OPINION
I wouldn’t want to be coming up against the Panthers, Broncos, Eels or Rabbitohs right now.
All three clubs are about to get some of their best players back in Nathan Cleary, Reece Walsh, Dylan Brown and Latrell Mitchell.
Penrith and Parramatta have been flying without their star halves as the 2022 grand finalists once again flex their incredible depth.
Souths have been struggling but they’re a completely different team with Mitchell and I’m really hoping he plays against Brisbane on Friday night.
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Bronco Payne Haas to the Bulldogs? | 01:39
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NRLW Dragons coach Jamie Soward opens up on how much he has learnt and changed ahead of his third season at the helm. He also lifts the lid on how the club pulled off two major signings and why they have the potential to be the “best ever” halves pairing in the women’s game.LISTEN NOW >>
The Broncos get Walsh back from a three-game suspension in what’s shaping as a mouth-watering clash of the NRL’s two most exciting fullbacks.
The footy has been great this year – don’t get me wrong – but the NRL needs its best players playing now that the whips are cracking at the business end of the season.
Nathan Cleary served a five-game ban to finish the 2022 regular season and was then unbelievable in the finals as he won the Panthers back-to-back titles.
This season is shaping in eerily similar fashion, with Cleary returning against the Bulldogs this Sunday from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for seven weeks.
But mark my words – Mitchell, Brown and Walsh also have the ability to rejoin their sides and lead them to a premiership.
Sivo & RCG facing lengthy suspensions | 00:52
SHARKS LOSING THEIR BITE
After watching the way they were destroyed by the Warriors on the weekend, it feels like the Sharks’ season is on the slide.
Nicho Hynes is an incredible player and Craig Fitzgibbon a great coach, but after every meteoric rise comes a fall.
Fitzgibbon raised eyebrows when the rookie coach appointed recruit Hynes as the club’s halfback for 2022, despite his limited time in halves as a utility at the Storm.
But the pair stunned the NRL last year in their new positions by finishing second on the ladder before Hynes won the Dally M Medal by a record margin.
It was an incredible rise from both men but the Sharks were knocked out of the finals in straight sets and in 2023 there has been some signs of second-year syndrome.
That’s not a knock on the halfback and coach, with any rise as significant as theirs it’s only natural for a dip to follow – especially for Hynes.
It would have been particularly tough for Hynes to watch his side get carved up on Sunday by Luke Metcalf, the playmaker who couldn’t get a run at the Sharks this year before his mid-season switch to the Warriors.
Cronulla have struggled to beat top eight sides and Hynes had to ride a rollercoaster of emotions throughout the Origin period.
NSW coach Brad Fittler said he dropped Hynes for their must-win Game II because didn’t have enough big-game experience – and that’s fair enough.
At certain times when the pressure has been on, Hynes probably hasn’t delivered but that’s all part of his journey as an NRL halfback.
The team’s best player, and the coach, wear the wins and losses more than anyone else.
Hynes and Fitzgibbon are still learning and the good thing about them going through a bit of pain for now is they’re on this journey together.
Sharks supporters should take solace in the fact that it’s those two men leading the club through a bit of adversity at the moment.
Cronulla have a great blend of age, talent and toughness in their team, but unfortunately they’re still a young and relatively inexperienced side.
I think finishing sixth will be a pass mark for 2023 but with a relatively tough run home they’re going to need some spark to get there.
However, if they make finals they could do some damage thanks to what they learnt during their tough finals campaign last year.
WARRIORS THE REAL DEAL
The Warriors haven’t looked this exciting since a 20-year-old Shaun Johnson took them to the 2011 grand final.
The club hasn’t won a finals game since then – and played September footy just once when they finished eighth in 2018.
So fast forward 12 years and who’s the gun halfback steering the Warriors around the park these days? Shaun Johnson, of course.
The veteran playmaker has wound back the clock in 2023 to led the Warriors’ stunning surge up the ladder under rookie coach Andrew Webster.
They’ll crack the top four if they beat the Raiders on Friday night and depending on other results could finish the round third on the ladder.
Make no mistake, if the Warriors finish in the top four then Johnson can guide this team back to another grand final and maybe even deliver the club its first premiership.
What makes me laugh when I watch the Warriors is I can tell you what they’re doing better but I can’t exactly explain how it’s happening.
The Kiwi club has lacked an identity for years but they’ve finally found their way and are producing consistent performances.
They’re playing a far more controlled game that is forward focused and through the middle, but their back five is also just incredible at the moment.
People are saying it’s because they’re back home post-Covid and are settled again, but let’s be honest – they were average for a long time before the pandemic.
I’ve got another theory.
‘No one survives that, not even Sheens’ | 01:54
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I think being based in Australia during Covid actually helped the Warriors because they were able to recruit players who wouldn’t have copped living in New Zealand.
Those players joined because they were based in Queensland, however, I believe they came to respect the club which had a knock on effect for others considering signing.
This other factor is Webster.
The first-year NRL coach has shown vulnerability and connected with his players and values things that are clearly aligned with his squad – they believe in him.
Clubs can have mottos and messaging and all that but at the end of the day you need genuine buy-in to produce consistency.
You see plenty of teams perform in patches and present a certain way for periods, but when you watch the Warriors now you can see the style and you know what you’re going to get.
This identity and style they’re playing with, not only does it win, it’s really reliable moving forward and it can help recruit players.
They’ve landed on a massive pot of gold in Webster.
Huge raps must go to whoever was responsible for hiring him because I think he’ll win Dally M Coach of the Year.
The whole club is aligned. It’s exciting and it’s rare.
TIGERS MUST SIGN HOLBROOK
Soon-to-be Wests Tigers head coach Marshall is going to need all the help he can get if the club is going to return to finals football under his watch.
Marshall has been busy trying to recruit players but he should look at snapping up experienced coach Justin Holbrook.
The Titans made the shock call to sack Holbrook last month, but he still has plenty to offer and would provide plenty at the Tigers.
The Tigers seem to lurch from one controversy to another and the latest is Marshall is butting heads with new head of recruitment Scott Fulton.
Marshall was one of the greatest players to ever do it, but coaching is a different beast and he now needs to trust those around him to do their jobs.
The only way the Tigers will avoid back-to-back wood spoons and start inching back towards being competitive again is if they’re all pulling in the same direction.
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