Rank every bottom 8 teams recruitment

[BooKhaki]

I glanced and saw you compared Coates to Inglis. Stopped reading.

 

[McHunt]

We stole Billy Walters from right under the Tigers. They’re going to be dirty about that.

 

[The True King]

I don’t think the sharks’ recruitment wil be all that great in practice. Hynes looked far worse at 6 for the storm than he did at fb, how will he adapt to being in the halves in a side that has struggled for direction? Fin was getting injured and concussed far too often towards the end of this season.

Lets be real, we would have taken Hynes in a heartbeat if he had been willing to come up here. Finucane does have his injury issues but so does Arey and pretty much every 30yo+ player in the NRL.

 

[vertigo]

Yeah cronulla are going to be good next year. Only real question marks are over Brailey being good enough.

 

[theshed]

Yeah cronulla are going to be good next year. Only real question marks are over Brailey being good enough.

They’ve also signed McInnes

 

[john1420]

Now for a more accurate list for all clubs.

The players picked up so far by club:

Panthers - Have lost Burton, Capewell, Naden and bought in no one really, regardless they are fine

Storm - Notable ins are Coates and Meaney and a few other bits and pieces. They lose Hynes, Addo-Carr, Finucane and Lee, plus a few other bits and pieces. They still have a gun side but their depth will e severely tested if they get injuries. Can Coates provide the threat Addo-Carr did?

Rabbitohs - They lose Gagai, Reynolds, Su'A, Mago and others and bring in Milford...maybe, if he isn't in jail (whoever thought anyone would wonder that!). They have been decimated by gun outs and no one really in. Milford and Walker, wowsers that will be...interesting.

Sea-Eagles - Lose Sironen and gain Bullemor. Bullemor is an excellent signing, we all know how much potential he has. They still have TTurbo and that is enough to be up there but not go the extra step. They need a strike centre and there aren't many of those around, particularly for a club with no cap space.

Eels - Lose Fergusen and a few others but no ins. They are a smokey for next season but they will regain Mahoney, that is pretty big.

Roosters - In is Watson, out is Cordner, Friend, Liu and the Morri twins. This team is getting older but they have some big regains in Watson, Keary, Collins, etc. Their regains will be big but they might be starting to age, will be interesting to see which kids / stars they 'convince' to come in over the offseason.

Knights - Ins are Gagai and Clune. I have no idea how they afforded Gagai, they have to be 'bending' their cap. Outs are Shibasaki, Green and Watson. They really need to be top 4 next year or it might all implode, Gagai is a huge in, they have threats at centre on both sides.

Titans - Liu and Turner come in but they need more in the spine, their youth approach may well backfire, I'd be bringing in Berrell from Wynnum-Manly. Their outs are Don, Peachey, Taylor, Rein and a few others. I dunno, their squad seems so unbalanced now, too much unproven youth, sound familiar?

Bottom 8:

Sharks - Ins are Hynes, Finucane, McInnes and outs are Dugan, Johnson, and Townsend. They have some top quality ins but the question really is, who organises at halfback? They will be VERY competitive and if they run with Trindall at 7, well they might well be a smokey next year. This is one side to really watch but another problem is, who is their backline strike? Is their forward pack better than run of the mill? Building nicely.

Dragons - Ins are Burgess, Mbye, Molo, Su'A and their outs are Beale, Clune, Dufty, McInness, Merrin, Norman, Vaughan and a few others. They couldn't ship Vaughan out quick enough when the chance came, this might have more of a fracturing effect than they thought. They have taken on a lot of big contracts that might bite them moving forward. This side seems to...boring. I don't know, Hook has made a Broncos-lite there and they will have an inspired patch once again and then probably fall away like usual.

Tigers - Ins Hastings and Gildart and outs are Leilua, Mbye, Packer and Walters. This side is awful, they have nothing exciting coming in, cannot attract big names and are in turmoil. 2022 spooners?

Warriors - Ins Johnson and Pene, outs are Ah Mau, Hiku, Maumalo, Turner and the big one Tuivasa-Sheck. This team has no decent ins really and have blown a lot of money on some average / downward trending players. They will compete for 8th and that's about it, they will be competitive, they always are but they just don't have enough star power to be more than also rans.

Raiders - Ins are no one but maybe Taylor. Outs are Havili, James, Lui, Scott?, Soliola and and Williams. This side is on a downward swing. They have a REALLY exciting fullback in Savage coming through and a decent spine but the key for them will be their number 7 and who gets it. They could end up contenders or spooners, so hard to get a read on going into '22.

