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2020 Season Predictions
LeagueUnlimited.com writer Rob Crosby has a look at the 16 teams, where he thinks they'll finish, plus a crystal ball prediction for the season ahead.
As a new season approaches there is an air of optimism throughout all 16 NRL clubs - this will be our year.
Who will improve? Who will fall down the ladder? Which players will capture the hearts and minds of supporters?
In predicting where each team will end up at the end of 25 home-and-away rounds, these selections are purely subjective and intended to be taken in good faith. Injuries, player movements and unknown factors will all play a part in the final standings.
Share your own predictions and look forward to another season of the greatest game of all.
16TH - ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS
There is a chance the Dragons could push for a top eight berth in 2020. There is also a very real possibility that the stench of last year still lingers throughout the playing group. Retaining the bulk of the team that ran 15th while making minimal movement in the player market over the off-season, the Red V look set to endure an unprecedented year of disappointment.
Crystal Ball - New signing Brayden Williame usurps Euan Aitken and Tim Lafai to become the Dragons' first-choice centre.
15TH - CRONULLA SHARKS
The Sharks are one of the few teams to have capitalised on their premiership window in recent times. Having lost close to a 1,000 games of experience - headlined by the retirement of club icon Paul Gallen - coach John Morris faces an uphill battle with a team lacking forward depth and a home ground to call their own.
Crystal Ball - Young gun Will Kennedy will take his opportunity when presented to finish 2020 as the club's preferred fullback.
14TH - GOLD COAST TITANS
Few teams have performed as poorly as the 2019 Gold Coast Titans. Taking the initiative to appoint St Helens' premiership winning coach Justin Holbrook to the top job, the Titans will take plenty of strides forward but still be well short of challenging for the top eight.
Crystal Ball - Ashley Taylor will enjoy a return to form by recording 20 try assists.
13TH - NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS
Every year the Warriors promise so much only to deliver so little. Keeping the bulk of last year's side with the exception of Wayde Egan taking over from Issac Luke, coach Stephen Kearney will need to contend with a difficult draw that sees the side crossing the ditch on a near-fortnightly basis.
Crystal Ball - David Fusitua bounces back with 15+ tries after a disappointing showing in 2019.
12TH - WESTS TIGERS
The Tigers have the potential to finish comfortably inside the top eight. Boasting a squad stacked with attacking talent, the biggest sticking point for the joint venture is the absence of front rowers that strike fear into opponents. Having won a premiership at South Sydney off the back of powerful forwards, coach Michael Maguire will need to find a hard edge if the Tigers hope to finally crack the top eight.
Crystal Ball - Adam Doueihi is declared the joint venture's long-term number six after a series of impressive performances filling in for Benji Marshall.
11TH - SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
While the acquisition of Latrell Mitchell will make the Rabbitohs an even greater attacking threat, the exodus of forward talent will take a massive toll on the foundation club. Losing five members of the 2014 premiership winning team - including Sam Burgess and John Sutton - coach Wayne Bennett will be relying on youthful enthusiasm over experienced hardheads to lay a platform up front.
Crystal Ball - Liam Knight debuts for New South Wales after announcing himself as Souths new enforcer.
10TH - NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Eager to write off 2019 as a rebuilding year for life after JT, the Cowboys will be keen to flex their attacking muscles after enticing Valentine Holmes back from the NFL. Showing plenty of promise with a triumphant showing at the 9s in Perth, competition in the halves and hooker will give coach Paul Green plenty to ponder as he eyes a winning spine combination.
Crystal Ball - Coen Hess re-establishes himself as a starting second rower and earns a Queensland recall in the process.
9TH - MANLY SEA EAGLES
Stunning the league with a top eight finish last year, the Sea Eagles can no longer rely on the underdog tag in 2020. Possessing a no-nonsense culture and a roster filled with honest toilers, coach Des Hasler will be pinning his hopes on former Kiwi international Danny Levi after losing the hooking duo that propelled the Sea Eagles into the finals against the odds.
