Phil ‘Buzz’ Rothfield’s fearless predictions for 2018 NRL season
THE game’s most respected voice rates the 16 NRL clubs ahead of the new season. Buzz Rothfield gives his predictions on how the ladder will sit at the end of 2018. BLOG WITH BUZZ FROM 1PM
Phil Rothfield
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THE game’s most respected voice rates the 16 NRL clubs ahead of 25 bruising rounds of rugby league.
The trials are done and each club is preparing to muscle their way towards grand final glory.
But only half will make the finals, two the grand final, and just one will lift the premiership trophy on September 30.
Buzz Rothfield gives his fearless predictions on how the NRL ladder will sit at the end of 2018.
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16TH: WARRIORS
My tip for the wooden spoon. Sadly, Stephen Kearney has a wonderful record as an assistant but not as head coach. They’ve picked up Adam Blair, Blake Green. Tohu Harris and Gerard Beale. They’ll add experience but they’re not game-breakers. It’s a tough start, with a long road trip to Perth to play the South Sydney Rabbitohs at the new stadium. From rounds four to eight they’ve got the Roosters, Cowboys, Broncos and Storm. Don’t be surprised if Kearney is under pressure early, especially with Des Hasler and Michael Maguire waiting for an opportunity. Halfback Shaun Johnson is again the key but he’s too inconsistent.
15TH: TITANS
The good judges say their new man Garth Brennan is an outstanding young coach. He’ll sure need to be. Every year this club shows glimpses of promise but fail to deliver when it counts. At least they have a favourable draw with 12 seven-day turnarounds and not one five-day turnaround. Without Jarryd Hayne, Brennan has picked up Bryce Cartwright from the Panthers and still has money to go on the open market. I like the signing of Michael Gordon. He’s a wonderful club man. But again, it all comes down to their young halfback, Ash Taylor. He’s a very special player and will become more consistent with maturity.
14TH: TIGERS
A horror start to the competition with their opening four matches against the sides that made the top four last season. By round five they will have already played reigning premiers Melbourne Storm twice. It’s a huge ask for a rebuilding club that needs early wins to get some confidence. The losses of Aaron Woods, James Tedesco and Mitchell Moses are softened by the recruitment of Josh Reynolds plus Ben Matulino and Russell Packer in the forwards. Still, I think they’ll struggle. Ivan Cleary is a great coach but he will need more time. Much will depend on the form of highly rated but underperforming halfback Luke Brooks.
13TH: RABBITOHS
I can’t see them making the top eight. Not when there is so much doubt about Greg Inglis’s comeback and whether he can regain any of the form that made him one of the greatest fullbacks of all time. They’ve also had off-season injury issues with former State of Origin halfback Adam Reynolds. Outside of Test winger Dane Gagai, the Rabbitohs have been quiet in recruitment. I just can’t see where they can find the improvement necessary to play finals football. You know Sam Burgess will have a strong year in the middle but his brothers George and Tom need to lift. There’s pressure from the outset on new coach Anthony Seibold.
12TH: RAIDERS
It’s always difficult to predict what the premiership’s hottest and coldest team will do. On paper they have a roster to make the top eight, possibly even the four. They showed that in 2016 but bombed out badly last year in a major disappointment for fans in the national capital. Obviously the loss of England hooker Josh Hodgson with a knee injury is a severe blow but at least Ricky Stuart has had an off-season to plan around it. They only play the Roosters, Broncos and Storm once. This is a footy club that needs to improve it’s on-field discipline. There are a couple too many hot heads – in particular, Joey Leilua. It can mean the difference between winning and losing.
11TH: BULLDOGS
Another of the question-mark clubs for 2018. The team had no attack and was so horrible to watch in 2017. This is why they’ve paid close to $1 million for Kieran Foran. They have ost old favourites James Graham, Josh Reynolds and Sam Kasiano but this roster needed a shake-up. Plus, the players say they have never been happier under new coach Dean Pay. Their strength is in the front row, where Test prop Dave Klemmer and Aaron Woods will grind out the hard metres to lay a platform for Foran. The question is whether Foran has enough backline quality around him.
10TH: SEA EAGLES
One of the positives is a favourable draw, in which they get to play three of last year’s bottom four clubs twice. They’ll need it. I originally had the Sea Eagles in my top eight but changed my mind when they let Blake Green go to the New Zealand Warriors before the salary cap drama prevented them from signing a replacement. Any side that includes Tom and Jake Trbojevic, Daly Cherry-Evans and Dylan Walker will be thereabouts. Joel Thompson is a great signing, too, but they might be a little light on for middle forwards. Coach Trent Barrett has done an outstanding job and if anyone can lift them into the finals, he’s the man.
9TH: BRONCOS
What a surprise. The stand-alone Brisbane club has only one five-day turnaround. I’m tipping old supercoach Wayne Bennett could become the biggest story of the year now that Kevvie Walters is his assistant and they may struggle to make the finals. Ben Hunt to St George Illawarra is a huge loss, leaving Kodi Nikorima to play halfback and the inconsistent Anthony Milford at five-eighth. He’s brilliant but not worth $1 million a year. Jack Bird is a handy signing from the Cronulla Sharks but his form was average last year. All eyes will be on Matthew Lodge after his return from a long spell for disciplinary reasons.
