Las Vegas is a town where you can get up to anything and everything, and I think we’ll have a pair of upsets to start the NRL season.
The Sharks are a genuine premiership threat in 2025 and I think they can knock off Penrith to start the year on a roll. The last couple of years, I just couldn’t see them winning, but Addin Fonua-Blake is just a machine and his signing could well be the difference in them taking the next step.
The key for Cronulla is what Nicho Hynes can do with the platform his forwards lay for him and whether the playmaking dynamic he struck at the end of last year with Braydon Trindall is the right one.
All eyes will be on Nicho and whether he can dominate on the big stage. This is a great opportunity for him to really stand up and if he can match it with Nathan Cleary, watch out, he’ll be starting the season with his confidence sky-high.
Penrith will be a force again of course, the trial last week against Manly where they won easily with a second-grade team showed just how far their depth goes and it was incredible to watch them play with the same structure and style that has won four straight premierships.
The only concern for me in this game is the fitness of Nathan Cleary, Dylan Edwards and Liam Martin after their various surgeries and off-season injuries.
Addin Fonua-Blake: the missing puzzle piece for Cronulla?Credit: NRL Imagery
Brian To’o’s absence has me leaning towards the Sharks given the Panthers don’t have James Fisher-Harris any more, and Brian’s go-forward effectively gives them an extra front-rower. I think Penrith will struggle for yardage and I think Cronulla can surprise them in a low-scoring, physical arm wrestle.
Joey’s tip: Sharks by two
First try-scorer: Will Kennedy
Man of the match: Braydon Trindall
The Raiders are a good chance for mine against the Warriors too, every year people underestimate them. If Canberra can stay healthy, I think they can compete with the top teams given their squad has been together a few years and all that time on the training paddock and in games is often underrated.
Raiders fullback Kaeo Weekes.Credit: Getty
Fullback Kaeo Weekes is in for a big year. He’s just everywhere on the field, sniffing around the ruck and popping up out wide around his halves when they’re in attacking shapes too.
He’s a great support player with lightning speed and if he can get off the back of Joe Tapine’s unpredictable offloads, Canberra’s attack really opens up.
As for the Warriors, James Fisher-Harris is just a warrior defined. Polynesian culture talks about mana, which is all about respect, influence and spiritual power. That just sums up James Fisher-Harris, and Tapine too.
It’s a big test for Luke Metcalf taking over at halfback from Shaun Johnson, who was such a dominant player for so long. But Luke’s a bit different and he’s more of a run threat than Shaun was at the back end of his career. I really rate him and as the season goes on, watch him grow and grow as a player. The Warriors will take a few weeks to get their combinations going and they can still be enigmatic, but also very hard to beat when it all clicks.
I think we’ll have a fast, open game with plenty of points, and an upset to start the season.
Joey’s tip: Raiders by six
First try-scorer: Ethan Strange
Man of the match: Joe Tapine
The top four
Panthers: The only worry I’ve got with Penrith is how healthy they stay throughout the year. Isaah Yeo, Nathan, Liam Martin, Dylan Edwards, they’ve all played so much footy back-to-back, Origins and semi-finals in the past few years.
I remember Anthony Minichiello roughly 20 years ago, he was one of the best players in the game and was in a similar boat, he played non-stop footy for two or three years. And Mini’s body just broke down and he missed 18 months before coming back. Otherwise, Penrith will just be Penrith again, just so good at everything they do.
Storm: Absolute morals for the top four. There’s just no motivation like coming second and a one-two punch between Stefano Utoikamanu and Nelson Asofa-Solomona is just frightening. If they’re fully fit at the end of the year, the Storm just win. Their spine – Ryan Papenhuyzen, Cameron Munster, Jahrome Hughes and Harry Grant – is the best spine in the competition.
Stefano Utoikamanu: The Tiger who changed his stripes.Credit: NRL Photos
Broncos: You can already see the attitude adjustment under Michael Maguire. Watching closely in the trials, they look fit and powerful – Payne Haas especially. Defensively around the ruck, they look disciplined and that’s a direct buy-product of Madge. Reece Walsh is my early tip for the Dally M medal.
Sharks: I think they’ll make the top four with Addin Fonua-Blake on board. The test is what their spine can create off the back of his go-forward. They’ve got so much depth and balance to their side, it’s that extra gear in September that they need to find.
The improvers
The Dolphins: I really like them as a smokey for the top eight. Their question mark is the curse of Wayne Bennett and how teams usually struggle after he leaves a club.
Like Canberra, this squad has been together for a while, they’ve been able to build their combinations with a strong, hard-working forward pack and Herbie Farnworth – who I think is the best dummy-half runner in the competition and close to the best centre in the game.
Then there’s Isaiya Katoa, he’s one of my favourite halves to watch and he’s just going to keep getting better and better.
The Tigers: Every rugby league supporter wants them to be competitive again. Jarome Luai is going to add so much experience and winning know-how, and his combination with Lachie Galvin will be a great one to watch. I don’t think they can make the top eight, but they definitely won’t be in the bottom four.
The strugglers
Rabbitohs: Cam Murray’s injury is just massive. He’s the champion of the club and just irreplaceable. He does all the work that no-one sees, until he’s no longer there to do it. Then Latrell Mitchell’s injury as well – the talk is eight weeks, but given his history of hamstring issues, I’d expect Souths to be conservative with him.
Whether Lewis Dodd can deliver as a halfback in the NRL remains a massive question too. The only playmaker from the English Super League to play well here in the past 30 years has been George Williams at Canberra. Otherwise, the successful imports have all been English forwards.
I was impressed by Jamie Humphreys in the Charity Shield – he’s got skill as a halfback, but is a big body for a playmaker at 97 kilos and his best position might actually be as a dummy-half or lock.
It’s all a massive test for Wayne Bennett to keep the belief and confidence up at Souths with those injuries and I just can’t see them making the top eight.
Roosters: They’ve lost so much experience in the off-season and won’t have Sam Walker or Brandon Smith until mid-year at least, if not later. Can their spine – James Tedesco, Sandon Smith, Chad Townsend and Connor Watson – deliver?
And if there’s a long-term injury for any of those key players, or they’re missing two guys at any point, I really don’t know who’s the next up.
They were smashed by the Knights in the trials and there were some massive worries, especially in defence out wide. They look really vulnerable on the edges.
The Roosters have a horror run to start the year with Brisbane twice, Penrith twice and the Warriors away in the first eight weeks. I see them struggling to make the finals this year.
