The Final Words on the Bottom 8

[Big Pete]

As we look forward to the opening weekend of finals football, I thought it'd be interesting to take a step back and see what everybody's thoughts were on the bottom 8 which turned out to be...

Warriors
Eels
Dragons
Knights
Wests
Gold Coast
Canberra
Cronulla

What did you make of their season and do you think they'll be able to reverse their fortunes in 2015?

 

[Broncoman]

Although Parramatta missed the finals they would be impressed by their performances this year. They've been a great improvement after 2012 and 2013 and are starting to build a decent side but it still needs some work and a few more top players. Hayne virtually carried them throughout the year and it won't surprise me if he won the Dally M.

Parramatta get a pass from me

 

[Big Pete]

Warriors - I had them tipped as a final 8 smokey on the back of their red-hot trial form and recruitment and I wasn't too far off given they only missed out due to F/A. In that type of scenario there are so many woulda, coulda, shoulda scenarios - "if only we didn't play 12 men against Canberra and concede 18, what if Hurrell didn't get injured against Brisbane etc". But at the end of the day I just believe they held onto Matt Elliott too long & McFadden had too many broken pieces to work with. I really look forward to their progress in 2015, I believe they'll be a definite contender and suspect we'll see plenty of more new faces as I liked what they did with their junior development this year. With any luck it should pay off and we'll see more of the likes of Lolohea, Fusitua, Hukutai, Vete, Kata next year.

Eels - Were something of a surprise packet this season and after the Round 24 clash against Manly looked odds on making an appearance in the finals until two untimely poor performances cost them a spot. I really enjoyed the brand of football Arthur employed, the emphasis of shifting the ball around the ruck was a joy to watch and to see the likes of Hayne and Redradra produce try after try was fun to watch as a neutral fan of the sport. In theory, they should improve moving forward but a lot of it will come down to the development of Hopoate, Norman & their young forwards. If they lift, we could be talking grand final appearances. If not...well...they could go back to square one. I'm hoping it's the former as I'm fast becoming a fan of Arthur and hope his style of play starts trending over the coming seasons.

Dragons - This may sound controversial, but I wasn't a fan of the Dragons at all this season. I think they're a very impatient football team who are making a bunch of short-sighted decisions to try and improve their situation without really thinking it over. For mine, the signing of Marshall was a really bizarre decision by them. I'll go on record and say that I like Benji and I'm glad he's back in the NRL - I don't believe he ever should have left and he should have been a lifer but it appears the move did him some good and got him away from the media spotlight which at times can be too bright and affect performances. At least, that's the excuse Beau Ryan will use and he'll stick with. My problem with the Dragons moving forward is their forward pack. We might all be laughing at what Willie had to say about them on Sterlo, but there was a lot of truth there and I don't think their recruitment officers have done enough to fix the problem. I for one don't envision Hunt, Cooper or even Mason who may make the switch over fixing the problem and there aren't many forwards coming through who fill me with much hope either. I predict another dicey season next year but to give credit where it's due - I did think Gareth Widdop proved to be one of the better buys in 2014 and enjoyed watching him play. I also enjoyed Daniel Vidot smashing him at Suncorp - it was like a reverse Greg Inglis performance - no regrets.

Newcastle - Arguably the most dramatic season in the club's history. The owner walked out, one of their players ended up in a wheel-chair, another in the mental hospital and another in jail...it just seemed like the headlines never ended and it resulted in some very poor football. I thought they showed some promising signs near the back end and the likes of Sione Mata'utia symbolise a beacon of hope moving forward but I feel like Bennett left the joint with more questions than answers. Under Stone, I believe he's inherited a better team than what he did in 2011 but time will tell whether he'll be able to produce a better result than stealing 8th spot just like last time.

