The dreaded footy headlines your club does not want to see this 2023 NRL season
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With the 2023 NRL season officially kicking off when the Eels host the Broncos on Thursday, now is the time for players to perform or perish.
Premiership glory on October 1 awaits, but hopes can quickly fade due to form, injury or off-field indiscretions.
Daily Mail Australia has featured 17 headlines football fans won’t want to read about their own NRL team this year.
brisbane broncos
Adam Reynolds sidelined indefinitely
He may be nearing 33, but if the veteran running back isn’t pulling the strings for the Broncos, Kevin Walters’ team is unlikely to play Finals football. Reynolds’ football IQ is second to none and the cupboard is empty at Red Hill when it comes to suitable replacements.
The Broncos will desperately hope that Adam Reynolds can stay out and continue to lead the way on the field.
canberra raiders
Jack Wighton involved in another altercation off the pitch
At 30, the fifth eighth should know better. His recent public fight with Latrell Mitchell outside a Canberra nightclub, with a court date due in October, sent chills through many Raiders fans and suggests Wighton hasn’t grown up. If the brilliant center doesn’t appear regularly in lime green over the next few months, Ricky Stuart’s men won’t appear in September.
canterbury bulldogs
Bulldogs’ strong recruiting drive fails to break top eight
The arrival of gunslinger Viliame Kikau from the Panthers has excited scores of Bulldogs fans, and for good reason.
Reed Mahoney and Viliame Kikau are big additions to Belmore, joining proven artists like Matt Burton and Josh Addo-Carr. Not showing up when it matters will be unacceptable to many of his passionate fans, who have fallen on hard times in recent years.
cronullto sharks
Making up the numbers again in the final
Niche Hynes impressed as a runner last year, winning the Dally M medal, but can he take the Sharks any further in the final?
After finishing second last season, the Sharks were eliminated from the final series after back-to-back losses at the hands of the Cowboys and Rabbitohs. Are those scars left? Potential serious injuries to 2022 Dally M Medal winner Nicho Hynes or Matt Moylan will also test the depth of their halves.
dolphins
Wayne Bennett left frustrated by the lack of depth in the team
The NRL’s newest franchise is broadly poised to end with the wooden spoon, and if their roster is any guide, they may be in trouble when injuries inevitably follow. Expectations will be low abroad, but behind closed doors the ‘super coach’ will wait for the likes of Jesse Bromwich and Felise Kaufusi to silence the critics.
gold shore titans
Titans spine bent out of shape
Kieran Foran is 32 years old, but his experience at halves could prove invaluable to the Titans.
Kieran Foran and Sam Verrills arrive on the Glitter Strip with a point to prove after meeting the Sea Eagles and Roosters requirements respectively. They both have premiership rings, and if they’re not playing consistently, Justin Holbrook may need to look for a new job.
manly sea eagles
Tom Trbojevic collapses once again
Tom Trbojevic is arguably the best player in the NRL when firing on all cylinders – another long-term injury for the fullback would be a disaster for the Sea Eagles.
The six dreaded words that Manly fans will never utter. If ‘Turbo’ stays fit, they will give him a jolt to the premiership under new manager Anthony Siebold, such is the fullback’s brilliance. If he’s injured, so will they be.
melbourne storm
Craig Bellamy’s 20-year tenure ends in disappointment
Star trio Felise Kaufusi, Kenny Bromwich and Jesse Bromwich will be nearly impossible to replace as Melbourne’s new package looks vulnerable.
A long-term injury to fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen is also a setback.
Newcastle Knights
Kalyn Ponga’s move to five-eighths pays no dividend
Kalyn Ponga has been traded from fullback to five-eighths for Adam O’Brien; Time will tell if the move is a coup for the Knights under pressure.
Former trainer Nathan Brown tried that a few years ago and it didn’t work. The more he has to get his hands on the ball, the better, and the combination of him with running back Jackson Hastings gives Knights fans cause for optimism.
Ponga will also be very aware that he will be an important target on defense.
North Queensland Cowboys
Cowboys suffer hangover from 2022 success
Much tipped Todd Payten’s team to fight for the wooden spoon last year. Instead, they challenged the experts to reach the preliminary final. They need to repeat the dose to prove that they are a force to be reckoned with again.
parramatta eels
Backrow blues for eels
The eels will be looking to improve this year, and if they are to win their first premiership since 1986, Mitchell Moses must be a central figure.
Isaiah Papali’i’s departure to the Tigers will sting, as will Ryan Matterson’s baffling decision to receive a three-game suspension stemming from a big final charge rather than pay a $4,000 fine.
At 33, Josh Hodgson is also a significant first-choice risk as half-dummy given he’s recovering from a serious knee injury.
penrith panthers
Phil Gould looking for more players for the Bulldogs
Nathan Cleary’s Panthers are chasing a historic three-time championship this season, and it will be tough to beat
Matt Burton, Viliame Kikau and Stephen Crichton all won a premiership with Penrith in 2021. But with the trio in Belmore starting next year, surely no more players from the foot of the mountains will follow?
Ivan Cleary is chasing a rare three-pointer, and while hooker Api Koroisau is a big loss, they should be around.
south sydney rabbits
Another preliminary final fade for Rabbitohs
If Latrell Mitchell is a standout for the Rabbitohs, they could land their first NRL premiership since 2014
It has become such a regular result over the past five years that some cynical South Sydney fans almost expect it. If Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker are up and running, a first premiership since 2014 could follow in Redfern.
St. George Illawarra Dragons
Off-pitch dramas seal Anthony Griffin’s fate
Player discipline has been fiendish in recent years for Red V, and the recent ‘brawl’ in Mudgee involving Mikaele Ravalawa and Zane Musgrove after the heavy Charity Shield loss doesn’t raise much confidence that anything has changed. Griffin also knows that if he finishes outside the top eight, his tenure will end.
sydney roosters
Luke Keary suffers another blow to the head
Roosters star Luke Keary has struggled with a concussion in recent years, and the club will be desperately waiting for both his health and their chances for those problems to end.
The fifth eighth has done everything in the game, and at 31 years of age, he appears again as the key figure of the Tricolores.
But a series of concussions in recent years has seen him miss a lot of football. Chooks’s supporters hope he can avoid the same fate in 2023.
new zealand warriors
Inconsistency cruel Warriors final hopes
It’s a theme that has been around for many years, but savvy recruiting in the form of Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Te Maire Martin is a promising sign. Dylan Walker will also offer an x-factor from the bench.
west tigers
Tigers finish 9th – again
Wests Tigers favorite son Benji Marshall is desperate to succeed as the club’s assistant coach in 2023, working with Tim Sheens.
After ‘winning’ the wooden spoon last year, it would be an improvement. His loyal fans have been hungry for success, and the Tigers last appeared in the top eight in 2011.
With Tim Sheens in charge and club favorite Benji Marshall his assistant, the joint venture club has returned to the future. Time will tell if this is a coup or some other calamity.