2021 NRL Season

Discussion in 'The Cesspit: Rugby League Discussion' started by Maroon_Faithful, Feb 5, 2021.

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  1. Maroon_Faithful M Faithful

    Souths v Panthers GF. Lock it in.
     
    Maroon_Faithful, Feb 5, 2021
    #1
    Paddy likes this.

  2. Toolman TR Man

    I reckon the team who gets through their sets, does all the little effort areas right, and doesn't drop the ball will win it.
     
    Toolman, Feb 5, 2021
    #2

  3. Boobidy BJ Gemmell

    No CS9 news is quite strange. Surely he has retired.
     
    Boobidy, Feb 5, 2021
    #3

  4. Magic AJ Parker

    I reckon we'll see a drop off from the Panthers this year, not a dramatic one but there's been a significant enough drop off in the quality of their top 23 players and I think a lot of their players over-performed last year. Similar to the Raiders last year. Funnily enough feels like a bit of a transition year for them where they've had to pull the pin on quite a few 'senior' players and made some hard calls on some of their youngsters.

    Hard to see Souths improving that much from a 12-8 season without any real quality added to the top17 with the exception of Arrow who doesn't really seem to be a good fit.

    Titans this year will be the biggest movers for mine, Holbrook seemed to be getting a lot more out of the players there last year and they have seriously upgraded their forward pack. No idea wtf Cam Smith is doing but if they could somehow pinch him for a year or two I'd back them for a top 4 finish. No Smtih though and I think they'll be fighting for 5th - 8th.
     
    Magic, Feb 5, 2021
    #4

  5. Boobidy BJ Gemmell

    Yep, Titans need Smith to contend top 4. It's really hard to see who will be the top teams.

    Storm, Penruff, Raiders and Roosters top 4, Titans in there if they get Smith.
     
    Boobidy, Feb 5, 2021
    #5

  6. Maroon_Faithful M Faithful

    Mitchell, Mansour and Arrow are significant additions to a side that missed the GF by a converted try imo.
     
    Maroon_Faithful, Feb 6, 2021
    #6

  7. Julian BJ Taylor

    Arrow should be a huge addition but if he plays lock he hinders their side imo.
     
    Julian, Feb 6, 2021
    #7
    Cribbage and Magic like this.

  8. Julian BJ Taylor

    I kept thinking Penrith would slip up last year but they kept on keeping on. I sort of agree with Magic that they might regress.

    melbourne are again the team to beat. I think Reimis Smith is a shrewd signing and Grant is a gun. Finucane being fit is big too.

    the Roosters not having a proper halfback is still puzzling too.
     
    Julian, Feb 6, 2021
    #8

  9. Maroon_Faithful M Faithful

    I just find it hard to believe the super youthful Panthers squad wont be better after the experience gained and the insight into what it takes to win a comp. They were shellshocked by Melbourne in the GF. They'll be heaps better for it imo but we'll see.
     
    Maroon_Faithful, Feb 6, 2021
    #9

  10. Sultan Pepper HG Emm

    Really looking forward to seeing how Penrith bounce back. On the plus side I'll be interested to see how Capewell comes along on the back of his origin campaign, think it would have done absolute wonders for his confidence. On the negative side I think teams will have put a bit of time in to how to pick Luai and Kikau to pieces also going to see how Naden comes back from his end of season drama. Plus the obvious no Tamou in the pack and Staines on the sting will change things.


    One theory I've been piecing together in my head is that we'll see Staines at the back and Edwards on the wing pretty 5-6 rounds in, barring a near undefeated start. Suspect Staines is the long term option with higher upside out the back and Edwards will get squeezed out to St George or similar. He seems a favourite in the sheds but you suspect there's a lot of tough calls to make given the bloke who said:

    “I love this place so much,” he said of the Panthers. “Words can’t even describe how much I love this place. It’s my home. This place is my home. Every time I’ve come off contract I’ve never ever wanted to leave. My heart is here. The club has always had my back and by playing on I wanted to pay them back.”
    (https://newsworld.co.nz/2020/10/21/...r-josh-mansour-reveals-surgeons-dire-warning/)

    Is gone :'(
     
    Sultan Pepper, Feb 6, 2021
    #10

  11. Julian BJ Taylor

    I can’t even begin to imagine how shit Dylan Edwards would be on the wing.
     