Broncos - Ins are Reynolds, Capewell, Lee, Jensen, James, Pereira and Walters. Outs are Pangai Jr, Lodge, Asiata, Croft, Dearden, Milford, Glenn, Levi and Coates. Losing Coates hurts because he was seriously marketable but the emergence of Cobbo offsets that. Staggs will be like a new recruit on top of the big, big ins. The club has bought in quality players but even better quality blokes. The leadership void has been filled, an organising halfback has been signed and will captain on a not over the top wage. The improvement in the backend of the season coupled with the impressive development of the kids gives supporters PLENTY to be excited about for season '22. Smokeys to challenge for top 4 but more likely 5-8, anything less will be a failed season.

Cowboys - Ins are Hiku and Townsend. Outs are Molo, Jensen, Marsters, McGuire, Morgan and O'Neill. They have some good kids coming through but man, their roster underperforms badly and deadset, the coach has seriously underwhelmed, he looked clueless at times this season. Not sure where their improvement comes from, Payten looks like he might well be revolted against before '22 is done.

Bulldogs - They are the big recruiters with some big names BUT potentially could implode because they have some volatile types coming in and they are Vaughan, Pangai Jr, Burton (massive in), Addo-Carr, Dufty, King, Asiata and Naden. Outs are Elliott, Hopoate, Meaney, Napa, Lewis, Watene-Zelezniak. These are big ins, really big ins. These guys could transform them into contenders but they don't have much in the spine positions other than Burton who will be a superstar. The question is, can Barrett keep all of the idiots under control? There are several dropkicks and they are now all in the same side, this will be fun to watch grow or more likely, self-destruct.

Terrific post @Sproj always love your lists :)

Question, based upon your thoughts here, which teams from this year's bottom 8 step up and make the finals, and who misses out to make room?

 

[vertigo]

They’ve also signed McInnes

Completely forgot he did his ACL this year. Gun team in the making.

 

[Big Del]

Broncos 7/10 - Have purchased a premiership winning general to take steer of a sinking ship and premiership winning second-rower. That’s about it but it should allow us to avoid the wooden spoon. Excited to see growth of Cobbo. Think we need more creativity in the backline. No.1 No.6 No.9 still no answers which is quite confusing
Bulldogs 9/10 - One of the best recruitment drives in recent memory. Have signed the next Brad Fittler in Matty Burton and have received premiership winning players. Burton is a much better long term investment than Reynolds and I think Gus will sign an experienced half like Pearce or Maloney to pair with him can genuinely compete for edge top 8 spot with the core they have now and new signings/juniours.
Tigers - 0/10 like legit no positives whatsoever
Titans - 7/10 astute signing in Liu for premiership experience IMO still a young squad
Storm - 8/10 have locked up Coates who will be like Inglis, Meaney who will be Hynes 2.0 and hard working forwards
Warriors - 5/10 nothing flash
Cowgirls - 0/10 got rorted by Townsend big time
Raiders - 0/10 face massive roster overhaul and on the decline
Roosters 4/10 not good enough to replace departing experience may take years to fix

Comparing Coates to Inglis blew any credibility you might have started with .
Greg in his 3rd season was already a super star . Xavier will never reach those heights .

 

[Galah]

Still can’t get over how under rated our recruitment for next year is reported, Quality over quantity. We have xfactor pieces all over the park they just need some guidance on the field. Insert Reynolds and capewell.

yes please!

Top 4 smokey.

 

[NSW stables]

Comparing Coates to Inglis blew any credibility you might have started with .
Greg in his 3rd season was already a super star . Xavier will never reach those heights .

If it came to keeping cobbo vs coates (which it would likely have come down to if coates resigned), my vote is cobbo. I know coates is faster but cobbo has a wider range of skills, capable of filling more spots and is more involved and runs harder (particularly those hard early hit ups).

 

[Sproj]

If it came to keeping cobbo vs coates (which it would likely have come down to if coates resigned), my vote is cobbo. I know coates is faster but cobbo has a wider range of skills, capable of filling more spots and is more involved and runs harder (particularly those hard early hit ups).

Cobbo isn't much slower though to be fair, he also has the power and defense that Coates doesn't seem to yet. In fact, the only real area where Coates might be better is slightly faster and better in the air but even then, how often does he actually land it?

 

[Sproj]

Terrific post @Sproj always love your lists :)

Question, based upon your thoughts here, which teams from this year's bottom 8 step up and make the finals, and who misses out to make room?