Wests - A season that started with a lot of promise and ended with a ton of drama. I liked a lot of what I saw from their younger and even fringe talent like Thompson, Taupau & Gavet but hard to make too many bold declarations until they get their coaching situation solved. I believe we won't see the best of the Tigers until 2016 and that is truly dependant on the recruiting decisions the team makes. I feel at the moment they're holding onto too much dead-wood and they've got to dump them as soon as they can.

Gold Coast - Were probably one of the worst teams to watch because they basically played like a ton of dickbags which worked for them early but they were exposed later thanks to injuries and the fact that working the ruck won't get you too far. They're another team in a desperate need of changes and I hope Henry is the coach who can deliver that to them. I thought he showed some promise at the Cowboys - some of his recruitment decisions (eg. Tamou, Tariq, Taumalolo etc.) were top notch but he just couldn't get them to play consistent footy. I don't know if it had to do with the culture of the Cowboys and the logistics of living in Townsville but will be happy to find out whether or not he has any luck on the tourist strip. As strange as it sounds, I believe the best move he can make is ensuring that he ties down all the Queensland talent he can. The Titans need to build a stronger local connection and I believe the likes of Bird, Kelly etc. make that plight difficult.

Canberra - I spoke about these guys in the R26 thread but basically I thought these past couple of weeks came too little, too late and feel like the best thing they can do is completely erase 2014 out of their memories and start fresh in 2015. Not a whole lot to boast about this season and they'll need to rebuild next season if they ever want to make any waves. For mine, their biggest issue is a lack of leadership, plenty of quality young talent but when they have to play on the back-foot they crumble and their senior players are either absent or aren't good enough to help turn things around. Maybe it's just my Broncos bias, but I felt in 2014, the big talking point of the Raiders was Anthony Milford who produced some of the best performances of any player in the competition which is gravy for us but for the Raiders I felt like they needed to focus more on the likes of Cornish, Baptiste & Ahern, players with futures at the club. Even a Luke Page who was just voted the best player in the ISC, I really think he should have got a shot over certain players and hope that the Raiders a smart enough to give him a go next season. It isn't like they have a whole lot to lose.

Cronulla - The question was always going to be whether or not they'd be able to handle ASADA for another season and the answer was a resounding no. 2014 was a tough ol' year for Cronulla and outside of the odd upset win there wasn't a lot to celebrate in the Shire and a lot of senior players like Todd Carney & Andrew Fifita really let them down at times. I believe it's a long road ahead from here and while Ennis may add some leadership and professionalism to the side, I believe they'll need a proper five eighth if they're ever to recover from the lows of this season.

 

[Fozz]

Wests, Cronulla and the Raiders were the only really dire teams.

I still can't believe the Tigers were actually in the eight at one point before imploding massively. Robbie Farah needs to take a good share of the blame for that, selfish prick.

The Dragons started well but faded badly until the recruitment of Benji gave them back some spark, they still need a good forward pack though.

Titans just didn't have the cattle to be in the top 8, even at full strength. Too many ordinary players.

Warriors...well, another lost season of inconsistency. World beaters in one round, bloody ordinary in the next.

Knights, inconsistent as well. Boyd's poor form really hurt them as you can't have a key players like that go missing.

 

[Bucking Beads]

Wests aren't dire imo. They have loads of talent but were hammered by injury. A youbg team with a bright future imo

 

[subsbligh]

Teams that could actually threaten if they made the 8: Warriors, Eels.

At one point I actually said I'd prefer to watch those 2 teams in the finals rather than the Broncos. I take that back on the back of our Storm performance in R26 and the boys got a reward for a good season. Anything from here is a bonus.

The rest are also rans. If Tedesco, Farah and Brooks stay on the field together, they could be a threat.

 

[Financeguy]

Warriors - Should have made the 8, really fell over the last few weeks, the loss to the Knights was the killer blow. You would have to be disappointed as a Warriors fan after some of the form they showed mid season. Just aren't consistent enough to win the games they should win on a regular basis. The future should be bright, Hoffman should be a good influence on their pack but I can easily see them as the big under achievers in the NRL for a few more seasons.