    Julian, Feb 6, 2021
    #11

  12. Boobidy BJ Gemmell

    Arrow isn't an addition if it moves Murray to an edge.
     
    Boobidy, Feb 6, 2021
    #12

  13. Sultan Pepper HG Emm

    I wouldn't have him there, just one of my crystal ball predicitons.
     
    Sultan Pepper, Feb 7, 2021
    #13

  14. Magic AJ Parker

    Yeh I'm not convinced, there were signs last year Mansour was falling off the pace. Arrow is a decent addition even if he does eventually get shifted to prop but may cause some headaches before we get there & Mitchell played a large part in their 12-8 season. A good finals run blessed by a good draw shouldn't overshadow the rest of their season. 12-8 in a 20 game season requires some significant improvement to be grand finalists especially when they lost more games than they won including 33% win ratio against top 4 sides.

    My biggest issue with Souths is their forward pack. For mine they don't contribute enough to the attacking phases and can be very one dimensional. Arrow doesn't solve that and as we saw last year moving Murray around isn't going to solve that either.
     
    Magic, Feb 7, 2021
    #14

  15. Magic AJ Parker

    Will be so interesting to see Melbourne without Smith, you just can't replace his temperament and leadership. Might not show immediately but I can see them falling off at the back end of the season.

    Oddly I feel more comfortable going into this season with no obvious halfback selection than I did with Kyle Flanagan last year. If Radley can play close to a full season and be there at the business end I think picking a young kid with some talent to play second fiddle to Keary is a much better option than trying to fool ourselves into thinking a sub 100 game halfback is going to be ready to organise a side with the expectations of winning a grand final.
     
    Magic, Feb 7, 2021
    #15

  16. Cribbage RG Cribb

    He actually had a crack there last year. He was predictably shit.
     
    Cribbage, Feb 7, 2021
    #16

  17. Magic AJ Parker

    I wonder if they haven’t backed the youth a little too much to be honest. Tamou, Tetevano, Mansour and Whare all let go. That’s a bucket load of leadership and experience lost from an already young squad. Just looking at their expected starting 17 I really question who their leaders are. It’s why I say it almost feels like they’re going through a transitional period as they swap out nearly all their remaining senior players with more sub 50game players.
     
    Magic, Feb 8, 2021
    #17

  18. morgieb MC Burridge

    Yeah from the outside it looks like they've lost a fair bit of class (the aformentioned 4 + Hetherington, Aekins and Laurie) and the best recruit in is Momvoroski. Depth could get really tested if injuries strike.

    On our 12-8 record, it's worth noting we finished the season 7-2. The two losses were a game which was really close against the eventual Premiers and a game which I wouldn't be surprised we threw. I'm not sure there was much personnel/tactical changes in fairness, but that gives me some optimism going into the season.

    Think Canberra could be well up there again but they need to get their backline right. Melbourne look the best team but while Grant is probably the best replacement possible I think in some ways Smith was basically irreplacable, can see them starting slowly while they work out how to adjust their gameplan post-Smith.

    Can really see Parra imploding and missing the 8 too. Forward depth very questionable, their 3/4 line bar Sivo looks rather weak and their spine was showing signs of flagging late last season. Get the feeling Arthur's wearing his welcome too.

    As for the bottom.....I think all signs suggest Illawarra will implode this year. Last year their three good players bailed them out to some degree but McInnes and Dufty seem unsettled. Which basically just leaves Lomax.....

    Dogs and Broncos should improve somewhat but probably not enough to break out of the Bottom 4 or so.

    Finals bolters are tricky bar Gold Coast. If Trbojevic is fully fit (which admittedly is getting close to a "if my aunt had balls" scenario) Manly could surprise. Warriors look better and at least will have their families over (and hopefully some home games later in the season) this time around but their signings seem a bit scattergun and I'm not sure how good of a coach Nathan Brown is.
     
    morgieb, Feb 8, 2021
    #18

  19. Magic AJ Parker

    Magic, Feb 9, 2021
    #19

  20. Boobidy BJ Gemmell

    He is 1 good preseason away from NRL. Inspirational fatlete.
     
    Boobidy, Feb 9, 2021
    #20
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