I don't know, every season is a lottery and these days, even more so given the constant screwing around with the rules. That said, based on recruitment and improvement, etc based purely on gut feel really (and the asking for essentially another list), something like:

2022:

Top three are set in my opinon
1. Panthers - They've lost some pieces but they are young, confident and still on the improve, they'll be hard to stop going back to back

2. Storm - They are an interesting one because they still have a gun side but have lost so much of their depth over the last couple of years. How much will their leadership void that's started affect them? If they get injuries, they could be in trouble

3. Eels - I suspect they will need to really get it done next year or this generation might never get there

I feel like it is a lottery from here on:

4-12 (in no particular order)
Sea Eagles - They have TTurbo but teams late in the year showed how to shut him down. If you shut him down, this team has nothing else, so I fear for them next season because their best players are already old and broken, possibly on the downward swing and over reliant on one player, they might drop out of the 8 if TTurbo gets one of his many injuries, he is due for one

Rabbits - This is one team I could see being bottom of the 8 or even falling out. They have lost some big players in Reynolds, Gagai and some of their lesser light depth. They will get Mitchell back so that is a big in but they will struggle in big moments.

Knights - This is a team that should improve with Gagai coming in but they seem to have a group of players injured at any given time. Seibold not being in there will be massive for them and I suspect the injuries might suddenly improve as a result. They are a team that should battle for top 4 but seem to constantly fall short of expectations.

Broncos - I generally expect us to be the surprise packets of '22. We have some huge ins and the back end of the season shows where our kids are heading. Having leaders is huge and the value cannot be understated. We have depth now and a lot of improvement to come. I think most teams will be wary of what our team will be capable of.

Titans - I see them falling out of the 8 to be honest. This side is full of potential, there is no doubt about that but they have an entirely new spine and a few of them might be facing second year syndrome. They need some experience in the spine because their current options scream underwhelm next year.

Roosters - To me, they seem one of the hardest to predict. Walker also screams second year syndrome but having Keary there will help him immensely. They still have a lot of quality and everyone else's best kids as always, so they will be knocking on the top 4 door. If they get injuries again, well who knows.

Bulldogs - They SHOULD be in that 5-10 range but their spine still concerns me no end. Burton will help immensely there but this is one side that has the potential to self-destruct. They have great on field talent but will they all gel? I am not sure they will. They will be under the microscope next year if things go pear-shaped early.

Raiders - They are getting on a bit now and this gives me alarm bells. They have some good kids coming through but are they ready for the week to week grind of the NRL? I'm not sure. This is a side that could finish 5th or 16th. I just don't seem them doing much better than this year unless their X-man comes out firing and even then, what do they do with CNK?

Sharks - I suspect them to be in the bottom of the 8. They will not blow sides away but Hynes and Finucane are really, really big ins. What they do with Hynes will be the key to whether they finish 6th or 10th in my opinion. They will be competitive every single game they play.

Dragons - They will want to be good next year because if they aren't, Hook might well be a dead man walking. He has taken a massive gamble with his cut price recruits and I suspect they aren't going to deliver again. I suspect they are high priced also rans but I still do rate Hook as a coach, so who knows.

14-16
Warriors - They are a boring team with little star power and what happens if Walsh hits second year syndrome, particularly on the back of his recent stupidity, he's a candidate for it for sure. They are a limited team and have lost their best player by far.

Cowboys - They might go slightly better but they have recruited poorly and I just don't see where their improvement comes from. Townsend / Dearden / Drinkwater are so limited whichever way they go. Hammer is super exciting but other than that, I dunno. Payten has been extremely underwhelming and the club looks like they aren't going anywhere. Some promising kids but who knows how they come on or not

Tigers - I feel for their fans, I don't know where their improvement comes from. They have some promising kids there but they really cannot make the improvements they need to because they can't attract the players they need no matter how much they throw at them. Probable wooden spooners.

All in all, I think there will once again be three very clear tiers in this comp again next year.

Tier 1:
1-2 - Panthers, Storm

Tier 2:
3-4 - Roosters, Eels

Tier 3:
5-13 - Rabbits, Broncos, Raiders, Knights, Titans, Sea Eagles, Sharks, Dragons, Bulldogs

Tier 4:
14-16 - Cowboys, Warriors, Tigers

 

[BroncsFan]

Still can’t get over how under rated our recruitment for next year is reported, Quality over quantity. We have xfactor pieces all over the park they just need some guidance on the field. Insert Reynolds and capewell.

yes please!

Top 4 smokey.

I think you have vastly underestimated the amount of fuckery NSWRL will put into our draw.

Every team plays 9 other teams twice, for the Broncos the NSWRL unfortunately have to waste 2 of those slots on GC and Cows, but from there you should anticipate that we'll have to play Storm, Parra, Souths, Panthers, Eagles and Roosters twice ... and then for the last spot they will throw in a golden child ratings grab like Knights.