Crystal Ball - Tom Trbojevic will stand above a host of competitors to claim the Dally M Fullback of the Year title.
8TH - PENRITH PANTHERS
Pulling off one of the better recruitment drives of the off-season, the Panthers shape as the team most likely to clinch the last place in the finals. Likely to change five-eighths throughout the season to account for the departure of James Maloney, coach Ivan Cleary will be banking on his son, Nathan, taking the next step from playmaking prodigy to match-winning specialist.
Crystal Ball - Nathan Cleary tops the league as highest point-scorer.
7TH - CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS
If Dean Pay can harness the intensity that saw his side win seven of their last ten matches for the entirety of 2020, the Bulldogs will challenge the likes of Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney for a place in the top four. Playing a brand of football that demands opponents fight until the 80th minute to prevail with two points, look for Jack Cogger, Lachlan Lewis and Brandon Wakeham to step up in the absence of Kieran Foran.
Crystal Ball - The Bulldogs will become ‘kings of the clutch finish' to win the most games of any team by six points of less.
6TH - NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS
Pushing for a place in the top eight only to come up short in recent years, the recruitment of Adam O'Brien is set to elevate the Knights into a team set to feature in September. Boasting a strong mixture of experience and young guns looking for an opportunity in the top grade, look for the Newcastle faithful to create an atmosphere at McDonald Jones Stadium unlike any other in the league.
Crystal Ball - Mitchell Barnett becomes a try-scoring weapon to record the most tries by a forward in 2020.
5TH - BRISBANE BRONCOS
The Broncos cannot afford to fail in 2020. Suffering one of the most humiliating losses in rugby league history to bow out of the finals in disgrace, coach Anthony Seibold has a roster that has to make the finals at a bare minimum. Joining the Broncos after being deemed surplus to requirements at Melbourne, the pressure to perform may be the making of breaking of Brodie Croft.
Crystal Ball - The Broncos will post 50 points on three occasions throughout the regular season off the back of their destructive pack of young forwards.
4TH - CANBERRA RAIDERS
Coming agonisingly close to winning the grand final last season, the Raiders will need to back up their efforts or risk becoming a flash in the pan. Unable to qualify for the finals in consecutive years since 2004, coach Ricky Stuart will be banking on George Williams becoming the latest Englishman to make a mark in the NRL.
Crystal Ball - Jack Wighton will continue his rapid rise at five-eighth to secure the number six jersey for New South Wales.
3RD - MELBOURNE STORM
Having been the most consistently successful club of the NRL era, 2020 looms as the last chance Melbourne have of winning a premiership. Set to lose a wealth of talent at season's end with Suliasi Vunivalu signing for rugby union, Josh Addo-Carr signalling his intentions of returning to Sydney and Cameron Smith turning 37 in June, the Storm can still be the benchmark of success - but all good things must come to an end.
Crystal Ball - Future Immortal Cameron Smith will announce his retirement and bring a close to one of the greatest careers in rugby league and Australian sport.
2ND - SYDNEY ROOSTERS
Looking to become the first club since Parramatta in the early 1980s to win three consecutive premierships, the Roosters will remain a formidable opponent for every NRL club. Fielding enough talent to account for the losses of Cooper Cronk and Latrell Mitchell, the impact of representative football may take a toll that the Tricolours are unable to recover from when the business end of the season rolls around.
Crystal Ball - Drew Hutchinson adds a new attacking dimension to the reigning premiers by successfully transitioning into a second row forward.
1ST - PARRAMATTA EELS
Having been in the position of premiership favouritism two years ago only to implode spectacularly, coach Brad Arthur will have the Eels primed to get it right in 2020. Finishing last season as a team on the rise while having plenty of room for improvement, the signings of Ryan Matterson and Reagan Campbell-Gillard will enhance the credentials of a team that has what it takes to stand above the rest on grand final day.
Crystal Ball - Maika Sivo equals the Parramatta record for most tries in a match (5).