Paul Crawley assesses each NRL club’s spine for season 2020
In the first power rankings for every NRL club’s spine, the Roosters were way out in front. Since then Latrell Mitchell has left to join South Sydney — and has caused a rethink at the top.
Opinion
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Before Latrell Mitchell’s arrival at South Sydney PAUL CRAWLEY rated every NRL spine. Originally, the Sydney Roosters were way out on top in this all-important category with the Rabbitohs down the list at fourth.
But the NRL’s latest round of musical chairs has forced a dramatic reshuffle with the Rabbitohs now jumping ahead of both Melbourne and Canberra to be rivalling the all-conquering Roosters.
Of course, so much still depends on whether Mitchell gets himself fit and his mind totally focused on football. But if he does, look out.
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1ST SYDNEY ROOSTERS
1. James Tedesco
6. Luke Keary
7. Kyle Flanagan
9. Jake Friend
CRAWLEY SAYS: I’ve kept the Roosters on top here but only because Tedesco is a proven champion at fullback and the jury is out on whether Mitchell will handle the extra workload.
Cooper Cronk’s retirement puts enormous pressure on Luke Keary and it remains to be seen just how quickly his new playmaking partnership with young Kyle Flanagan will develop.
I do worry that Keary can sometimes be too brave for his own good, especially with his history of concussion and the way he takes the ball so deep into the line.
But providing Tedesco and Keary stay injury free the Roosters are still the benchmark for mine.
The thing is, for all Keary and Tedesco have already achieved I still don’t think either are anywhere near the limit of what they are capable of — and that is the real positive for the Roosters after already claiming back-to-back titles.
A huge question mark hangs over young Flanagan given his limited NRL experience but he’ll be living the dream playing alongside Keary, while also having access to Cronk’s astonishing footy IQ as a part of the Roosters’ coaching staff.
At hooker Jake Friend is an inspiration and young Sam Verrills has shown what an outstanding dummy half he is.
Even without Cronk I still have the Roosters on top in this category — but only just.
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2ND SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
1. Latrell Mitchell
6. Cody Walker
7. Adam Reynolds
9. Damien Cook
Crawley says: If Mitchell can get himself super fit and develop a defensive mindset that doesn’t flick on and off during games then this could be the year of the Bunnies. But I concede that’s still a big if — which is why I can’t put the Rabbitohs’ spine ahead of the Roosters even though I think it is potentially better. Right now a lot of people are dirty on the way Adam Doueihi was shunted to make way for Latrell and that’s understandable. But what can’t be disputed is that Mitchell’s arrival makes the Rabbitohs an even more dangerous footy team.
While Reynolds, Walker and Cook are at that absolute elite level Mitchell gives the Bunnies that X-factor that has been missing since Greg Inglis retired. A few little glitches were exposed in 2019 that would have given Wayne Bennett some concern, especially in that preliminary final loss to Canberra where the Rabbitohs took some really poor options. But the fact they still went so close to winning that game probably would have given Bennett more motivation than anxiousness. Now he has Mitchell the old master would be rubbing his hands together in anticipation.
3RD MELBOURNE STORM
1. Ryan Papenhuyzen
6. Cameron Munster
7. Jahrome Hughes
9. Cameron Smith
CRAWLEY SAYS: Craig Bellamy wasted no time shooting down the story that Cameron Smith would be shifted to halfback in 2020. While it probably won’t happen on a full-time basis, it again highlights the Storm’s greatest strength. Regardless of where Smith plays he is still the best game manager in the business. While I believe the jury is out on Hughes at halfback, Smith makes his job a lot easier. Also, every coach would kill for a five-eighth of Cameron Munster’s class while young Papenhuyzen will only be better after another summer working closely with Billy Slater. Put that together and it’s why the Storm will still back themselves against the best although I have them marginally behind the Roosters and Rabbitohs.
