but unfortunately he's had a horrible run with injuries. It's going to be a tough ask coming into this team but if Robbo is patient and injuries are kind he'll have a strong fleet footed player who will create space for Young.

S. Smith and Townsend will get first crack. Never heard anything more about Smith's GBH charge, it sounded like a freak accident and an unfortunate situation so I expect the NRL to turn a blind eye there. On paper it's a balanced combination with Townsend playing that game management role while Smith can play that dual role where he can either create the extra man or play first receiver and really dig into the line. However it's not a long term combination and for Smith this really is an audition with so many young players looming.

The Roosters currently have Rodwell who is the schoolboys halfback on an NRL deal and he looks like a more talented version of Smith. Then there's Jake Elliott, Reece Foley and Hugo Savala who will all be vying for an opportunity so I'm sure Robbo will cycle through this crop to sort out his Keary replacement ASAP.

It's such an awkward injury for Walker. I can't remember the last time a halfback injured their ACL late in the year, came back the following year and dominated. I remember Lockyer injured his just after Origin in 2007 and he really struggled the following year as he tried to rush through his recovery. I'd effectively go into the year with the idea that Walker's injured for the year with the view that 2026 is his year.

In his absence, Radley is going to have to find another gear. I rate him just behind Murray in terms of linking with his halves, but this year he may need to challenge teams down the short-sides and play some second receiver as well. In fact, Robbo could run with the option of playing a Ricky Stuart esque style with Radley going 6 and Whyte coming into the starting line-up with Steep not far behind. It wouldn't be a sustainable line-up, but if you were concerned about teams bullying your young players, that would be the play.

I'm curious to see who will cover that right-side edge with Tupouniua gone. I've named Nat Butcher there but that's merely a placeholder at this stage. The other options they have are Siua Wong who had an indifferent 2024 after a promising 2023. Egan Butcher is somebody they've had huge raps on for years, has never quite lived up to them and is recovering from an ACL. Then there's Foketi who is only 20, but reportedly had some strong touches in NSW Cup. I believe he plays left edge and is more of a loose 13 type of player.

This is a position Robbo has compromised on over the years but when I think about his brand of football, it really excelled when he had strong edge forwards like SBW, Cordner, Guerra, Crichton, Aubusson etc. working in tandem. I don't think playing a Radley or Nat Butcher will be ideal.

I'm not convinced with the rest of their pack. You can lock in Leniu, Watson, Collins, Crichton, Radley, Whyte and Butcher but that still leaves them with three spots and Leniu is not a 80 minute player by any stretch of the imagination. The only other recognised props they have on their roster is the Va'a brothers so you could see some really inconsistent performances from the Roosters. Teams may opt to play conservatively, knowing they'll get a crack at the younger players towards the back end of halves/early second and take the game then and there.

Still, I don't expect the Roosters to be easy-beats. I've got them outside the eight, but they have enough class to cause some upsets and I expect some of their young guns will turn heads as well and set themselves up for 2026.
Click to expand...

I've got a feeling Molo may end up at the Rorters.
 
mitch222 said:
Ponga is no hope of going to the Roosters. They sell the club to their players to take unders to play with the club and Ponga is never taking unders for anyone. That bloke is all about the money regardless of the success.
Click to expand...

True, but he's been on good coin at the Knights now for a while. I'm not even talking Sombrero here, the financial advice Uncle Nick and co give to players would be worth listening to and no doubt a hell of a draw card. I can see him taking "less" to go to a club that has a decent shot at a premiership. By less, he would still be on over 1mill IMO.
 
Anyone watching the PL nines tournament? Pretty cool seeing a lot of recently retired blokes running around and there is a team ‘Legacy’ with a lot of Broncos old boys in it. Better than nothing.
 
Sproj said:
Big Pete Big Pete- who we got from you next?
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Let's see which teams we have to cover:

Cronulla Sharks
Dolphins
Gold Coast Titans
Melbourne Storm
Newcastle Knights
Penrith Panthers
Wests Tigers

We have a whole board dedicated to the Broncos, so I'll save the discussion there.

I was hoping you'd take the Knights since you have a fondness for them. If anyone wants to take a crack at those other clubs by all means.
 
I'll start from the top and pick Cronulla:

Cronulla Sharks 2025
1. William Kennedy
2. Sione Katoa
3. Jesse Ramien
4. Kayal Iro
5. Ronaldo Mulitalo
6. Braydon Trindall
7. Nicho Hynes
8. Addin Fonua-Blake
9. Blayke Brailey
10. Oregon Kaufusi
11. Briton Nikora
12. Teig Wilton
13. Cameron McInnes (c)

14. Siosifa Talakai
15. Hohepa Puru/etc.
16. Toby Rudolf/etc.
17. Thomas Hazelton

It's a team that largely picks itself, the only question marks I have is over the bench. With Williams gone that opens up a spot and may see Fitzgibbon go with a change of tact. I've gone with Puru as a placeholder since he played a similar role as Jack for Penrith and Canberra playing through the grades but it remains to be seen.

You'd have to think when he's fit Rudolf will be the front-runner off the bench, but he's coming off a shoulder reconstruction and will miss the start of the season. So it'll come down to Hamlin-Uele, Colquhoun, Hau-Tapuha etc. for that opening spot. On paper you'd say Hamlin-Uele but he's had his own struggles making it onto the field.