This happens because Broncos bring ratings, and it will continue to happen until the NSWRL dies under its own ineptitude.

A 17th team will not save them if they cant improve ratings across the other 15 basket case teams... hell storm have been the most dominant team of the last 2 decades and yet they get **** all showing on free to air, because Nein dont want them, which means they dont rate.

They will run the Broncos into the ground, because we dont get a reprieve to rebuild... we are already struggling to bring recruits to the club that arent already queenslanders, therefore we are reliant on developing talent, except other clubs vulture in and pick our eyes out.

If we're going to get out of this mess we will need to be absolutely perfect on the R&R and coaching front, to nail down our best talent before the vultures come in and land a big scalp to headline, such as a Harry, Ponga, etc. level talent... we had one in Walsh, but then let him slip so now we need to go looking again.

On the coaching front we need to drastically improve on the tactical side of the game... ie. the bullshit grubby underhanded side of the game that the NSWRL is so insistent on preserving and rewarding.

Kevvie is not the kind of coach that will do that, in fact it seems like he wants to be as far away from the cheating side of the game as possible... we wont be able to win on emotion and attitude forever so there will likely come a time when the club will have to make an important decision under immense media pressure ... do you stick with Kevvie and the culture he is cultivating OR do you bring in a tactics coach and hope that the playing group will go with them... they didn't 'go' with Seibold or Henjack, instead they seem to want a man manager like Wayne, Griffin or Kevvie.

I like Kevvie and hope to God he can be the all round man manager and tactician type coach, but it doesnt look likely just yet. I think he needs an overhaul of his assistants to bring in great footy minds whilst he acts as the overseeing father figure... not just loading it up with old boys either, they need to be fully across the required playing style for modern NRL, if not ahead of the game to identify winning trends.

I'm hoping 2022 we will get to see an improved Kevvie now that the back office is sorted and he can focus solely on coaching; however I think the likely shithouse draw that we will receive for 2022 will see us battling in the bottom 4 along with tigers and cowboys.... except the cows will be given a golden draw to try and save them.

I can see the dogs getting a golden draw as well, but unfortunately for the tigers I think they'll be given the rough end of the pineapple along with us, because NSWRL doesnt give a shit about them... the only story line for them heading into 2022 is how long before Madge gets sacked and that storyline only gets ratings if Madge keeps losing

 

[Fitzy]

I don't know, every season is a lottery and these days, even more so given the constant screwing around with the rules. That said, based on recruitment and improvement, etc based purely on gut feel really (and the asking for essentially another list), something like:

2022:

Top three are set in my opinon
1. Panthers - They've lost some pieces but they are young, confident and still on the improve, they'll be hard to stop going back to back

2. Storm - They are an interesting one because they still have a gun side but have lost so much of their depth over the last couple of years. How much will their leadership void that's started affect them? If they get injuries, they could be in trouble

3. Eels - I suspect they will need to really get it done next year or this generation might never get there

I feel like it is a lottery from here on:

4-12 (in no particular order)
Sea Eagles - They have TTurbo but teams late in the year showed how to shut him down. If you shut him down, this team has nothing else, so I fear for them next season because their best players are already old and broken, possibly on the downward swing and over reliant on one player, they might drop out of the 8 if TTurbo gets one of his many injuries, he is due for one

Rabbits - This is one team I could see being bottom of the 8 or even falling out. They have lost some big players in Reynolds, Gagai and some of their lesser light depth. They will get Mitchell back so that is a big in but they will struggle in big moments.

Knights - This is a team that should improve with Gagai coming in but they seem to have a group of players injured at any given time. Seibold not being in there will be massive for them and I suspect the injuries might suddenly improve as a result. They are a team that should battle for top 4 but seem to constantly fall short of expectations.

Broncos - I generally expect us to be the surprise packets of '22. We have some huge ins and the back end of the season shows where our kids are heading. Having leaders is huge and the value cannot be understated. We have depth now and a lot of improvement to come. I think most teams will be wary of what our team will be capable of.

Titans - I see them falling out of the 8 to be honest. This side is full of potential, there is no doubt about that but they have an entirely new spine and a few of them might be facing second year syndrome. They need some experience in the spine because their current options scream underwhelm next year.

Roosters - To me, they seem one of the hardest to predict. Walker also screams second year syndrome but having Keary there will help him immensely. They still have a lot of quality and everyone else's best kids as always, so they will be knocking on the top 4 door. If they get injuries again, well who knows.