8TH: DRAGONS
I’m tipping a top-eight finish. Halfback Ben Hunt could be the buy of the year. I’m not sure he’s worth $1.2 million but he’s a wonderfully gifted player who will take enormous pressure off Gareth Widdop and help lift the Englishman’s game to another level. James Graham is also a great signing in the forwards. I thought he was slowing up at the Bulldogs last year but he was outstanding for England in the World Cup. Coach Paul McGregor has a great opportunity for a strong start like last year, with six home games in the opening 10 rounds. The negatives are the losses of Joel Thompson and Kangaroos centre Josh Dugan.
7TH: KNIGHTS
Could be the game’s biggest story of 2018. I’m tipping they’ll recover from three consecutive wooden spoons to burst into the top eight. How? The recruitment of Mitchell Pearce, Connor Watson and Kalyn Ponga adds enormous strike power. Plus, they’ve got big Herman Ese’ese from the Broncos and super-consistent centre Tautau Moga. Any players from the Broncos system will add professionalism. Coach Nathan Brown has been dealt a tough draw. The Knights play the top four from 2017 seven times — the most of any team other than Manly. They face the Roosters, Storm and Eels twice. Still, they’re good enough to overcome it.
6TH: EELS
Have a fair draw with 11 matches against last year’s top eight and 13 against the bottom eight. The big story is Jarryd Hayne returning home. Can he recapture any of his form of 2009, the year he produced one of the most extraordinary individual performances to lead the Eels to the grand final against the Storm? The fact Mitchell Moses has had a full off-season also has to be a bonus. Also look out for Jaeman Salmon, the NSW under-18s five-eighth who quit the Sharks to go west. He’s my early tip to win Dally M rookie of the year. Again, coach Brad Arthur will be heavily relying on old Warrior Tim Mannah and the game’s most improved player, Nathan Brown, for dominance in the middle.
5TH: PANTHERS
The good old five-year planners are now seven years into Gus Gould’s blueprint to turn the Panthers into a premiership-winning outfit. Obviously the signing of James Maloney is a monster boost. He has taken the Warriors to a grand final and won premierships at the Roosters and Sharks. His combination with the game’s best young halfback, Nathan Cleary, should take the Panthers to the finals. Still, the departure of former skipper Matt Moylan to the Cronulla Sharks is a big loss. All eyes will be on coach Anthony Griffin and his relationships with key personnel. They also desperately need Trent Merrin to lift after a poor 2017 season.
4TH: SHARKS
A tough draw with seven matches against teams from last year’s top four. The losses of James Maloney and Jack Bird are balanced out by the recruitment of Josh Dugan and Matt Moylan. You’ll say I’m biased but this team is again top-four material. A big, strong and experienced forward pack and a brilliant young hooker in Jayden Brailey, who will be further improved from his debut season. Probably their biggest concern is finding a goalkicker to replace Maloney. Most interest in the early rounds will revolve around where coach Shane Flanagan decides to play Kangaroos star Val Holmes. He prefers fullback but is a much better winger.
3RD: ROOSTERS
There’s huge pressure on coach Trent Robinson to get the Roosters into the top four after landing the prized signatures of superstar halfback Cooper Cronk and NSW Blues Origin fullback James Tedesco. Working in their favour is a soft draw, with only four matches against last year’s top four. They have 15 games against sides that missed the playoffs in 2017. That’s a dream run. Huge roster changes, with the departures of Mitchell Pearce, Aidan Guerra and Connor Watson to the Knights, but much will depend on how their front-rowers Dylan Napa and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves aim up. They were both disappointing in the finals.
2ND: STORM
The most successful sporting franchise in the country, bar none. They just turn up every year and go deep into the finals or all the way. This season, however, is their biggest test. No Cooper Cronk. No Jordan McLean. And no Tohu Harris. So much pressure on rookie halfback Brodie Croft to steer this great footy team around the park as chief playmaker. In the Storm’s favour is a fantastic draw before State of Origin. In the first 10 rounds, they play only one side from last year’s top four. Five of their first 10 games are against bottom-four clubs. So the Storm will be off to a solid start. Despite losing key players, any side led by Craig Bellamy and Cameron Smith will be around the top four.
1ST: COWBOYS
My tip to win the premiership. When you add halfback legend Johnathan Thurston, front-row enforcer Matt Scott and Melbourne Storm prop Jordan McLean to a team that made the grand final without them, they deserve premiership favouritism. Especially now that coach Paul Green has got the depth in the halves to manage and possibly rest old Thurston for minor games. The Cowboys do have a tough draw and they play seven games against 2017 top-four sides, but they are good enough to overcome it. They proved last year that they can handle high-pressure football week in, week out, and will be awfully hard to beat.