It's a good line-up on paper and they've been trending in the right direction the past few years. The biggest issue with Cronulla is that in the big games they can be found wanting. At times they've just lacked that defensive resolve and games have gotten away from them. Alternatively their star players have just been too passive and struggled to inject themselves in the game.

Of course I'm referring to Nicho Hynes. He holds the key for them and if he can play his best footy they'll make plenty of noise. I think where he's struggled these past couple of years is that he's had to split his focus between club and representative commitments. Nicho had the whole weight of the world on his shoulders when he's at his best when he just probes around and is able to draw in a couple of defenders before going again.

I think the consistensy of playing with the same group of guys will do wonders.

Then there's Addin Fonua-Blake who had a real up and down season last year. You would have to think now that he's settled he's ready to take this pack to the next level which is frightening.

They should be one of the Top 4 teams this year. They shouldn't have any disruptions during the Origin period, there's no weaknesses in their 17 and considering they won the NSW Cup and finished runners up in Flegg, their depth should be good too.
 
Big Pete said:
I'll start from the top and pick Cronulla:

Cronulla Sharks 2025
1. William Kennedy
2. Sione Katoa
3. Jesse Ramien
4. Kayal Iro
5. Ronaldo Mulitalo
6. Braydon Trindall
7. Nicho Hynes
8. Addin Fonua-Blake
9. Blayke Brailey
10. Oregon Kaufusi
11. Briton Nikora
12. Teig Wilton
13. Cameron McInnes (c)

14. Siosifa Talakai
15. Hohepa Puru/etc.
16. Toby Rudolf/etc.
17. Thomas Hazelton

It's a team that largely picks itself, the only question marks I have is over the bench. With Williams gone that opens up a spot and may see Fitzgibbon go with a change of tact. I've gone with Puru as a placeholder since he played a similar role as Jack for Penrith and Canberra playing through the grades but it remains to be seen.

You'd have to think when he's fit Rudolf will be the front-runner off the bench, but he's coming off a shoulder reconstruction and will miss the start of the season. So it'll come down to Hamlin-Uele, Colquhoun, Hau-Tapuha etc. for that opening spot. On paper you'd say Hamlin-Uele but he's had his own struggles making it onto the field.

It's a good line-up on paper and they've been trending in the right direction the past few years. The biggest issue with Cronulla is that in the big games they can be found wanting. At times they've just lacked that defensive resolve and games have gotten away from them. Alternatively their star players have just been too passive and struggled to inject themselves in the game.

Of course I'm referring to Nicho Hynes. He holds the key for them and if he can play his best footy they'll make plenty of noise. I think where he's struggled these past couple of years is that he's had to split his focus between club and representative commitments. Nicho had the whole weight of the world on his shoulders when he's at his best when he just probes around and is able to draw in a couple of defenders before going again.

I think the consistensy of playing with the same group of guys will do wonders.

Then there's Addin Fonua-Blake who had a real up and down season last year. You would have to think now that he's settled he's ready to take this pack to the next level which is frightening.

They should be one of the Top 4 teams this year. They shouldn't have any disruptions during the Origin period, there's no weaknesses in their 17 and considering they won the NSW Cup and finished runners up in Flegg, their depth should be good too.
Click to expand...
Another key for them is Blayke Brailey... he's a consistent presence for them and allows Fitzgibbon to keep picking a 4 forward bench.

The thing is Blayke has barely missed a minute, let alone a game for about 4 years now... Fitzgibbon hasn't really faced a situation where his number one, and seemingly only hooker, has been unavailable.

I'd imagine McInness moves into hooker, but McInness' quick ptbs is BSmith like, and the forward bench allows him to keep his forwards fresh... Fitzgibbon's style has been rolling through the middle with quick ptb's from the forwards and then getting it out the back to Hynes, etc. on the back of momentum.

If Brailey were to get injured it could represent a pretty big disruption for the team and possibly require a complete change of tactics for Fitzgibbon.
 
There's a lot of talk of pushing one of the wingers out for Stonestreet, so at the very least, it seems there is some strong competition for spots.

They look great on paper and AFB is exactly what they needed. Can they win it all though with Hynes at 7 and such a mediocre 1? Hynes has a bit of a record of going MIA when the whips are cracking and Kennedy is just so average. That is two very key positions with big question marks. Trindall looks like he is ready to the take the next step though and a lot of their season will depend on whether he does or not.

But yeah this is a top four side on paper comfortably but as we have seen the last couple of seasons, Penrith + Broncs in 2023 and Penrith + Storm in 2024 were still miles ahead of them. I feel like the Panthers for the first time in a while look weaker but even so, can the Sharks bridge the gap to those top two? I'm still not sure, there is just a softness that I can't quite put my finger on that gives me alarm bells.
 
Big Pete said:
Let's see which teams we have to cover:

Cronulla Sharks
Dolphins
Gold Coast Titans
Melbourne Storm
Newcastle Knights
Penrith Panthers
Wests Tigers

We have a whole board dedicated to the Broncos, so I'll save the discussion there.

I was hoping you'd take the Knights since you have a fondness for them. If anyone wants to take a crack at those other clubs by all means.
Click to expand...

I'd love to do the Knights for you but you do this better than anyone and I get accused of making too many lists which is hard to argue with. Happy to read your write ups instead.
 
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