5. Can Glamour Clubs the Roosters and Rabbitohs Rebound From A Nightmare 2016?
Two of the glamour clubs of the NRL and bitter rivals, The Roosters and South Sydney, crashed and burned last season, much to the delight of many. The two rivals had both been dominant forces in the NRL over the past five seasons, with the Roosters winning the competition in 2013 and South Sydney breaking a 43-year drought in 2014.
The Roosters under Trent Robinson often resembled a juggernaught winning an amazing three back-to-back minor premierships between 2013 and 2015. However 2016 proved a nightmare from start to finish as the Roosters spectacularly imploded falling to the depths of 15th place and out of the final’s race with a couple of months still to spare. By all reports, the Roosters players had a "Big Summer" and they never recovered from Mitchell Pearce's 8-game suspension. Trent Robinson spoke openly and honestly about the side’s fall from grace, and has put his senior players on notice heading into this year. Whilst the Roosters were hammered with injuries and interruptions throughout the year they never looked like the committed and powerful side that dominant the NRL for 3 seasons. 2016 was a wake up call for everyone at Bondi, and Nick Polities will not tolerate another season in the doldrums.
The Rabbitohs had made the finals every season since 2012, however grossly underperformed for much of 2016 looking a shadow of their former powerful and intimidating force. South went on a rotten mid-season losing streak, before a late rally saw them climb to 12th place in an otherwise desperately disappointing season. Whilst the likes of Sam Burgess, Greg Inglis and Adam Reyolds performed in patches they were inconsistent and far from their individual best. It was crystal clear last season that Souths were jaded and playing a style of football that was no longer working with the side they had. Constant success finally took its toll and rather than going off the rails, South Sydney looked jaded through long patches of 2016. Michael Maguire is a demanding coach and to me they looked a side fatigued by his intensity, constant demands and high standards. Their famous watertight defence was completely blown apart as Souths copped more hidings last year than in the past five seasons combined. However their strong finish to the season saved Maguire and gave optimism for their fans that bright things might lay ahead in 2017..
What will Happen? - At this stage my gut feeling is I don't think either side has the talent to win the competition in 2017. I think both have the potential to break back into the finals, but are far from certainties to do so. It's too early to predict my ladder for 2017 however I would say I'm more confident of the Roosters chances of bouncing back into the the finals then the Bunnies. I think the Roosters have more upside in terms of emerging talent and depth in their roster. Plus I think their coach is capable of reinventing himself more then Michael Maguire.
The Roosters have lost a lot of talent in the past couple of years and, while they could do little about the loss of Rodger Tuivasa-Sheck, I'm scratching my head as to how they let James Maloney slip through their grasp. I like the signing of Luke Keary - I think he is a tough and smart footballer capable of playing second fiddle to Mitchell Pearce. Michael Gordon is a tough and reliable winger, and also, crucially, a goal kicker which the Roosters severely lacked last season. The Roosters unearthed some real emerging young talent last year, in Connor Watson and Latrell Mitchell they have 2 potential rep players of the future that will be better for the experience last season. The Roosters showed more raw potential then Souths last year however their side lacked discipline. They really have to clean that up over the pre-season and I think they have the potential to do so. The Roosters retain a pretty fearsome pack with the like of Hargreaves and Corner and I think if they can keep their Top 17 on the park they are going to be fighting for a spot in the finals and will be difficult to beat most weeks. I think Trent Robinson is a great coach and won't tolerate the drop off in standards of last season again.
I'm probably less certain about the Bunnies’ chances of bouncing back into the finals. I think their late season surge might have been a bit of a dead cat bounce. Yes, they have signed Robbie Farah who will stiffen them up in defence in the middle of the park. However, he is well and truly at the back end of his career and won't add much cut and trust to this team. Souths were at their best with Issac Luke bouncing out of dummy half and playing direct and aggressive football and I don't know if Farah can give them that. To me, this side lacks speed in the outside backs and lacks depth across the board, if a few injuries strike I think they are in real trouble. They certainly can not bully sides as they have in the past. I think they are relying too much on a few, and while I would like to see this form in the trials, I get the feeling they could be in for a long year. The Burgess boys are still there however I think sides can gang up a bit on them these days, Their is no Ben Teo or Chris Mcqueen to really mess with once you have felt with the Burgesses. Greg Inglis played his best football in 18 months towards the back end of the season however I think his knees are struggling and I don't see him getting back to his best.