Eels - Even though they fell short i think they have had a good season. A lot of unknowns to start the year like new coach, how will Sandow go and who are names like Manu Ma'u but they surprised me as being a decent competitive outfit. The improvement in their young pack along with stronger seasons from Hoppoate, Peats, Sandow and the rumored signing of Watmough should see them improve over the next few seasons.

Dragons - they over achieved for mine, at the start of the year i did not see much to like in that squad and to still be in the running for the 8 with 2 rounds to go was a good outcome for a team that started the year with massive question marks over their coach and a high profile signing in Widdop that had people questioning his value without the Storm setup around him. I don't see them challenging for the title anytime soon, at best they are a nuisance value side.

Knights - After last seasons finish the results this year were not good enough. I have no way of knowing what impact the McKinnon injury has had on the team morale and focus and i would never want to diminish what happened to the young man but it seemed like a bit of a cop out for the team to use for some poor results mid season. they showed in patches that there is a good solid football team, i expect them to be challening for the 8 next year, but a few key players from being a force.

Wests - similar to Dragons, i think they overachieved this year compared to my expectations for them. Injuries, coaching and player issues don't help but they were never going to be a contender this year regardless. Some good exciting young prospects but could do with a few quality older heads to guide them to be a top 4 consideration.

Titans - imo easily the most boring team in the comp so i rarely watch their games. another season of crap results, they are the definition of making up the numbers and i don't see anything changing. If there was one team the NRL could lose and have minimal impact it is the Titans, i really don't know what they offer.

Canberra - Enemy no. 1 around here and im sure Stuart is the BHQ most hated rugby league personality. Pretty rubbish year for them but really, it met my expectations. On the whole their squad is rubbish but with enough talent spread out like Wighton, Croker, Lee, Vaughn and Fensom to keep the die hard Raiders fans interested each week. I actually thought they were quite competitive the last month or so even though they still lost games which is a good sign for them, problem was it took Stuart about 20 rounds to work out his best side. They are nuisance value at best next season, just too many duds getting in the way of what talent they do have.

Sharks - Awful season, the place seems a mess. Like the Titans i generally don't watch their games as i find them the 2nd most boring team to watch. The Sharks vs. Titans game is pure hell to me. I don't see them getting much better and again will be fighting for the spoon next year.

 

[I bleed Maroon]

Warriors - I tipped them to miss the 8, but much lower than they actually did. As others have said, they must work on their consistency and attitude in the clutch because it is starting to become laughable how often this team, that boasts a metric **** tonne of talent across the park, continues to suck so badly at crucial times of the year, and especially away from home. They risk becoming the new Cowboys at this rate. A team that cannot win outside of NZ. They'll make the 8 next year IF Tomkins finally proves he is worth the coin he is on. So far, he is far from it.

Eels - If they cut their dead weight like Norman out of the side and replace them with quality players, they will be a serious force. However, Parra fans should begin to be very concerned about how much this team relies on Hayne, both from a talent perspective and a leadership one. It's pretty much at a stage that if Hayne goes down with a long term injury, the Eels whole season is fucked. Even when we were missing Locky, we still managed to win SOME games. Parra are incapable of winning without Hayne. They MIGHT finish in the 8 next year if they make a few small changes in the off season.

Dragons - Yep, I agree with Pete here. There is nothing about this current Dragons outfit that impresses me. Ever since the Bennett Premiership, they have seemed comfortable with band aid solutions that have quite frankly, not worked. Marshall has had a decent year, that can't be denied, but he isn't getting any younger. The biggest surprise for me was how poor Widdop has been. Considering he was heralded as the Dragons saving grace, he really hasn't done much to demonstrate why. Their forward pack is also a big concern for them and I can see them missing the 8 next year again.