4TH CANBERRA RAIDERS
1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
6. Jack Wighton
7. George Williams
9. Josh Hodgson
CRAWLEY SAYS: I haven’t seen enough of Englishman George Williams to say categorically he will be a success in the NRL. But what I do know is that Ricky Stuart’s strike rate in respect to his Pommy recruits so far has been spot on. The big question will be how Williams combines with Jack Wighton in the halves given both are natural runners, not organising playmakers. It probably only means Josh Hodgson will still run the team and if he stays fit the Raiders will be heading for another big year. CNK was a revelation in 2019 and should only get better.
5TH MANLY SEA EAGLES
1. Tom Trbojevic
6. Dylan Walker
7. Daly Cherry-Evans
9. Manase Fainu/Cade Cust
CRAWLEY SAYS: Manly would be regretting letting Api Koroisau go back to Penrith given Manase Fainu’s future will now be determined by the courts. As we saw with the Dragons last year in respect to Jack de Belin’s situation, these incidents can have a huge impact on team culture and confidence. If Fainu plays I’d have the Sea Eagles in my top four spines, but not without him. Still, any side with Tom Trbojevic and DCE will win more than its share of games, especially with Des Hasler as coach.
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Before Latrell Mitchell’s move to South Sydney, the Roosters were voted as having the best spine in the NRL (32 per cent of voters ahead of the Eels with 22 per cent by our readers — are they still No.1? Have your say and vote below!
6TH NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
1. Valentine Holmes
6. Scott Drinkwater/Jake Clifford
7. Michael Morgan
9. Jake Granville/Reece Robson
CRAWLEY SAYS: I really like the look of this Cowboys spine. After losing Ben Barba during 2019 pre-season Val Holmes is a massive addition, though how quickly he finds his feet after returning from NFL will be crucial. This also has to be the season Michael Morgan rediscovers his 2017 form. Scott Drinkwater is a super talent and is really putting pressure on Jake Clifford to wear the six. New recruit Reece Robson from the Dragons is also an exceptionally talented and tough dummy half who will give Granville a real fight for the starting No.9 jumper.
7TH ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA
1. Zac Lomax
6. Corey Norman
7. Ben Hunt
9. Cameron McInnes
CRAWLEY SAYS: After a disappointing 2019 the Dragons are going to be under the pump from round one — and with Gareth Widdop gone, no one will be feeling more heat than Ben Hunt. But I worry that Mal Meninga is right when he says Hunt’s best position is hooker, because the Dragons paid top dollar for Hunt to run this team as a No 7. They also won’t be moving Hunt to hooker while Cam McInnes is playing like he did in 2019, when he was easily the team’s best. Young Zac Lomax has a big job to prove himself at fullback but I reckon he’s up for it.
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8TH NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS
1. Kalyn Ponga
6. Mason Lino/Phoenix Crossland
7. Mitchell Pearce
9. Jayden Brailey
CRAWLEY SAYS: There can be no more excuses for Newcastle in 2020 regardless of the fact they have brought in a rookie head coach in Adam O’Brien to replace Nathan Brown. This is Pearce and Ponga’s team and they need to own the results. The Knights showed when Pearce and Ponga were on what this team is capable of, though the finish to the season bordered on embarrassing. The addition of Jayden Brailey to play dummy half should take a lot of pressure off Pearce in particular, although I still reckon he needs a more experienced halves partner.
9TH PARRAMATTA EELS
1. Clint Gutherson
6. Dylan Brown
7. Mitchell Moses
9. Reed Mahoney
CRAWLEY SAYS: After a promising season the Eels copped a huge reality check when they were crushed in that semi-final loss to Melbourne. I still think the best is ahead for Brad Arthur’s young spine who should take tremendous confidence out of the way they grew together in 2019. You can only admire the way Dylan Brown showed enormous maturity as a teenager playing in the halves, and Reed Mahoney is as courageous as he is cunning. While Gutherson is the team’s heartbeat, Moses just needs to pull the margin back between his best and his worst, because his best is brilliant.
10TH NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS
1. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
6. Kodi Nikorima
7. Blake Green
9. Wayde Egan
CRAWLEY SAYS: Talent is not the problem here, consistency is. If every player at the Warriors was as consistent as their skipper they wouldn’t have a problem. But it doesn’t seem to matter how well RTS plays, someone always finds a way to bring this joint tumbling down. While it’s not necessarily the spine’s fault, let’s hope 2020 brings a new era. Nikorima and Green have plenty of experience and new recruit Wayde Egan is as talented a dummy half as there is coming through in the NRL. No excuses.