Bulldogs - They SHOULD be in that 5-10 range but their spine still concerns me no end. Burton will help immensely there but this is one side that has the potential to self-destruct. They have great on field talent but will they all gel? I am not sure they will. They will be under the microscope next year if things go pear-shaped early.

Raiders - They are getting on a bit now and this gives me alarm bells. They have some good kids coming through but are they ready for the week to week grind of the NRL? I'm not sure. This is a side that could finish 5th or 16th. I just don't seem them doing much better than this year unless their X-man comes out firing and even then, what do they do with CNK?

Sharks - I suspect them to be in the bottom of the 8. They will not blow sides away but Hynes and Finucane are really, really big ins. What they do with Hynes will be the key to whether they finish 6th or 10th in my opinion. They will be competitive every single game they play.

Dragons - They will want to be good next year because if they aren't, Hook might well be a dead man walking. He has taken a massive gamble with his cut price recruits and I suspect they aren't going to deliver again. I suspect they are high priced also rans but I still do rate Hook as a coach, so who knows.

14-16
Warriors - They are a boring team with little star power and what happens if Walsh hits second year syndrome, particularly on the back of his recent stupidity, he's a candidate for it for sure. They are a limited team and have lost their best player by far.

Cowboys - They might go slightly better but they have recruited poorly and I just don't see where their improvement comes from. Townsend / Dearden / Drinkwater are so limited whichever way they go. Hammer is super exciting but other than that, I dunno. Payten has been extremely underwhelming and the club looks like they aren't going anywhere. Some promising kids but who knows how they come on or not

Tigers - I feel for their fans, I don't know where their improvement comes from. They have some promising kids there but they really cannot make the improvements they need to because they can't attract the players they need no matter how much they throw at them. Probable wooden spooners.

All in all, I think there will once again be three very clear tiers in this comp again next year.

Tier 1:
1-2 - Panthers, Storm

Tier 2:
3-4 - Roosters, Eels

Tier 3:
5-13 - Rabbits, Broncos, Raiders, Knights, Titans, Sea Eagles, Sharks, Dragons, Bulldogs

Tier 4:
14-16 - Cowboys, Warriors, Tigers

I agree apart from Eels… I have them as smokeys to fall out of the 8 they are getting more underwhelming by the year and I think they’re done for… Moses and brown haven’t found form in 12 months and Gutho is on the decline

 

[Battler]

Lets be real, we would have taken Hynes in a heartbeat if he had been willing to come up here. Finucane does have his injury issues but so does Arey and pretty much every 30yo+ player in the NRL.

Not saying we wouldn't have signed Hynes, but he'd be playing fullback at the Broncos and would therefore be more effective.

 

[mitch222]

I agree apart from Eels… I have them as smokeys to fall out of the 8 they are getting more underwhelming by the year and I think they’re done for… Moses and brown haven’t found form in 12 months and Gutho is on the decline

Contract year for a lot of them to so its either gonna be a great year for them or they fall to pieces because of contract disputes. Its now or never for them. Souths will also regress. Reynolds does so much for that team in terms of leading them around the field and Walker wont be able to play his natural game next year off the back of it. They will slide back to the 5-8 range. With the second proper year of the new rules, the comp will tighten up a bit more. Teams have started to work out the 6 again rules slowly.

 

[theshed]

Contract year for a lot of them to so its either gonna be a great year for them or they fall to pieces because of contract disputes. Its now or never for them. Souths will also regress. Reynolds does so much for that team in terms of leading them around the field and Walker wont be able to play his natural game next year off the back of it. They will slide back to the 5-8 range. With the second proper year of the new rules, the comp will tighten up a bit more. Teams have started to work out the 6 again rules slowly.

South’s is an interesting one. Their already honest forward pack will lose Sua, their halves lose Reynolds, their backs who already struggle out of their own end will lack Gagai and Wayne Bennett won’t be there to motivate them.

They will definitely struggle to make metres and Reynolds won’t be there to kick them out of trouble. Walker and Trell are beasts but if they rarely find themselves in the opposition 40m they won’t give you value for money.

 

[Sproj]

Yep I think the Eels have one more go left in them. If they don't pull it off next year, they are done. I want to say the Rabbits are going to really fall but they still have three good spine members. How they replace Reynolds will be the key, I sense they are on rocky ground and if they start poorly, I don't know they will recover. I also don't think the Titans will make the 8 either, too many other teams look like they should go past them. I also quietly wonder about the Roosters but they have such a good coach and no salary cap, so if they struggle, they'll just buy someone not available but they've lost a LOT with Cordner, Friend, Liu, The Morri all gone and Walker screaming second year syndrome. Will Keary and Collins come back at their best or will it take them too long to get going?