Newcastle - A pretty terrible year for these guys, so it's hard to judge where they're heading. I can see them finishing 9th next year. They seem to be heading in a trajectory of mediocrity. Mullen, Roberts and Uate are pretty much the heart and soul of the team at the moment.

Wests - Another one that is really hard to judge, considering they were ravaged by injury. The only real observation I have is Farah has become a toxic influence on the team and one that isn't even performing that well on field. They'll miss the 8 next year.

Gold Coast - This mob are going nowhere. Enough said. Not even a new coach will help them. They'll miss the 8 comfortably

Canberra - Another team that is going nowhere. Stuart is a cancer. They're in a lot of trouble next year with no leadership, no Milford and a complete inability to recruit talent from outside Canberra. A legitimate chance at the spoon.

Cronulla - I actually tipped Cronulla to make the 8 this year. I thought it was a safer assumption that they would overcome the ASADA drama and repeat their good 2013 performance. How wrong I was. This club is in complete turmoil and I know it's been done to death but I really think we're witnessing the dying years of Cronulla. They'll miss the 8 again comfortably

 

[Ari Gold]

Titans - imo easily the most boring team in the comp so i rarely watch their games. another season of crap results, they are the definition of making up the numbers and i don't see anything changing. If there was one team the NRL could lose and have minimal impact it is the Titans...

The Sharks matter less IMO but I agree with your sentiment. Serves them right too. They bring on very few juniors and just love buying players instead. Reckon of their best 17 most would be NSW players too. For a QLD club I think that speaks volumes about how much they have focused on local talent.

 

[Broncoman]

They bring on very few juniors and just love buying players instead. Reckon of their best 17 most would be NSW players too. For a QLD club I think that speaks volumes about how much they have focused on local talent.

This isn't really a surprise the Gold Coast isn't really a breeding ground for sportsmen so they would have to entice players to join them and filter through the NSW north coast. Apart from Ben Ikin, Ben Hannant and Michael Gordon I can't think of to many notable players that were Gold Coast juniors.

 

[vertigo]

People seem to forget how well Peats & Ma'u were playing and 80 minutes most of the time too, losing those two long term cost them big time this year.

 

[Big Pete]

This isn't really a surprise the Gold Coast isn't really a breeding ground for sportsmen so they would have to entice players to join them and filter through the NSW north coast. Apart from Ben Ikin, Ben Hannant and Michael Gordon I can't think of to many notable players that were Gold Coast juniors.

Darius Boyd & Benji Marshall as well and that's just off the top of my head.

That's certainly apart of the issue but as you pointed out they have the North Coast of NSW to pick from and should be looking to recruit players from Brisbane because lord knows that the Broncos can't have everybody.

Instead of doing that, it seems like they let a lot of local talent like Lloyd Perrett & Nene McDonald walk and focus entirely on make-shift solutions like Jamal Idris & Dave Taylor to help improve their situation and it rarely if ever pays off for them.

As Gus has shown, it all begins at junior level and the Titans have done a really poor job there. I still wonder how they would have gone if Cartwright did more to develop the likes of Shannon Walker & Chris Sandow.

 

[Cult]

This isn't really a surprise the Gold Coast isn't really a breeding ground for sportsmen so they would have to entice players to join them and filter through the NSW north coast. Apart from Ben Ikin, Ben Hannant and Michael Gordon I can't think of to many notable players that were Gold Coast juniors.

Or anyone from Keebra Park.

 

[theshed]

I think Parras biggest problem is the type of player they sign.

The whole team is made up of player with freakish ability but very little composure. It makes them a very exciting team to watch but that won't see them at the top of the ladder.

They need a strong voice in the halves. Someone devoid of flair but is reliable and is happy to slow down play and kick to win when they're in front. They need that one guy who is happy to be boring and patient to grind out a game. A calm head to take the steering wheel when Sandow is having an off day and the forwards are trying to force plays tht aren't on.

I think they should've poached Peter Wallace instead of Corey Norman.