How to avoid another Sydney shut-out on NRL grand final day

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Dragons (15th)

The fix: Game management and grunt up front. The Dragons have points in them despite being rudderless at crucial times in attack. Shane Flanagan is the market for a quality big man with Tino Fa’asuamaleaui the biggest fish in the market, and Braden Hamlin-Uele, Tui Kamikamica (available immediately) and Griffin Neame more realistic off-contract targets.

Is Daniel Atkinson the answer at halfback for the Dragons?

The main man: Daniel Atkinson. Has impressed with limited opportunities at Cronulla, now arrives on about $500,000-a-year and needed to slot straight in at halfback.

The stat: St George Illawarra lost no less than nine games that were in the balance (with a margin of six points or less) at the 75-minute mark.

Rabbitohs (14th)

The fix: Injuries. Souths endured an injury toll unlike any seen in the past two decades. Despite plenty of those coming down to in-game contact and sheer bad luck, training loads and practices are naturally questioned when your NRL squad misses a collective 275 weeks of play.

Jack Wighton, Cody Walker, Latrell Mitchell and Cameron Murray all missed too much game-time in 2025.

The main man: Latrell Mitchell. Who else? Not even skipper Cameron Murray influences the Rabbitohs’ fortunes like Mitchell. If he’s fit and firing, so are Souths. But the star fullback has averaged less than 15 NRL games a year since 2020.

The stat: Ranked last for run metres in 2025 and will have to farewell prop Davvy Moale to Manly if David Fifita is to fit into their top 30 squad. Need reinforcements up front.

Tigers (13th)

The fix: Stability. The Tigers are on the up and confidence is growing in Benji Marshall’s coaching. An off-season that starts with Jarome Luai and Jahream Bula (though is he really worth $900,000?) taking up their contract options is ideal. Imagine what could be achieved without multiple, annual contract spats?

The main man: Luai. Contributed off the field as much as on it in his first season at Concord, even with a starring role in the Lachlan Galvin saga. Needs to be well and truly delivering on his $1.2 million pay packet in 2026.

The stat: Threw 11.5 offloads per game in 2025 ™ the most of any team, but were mid-table for errors. Marshall’s attacking philosophies are starting to shine through.

Eels (11th)

The fix: Cleaning up the roster. Parramatta and Jason Ryles are onto something (only a fool would suggest otherwise) but the club is still re-balancing a salary cap hamstrung by lucrative deals and player options this time last year. There is a reason Ryles is happy to consider releasing Zac Lomax to R360 if it means luring Jonah Pezet into blue and gold.

Jason Ryles has done well his first year in charge at Parramatta.

The main man: Mitchell Moses. If he plays 70 per cent of Parramatta’s games, they will be well and truly in the top-eight mix. Everything else is falling into place for the Eels, they just need their halfback, skipper and highest earner on the paddock.

The stat: Even playing only 13 games in 2025, Moses still averaged the second-most kicks (16.1) and kick metres (545) in the NRL. Another option in the halves/spine would make one of the game’s best boots even more effective.

Sea Eagles (10th)

The fix: Backbone. Manly have all the talent and attacking weapons a team could ever need. They can play tough on occasions too. But when the whips are truly cracking, they wilt far too often.

The main man: Jamal Fogarty. So much hinges on Tom Trbojevic (from his hamstrings to his knees to his shoulders) obviously. But Fogarty’s introduction as the steadiest of game-managing halves, albeit with defensive frailties, alongside all of Manly’s pace and power shapes as a fascinating watch in 2026.

Can Jamal Fogarty guide Manly back to the finals?

The stat: Nineteen of Manly’s games were decided by 13 points or more – the fifth most of the NRL era. The Sea Eagles were 10-9 in these matches. They either won by plenty, or lost by just as much.

Roosters (Eighth – week one of finals)

The fix: Closing the gap between their best and their worst. Trent Robinson’s young side punched well above their weight in 2025, but understandably still had a howler in them – see a 57 per cent completion rate against Parramatta late in the year.

What will Sam Walker bring in 2026 after a full off-season?

The main man: Sam Walker. Daly Cherry-Evans can bring a guiding hand to the scrum base, but another full off-season should have Walker pushing for rep honours and eyeing his next evolution as a playmaker – a paypacket pushing seven figures demands it.

The stat: Scored 31 per cent of their tries from kicks (second in the NRL). Mark Nawaqanitawase and Daniel Tupou will be the surest of bets out wide again in 2026.

Bulldogs (Third – week two of finals)

The fix: An off-season to sort out their attack. Chasing Adam O’Brien as an attack coach raises eyebrows, so too apparent plans to stick with Lachlan Galvin at No.7. But an entire summer alongside his new teammates will do him a world of good. Canterbury’s short passing, bodies-in-motion game plan is more intricate than most.

The main man: Leo Thompson. The Kiwi prop arrives on big money with his reputation dented by a forgettable last season at Newcastle. The Bulldogs have been burnt by unsuccessful forward signings (Luke Thompson, Ryan Sutton), but at his best Thompson is exactly what Canterbury’s pack needs.

The stat: The Bulldogs fielded 11 different spine combinations this year as Galvin, Matt Burton, Toby Sexton, Reed Mahoney, Bailey Hayward and the like all chopped and changed around.

Raiders (First – week two of finals)

The fix: Another year of big games for their rising stars. Bombing out in straight sets will burn Canberra’s rising squad all summer, but they’ll be better for it. Young playmakers Ethan Strange, Kaeo Weekes and Owen Pattie will learn plenty from their first finals series.

The main man: Ethan Sanders. Even with an underwhelming finals series, Manly-bound veteran Jamal Fogarty was the Raiders safety net with his kicking and game management. Sanders looms as his halfback replacement and a critical, untested cog in Canberra’s power game.

The stat: Canberra won 10 of 14 games when they were either trailing or level at half-time – easily the best record in the NRL.

Sharks (Fifth – week three of finals)

The fix: Composure. Another year of improvement – Cronulla were a far-more rounded team in the finals than 2023. That said, their biggest stars Addin Fonua-Blake and Nicho Hynes didn’t deliver in the second half of their grand final qualifier against Melbourne. As settled as a squad gets, those clutch moments are all that is left.

The main man: Blayke Brailey. Emerged as the clear barometer of the Sharks’ attack. When he’s running from dummy-half, Cronulla’s forwards are at the very least holding their own. Brailey is then a genuine game-breaker and a deserving Kangaroos tourist this off-season.

The stat: Cronulla’s 25 players this season was the fewest of any club. Didn’t have a single player feature in Origin either.

Panthers (Seventh – week three of finals)

The fix: Much like Canberra, another off-season should iron out any kinks in what is once again a formidable Panthers outfit. For the first time since 2020, Penrith aren’t losing a key figure due to salary-cap pressure. Instead, their next batch of up-and-comers get another summer fitting into the most effective systems in the game.

Blaize Talagi was excellent in his first season at the Panthers.

The main man: Dylan Edwards. Fell short of the lofty standards he has set for the past five years with uncharacteristic errors – hard to imagine him doing the same two seasons in a row.

The stat: Penrith conceded 42 per cent of tries against them down the left edge where Blaize Talagi and Casey McLean defend - the highest proportion in the NRL.

The rest

And as for the other out-of-towners? The Warriors have enough talent to be challenging the top sides when Luke Metcalf returns from injury, so too the Dolphins if they keep their best and brightest healthy. North Queensland desperately need to sort their defence out, while the Titans could be anything once (if) they get their roster balanced.

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