11TH CRONULLA SHARKS
1. Matt Moylan
6. Shaun Johnson
7. Chad Townsend
9. Blayke Brailey
CRAWLEY SAYS: On their day Moylan and Johnson are world beaters. Trouble is, their best days don’t come around often enough. In fairness their 2019 seasons were interrupted with injury, Johnson only playing 18 games and Moylan 11. Townsend however played all 25 games and as always was ultra-consistent, also leading the way with try assists. Young Blayke Brailey is a classy dummy half and evidence of the club’s belief in him is the fact they let brother Jayden move to Newcastle.
12TH PENRITH PANTHERS
1. Dylan Edwards
6. Jarome Luai/Matt Burton
7. Nathan Cleary
9. Api Koroisau
CRAWLEY SAYS: Losing James Maloney is really going to increase the pressure on Nathan Cleary but you get the feeling he is ready for it. Cleary also has a ready-made bond with Jarome Luai from their time playing together in the Panthers’ junior rep system. Dylan Edwards had an inconsistent 2019 but he is quality when he is playing with confidence, while the arrival of Api Koroisau will also take a lot of pressure off Cleary given his work out of dummy half is up with the very best
13TH BRISBANE BRONCOS
1. Jamayne Isaako
6. Anthony Milford
7. Brodie Croft
9. Jake Turpin/Andrew McCullough
CRAWLEY SAYS: Anthony Seibold has potentially gambled his coaching future on being able to achieve what Craig Bellamy could not with Brodie Croft in Melbourne. Given the youth of the Broncos’ likely spine and the fact Isaako, Milford and Turpin are all instinctive players, the pressure will be on Croft to manage this team and be the conductor of perhaps the most naturally brilliant roster in the league. An inability to do this is said to be the exact reason Bellamy let Croft go. It is no good having the best crop of young players in the comp if a team lacks direction.
14TH WESTS TIGERS
1. Corey Thompson
6. Benji Marshall
7. Luke Brooks
9. Josh Reynolds/Jacob Liddle
CRAWLEY SAYS: I love the energy Thompson brings and Benji and Brooks had really solid 2019s. But overall the Tigers’ hard chase for Latrell tells you exactly what they are lacking, they just don’t have the strike power to match the very best teams consistently for the duration of a gruelling NRL season. I’m also worried about the retirement of Robbie Farah. Josh Reynolds can do the job at dummy half but he plays his best footy at six. Jacob Liddle is a fine young talent but just can’t take a trick when it comes to his luckless run of injuries.
15TH CANTERBURY BULLDOGS
1. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak
6. Lachlan Lewis
7. Jack Cogger/Brandon Wakeham
9. Jeremy Marshall-King/Sione Katoa
CRAWLEY SAYS: The way the Bulldogs finished 2019 would have motivated young players like Lachy Lewis, Jack Cogger and Brandon Wakeham heading into this pre-season. The battle for the starting halves spots is not as clear as many might think with young Wakeham said to be right in the mix. Marshall-King also had a good season and Sione Katoa provides stiff competition. While I have ranked them 15th mainly because of a lack of experience, I see a lot of upside for this young Bulldogs spine in 2020.
16TH GOLD COAST TITANS
1. AJ Brimson
6. Tyrone Roberts
7. Ash Taylor
9. Nathan Peats/Mitch Rein
CRAWLEY SAYS: Last year I had the Titans in my top eight to start the season because of players like Ash Taylor and AJ Brimson. But after watching what Taylor dished up in 2019, you can only hope he fights back from his problems in 2020 and fulfils his enormous potential. At his best Taylor is as talented as any halfback in the game and that is the challenge for rookie head coach Justin Holbrook. Peats is also coming into the final year of his contract with a point to prove. Could surprise us because talent is not the issue.
Originally published as Paul Crawley assesses each NRL club’s spine for season 2020
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