NRL 2026 Round 1 Discussion

JayPee said:
Kalani Going looked so good for the Warriors cup team in some of the finals I watched. See he is already in the Panthers 17 for this week. Another one they will turn into a regular solid first grader. They know when to pounce on these guys. Pun intended.
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They have an amazing system, the envy of most other clubs.

If you have a system where everyone who goes to you basically improves, you’re always going to attract elite talent.
 
JayPee said:
Kalani Going looked so good for the Warriors cup team in some of the finals I watched. See he is already in the Panthers 17 for this week. Another one they will turn into a regular solid first grader. They know when to pounce on these guys. Pun intended.
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Panthers snapped up two Warriors from that Premiership side/State Championship side- Going and Ale.

Two middles and your captain and both older players. Going hasn't played NRL since 23 and makes the Panthers round one side. Something is up here!
 
1910 said:
Panthers snapped up two Warriors from that Premiership side/State Championship side- Going and Ale.

Two middles and your captain and both older players. Going hasn't played NRL since 23 and makes the Panthers round one side. Something is up here!
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Some of the Warriors decisions the last year or so are a bit puzzling to me selection wise and recruitment. I think they should be leaning in to some young guys and some home grown talent more. I think they are trying to be a solid team instead of shooting for the stars. They have a heap of talent. Play them more. If I see Tanah Boyd in that team all year I am going to be pissed. Go young. It might make you take a step back for a year or so but it will help later on.
 
Just watching the end of the Dogs v Dragons game, was there crowd noise playing? It seemed a lot louder than the MANY empty seats suggested it would be.
 
Round 1 Club Debuts

Knights - Dylan Brown, Trey Mooney, Sandon Smith
Cowboys - Reed Mahoney, Matt Lodge
Bulldogs - N/A
Dragons - Setu Tu**, Daniel Atkinson
Storm - Cooper Clarke* **, Davvy Moale*
Eels - Brian Kelly, Jonah Pezet, Jack de Belin
Warriors - TBD
Roosters - Daly Cherry-Evans
Broncos - Aublix Tawha
Panthers - Kalani Going
Sharks - N/A
Titans - Sialetili Faeamani**, Max Feagai, Lachlan Ilias, Kurtis Morrin*
Sea Eagles - Jamal Fogarty, Joey Walsh* **, Kobe Hetherington*
Raiders - Jayden Brailey*
Dolphins - Selwyn Cobbo, Morgan Knowles, Brad Schneider*
Rabbitohs - Bronson Garlick, David Fifita

*named in the 17.
** first grade debut

The bench situation makes things tricky. The Warriors for instance could have Gannon.

Only four debutants feels low as well. That maybe consistent with modern trends but would have thought at least six was the standard for Round 1.
 
As far as the Warriors go, they've gone back to what works for them.

They couldn't get Ivan Cleary, so they brought in the next best thing in Webster and have modelled themselves on Penrith. They couldn't sign Nathan Cleary, so they signed his younger brother - does it get anymore blatant?

I don't have an issue with them playing Harris-Tavita and Boyd over Jett. It's a long season and I'd rather let Jett warm into it instead of throwing him into the deep end against one of the competition heavyweights. Harris-Tavita and Boyd should know to keep it simple, kick into corners and back their running games.

Nicoll-Klokstad, Leiataua, Pompey, Harris-Tavita, Laban, Clark, Healey, Vaimauga, Halasima, Stowers-Smith. I'd say the system is doing OK.

There concern should be winning 12 games. That has to be the bare minimum each year.
 
Interested to watch the Storm tonight, Clarke and Conn debuting from the Flegg side and I love Clarke.

I don't know what to make of the Storm, they looked terrible in the trials and looked like they had no cohesion at all. Their spine is still outstanding, but what are they going to get from Faalongo. I think surprisingly their attack costs them games because I can see games where they struggled to score 24 points to win.

I can see Faalongo being in and out of the team and Peel or Murgha coming in.

Storm v Eels in Cup tonight before the NRL in a big old school rugby league night.
 
Deja vu from 2023.

I just get the feeling that Grant, Munster and Hughes find a way. No Coates or Katoa so their two biggest attacking weapons are gone. Curious to see how they bring Sua into the game, I'm expecting him to go through the ruck.

Warbrick, Howarth and Utoikamanu with a point to prove. It took Stef too long to hit top form - was one of the form players of the finals but when the GF was on the line he faltered.

Warbrick is still having nightmares over Ezra. Will wasn't in the frame of mind for a game of that magnitude and it was just a miracle he played any footy at all. His career is at a cross-roads - one of the best wingers in '24 does he still have it in '26?

I thought Jack had finally turned a corner in '24 but he struggled in '25. Injuries got the better of him and he didn't impose himself as expected. Still think he's quality but needs another gear. 2 tries isn't good enough, how will Melbourne rectify this?

Excited for Clarke and Conn. Clarke is so good on his feet and I expect he'll come up with a carry that swings things Melbourne's way. It's just a question of does Craig go Tui or Moale? If he's going Clarke and Conn, I'd be inclined to go with Tui.
 
Yeah I can't pick tonights game. Eels with a lot less questions coming in, but also less upside. I really don't know. There are some very average aspects to Melbourne's line up compounding on the woeful trial form. But at the same time I don't like to bet against the 3 amigos and if Sua is in form it may just be enough. Not to mention that rd 1 record is tough to go against. Eels have put together a nice system and a good football team. I rate Moses very highly so it will be interesting. I just have a tingle in my nuts that pushes me the way of the Eels at the minute.
 
Fitzy said:
Yeah I can't pick tonights game. Eels with a lot less questions coming in, but also less upside. I really don't know. There are some very average aspects to Melbourne's line up compounding on the woeful trial form. But at the same time I don't like to bet against the 3 amigos and if Sua is in form it may just be enough. Not to mention that rd 1 record is tough to go against. Eels have put together a nice system and a good football team. I rate Moses very highly so it will be interesting. I just have a tingle in my nuts that pushes me the way of the Eels at the minute.
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I'm leaning towards Parra, but realised the game is in Melbourne.

If it was at CommBank I'd be tipping Parra... hard to know how Parra will turn up on the road and which way the ref decides to lean
 
If it gets close, the ref will make sure the Storm get over the line. Gotta have some sort of Bellyache record other than least amount of premierships compared to grand final appearances.
 
Seemed pretty innocuous ... not a great sign if he's completely out of it from that
 
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