NRL Repeat Set: Waving off the bottom nine teams

That’s all she wrote for nine teams this NRL season so we’re waving them off while searching for positives.

The 2023 NRL season is over for nine clubs already. Awards Nights are on the cards and holidays are being booked. For the players and staff, they will be planning some time away from the game to rest and recover for what will be a long preseason given how early things have wrapped up this year. For fans, it’s the time of year to dwell on what will be considered a disappointing season to varying degrees.

So, rather than stick the book in more and kick a club and their fans when they’re down, I’m going to find a few positives for those who will be watching finals footy from the couch.

South Sydney Rabbitohs

It’s still quite shocking that we’re here…

A strangely uncharacteristic season on and off the field has translated into the South Sydney Rabbitohs missing out on the Top 8 after looking like genuine premiership contenders roughly halfway through the season.

The positive is that they did look like contenders at one stage and the majority of that more than capable team returns in 2024.

Injury clearly hampered Campbell Graham following a superb start to the year. Similarly, Tevita Tatola – arguably their most consistent middle forward in recent seasons – couldn’t stay on the field. Injuries made things more difficult for Cameron Murray who was tasked with more of the dirty work rather than picking his spots to pop up in attack. Keaon Koloamatangi didn’t look the same following the State of Origin period and the form of an injured Graham outside him won’t have helped.

Latrell Mitchell and Thomas Burgess are key components to the best version of the Rabbitohs and neither finished the season on the field for disciplinary reasons.

What could go wrong did for the Rabbitohs this season on and off the field it seems. Still, there was always the sense that if they could sneak into the finals they could compete. That’s a testament to their potential and the evidence of what we’ve seen from them at their best. Given the injuries they’ve faced this year, an extended preseason might not be the worst thing. Those taken away for international games won’t do so straight off a long NRL season either.

Every fan of every club starts a season expecting improvement but the Rabbitohs can do so confidently in 2024.

Parramatta Eels

Having made the previous Grand Final, the expectation was for the Parramatta Eels to at least compete for another in 2023. While they had their moments, a tough start to the season followed up by injury and suspension issues proved too much.

I still fancied the Eels to play finals football as results went against them early on. They faced an incredibly difficult draw to start but while they didn’t pick up competition points, the eye test told me they weren’t far off.

Mitchell Moses played out one of the best seasons of his NRL career. Fantastic in his 19 games to finish with seven tries and 15 try assists, he’s in his prime and is capable of playing at a level that can carry this Eeps squad to far greater heights. He played especially well against the Rabbitohs in Round 12 a picked on Cody Walker down the short side.

He has always been dangerous running downhill and at a retreating defensive line, but Moses seemed to be playing two or three tackles ahead this year. You hear halves speak about the game slowing down for them. That looks to be the case for Moses at 28 years old and in the prime of his career.

He threw a lovely short ball as Bryce Cartwright ran a perfect slip line through Walker’s tackle in the first try. Cartwright is one of the big positives out of the season with his form like nothing anybody expected following his time at the Titans. Add him to the list of players Brad Arthur has been able to improve in their time at the club.

The 2023 season ends as massive disappointment for the Eels overall. There is no way to sugarcoat failing to play finals footy after featuring in an NRL Grand Final the season prior. Still, they will go into the next with one of the best halfbacks in the competition and that is usually enough to have you in the frame for a Top 8 spot at the very least.

North Queensland Cowboys

Scott Drinkwater is a superstar.

The North Queensland Cowboys tried to play him up in the line to get his hands on the ball more but his deficiencies in defence provided Tom Dearden with the opportunity to play five-eighth. Reverting back to the #1 jersey Drinkwater has found his home in the Cowboys backline.

With 11 tries and 25 try assists in only 21 matches, Drinkwater played out one of the best individual seasons in the competition. Perhaps he is still in the hunt but had results gone a little bit differently, it would be difficult to pass him up as a Dally M Medal candidate.

Take your pick of Drinkwater’s highlights this season but this try assist in Round 23 goes a long way to summing up his form.

He’d grown a reputation for throwing the long and loopy pass over the top to his swinging winger. So what does he do as the defence jams and the last player in the line tries to fill the space?

Drinkwater double pumps to throw the defence and sends his backrower through with a short ball.

Perfect.

The Cowboys didn’t play with the same consistency this season as they did the last. We repeatedly highlighted how hard they worked off the ball in defence throughout 2022 but didn’t see it quite so much in 2023. If they can return to those levels in defence while still getting the most out of Drinkwater as an attacking maestro, the Cowboys will feature in September next year.

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles

It’s been mentioned a couple of times but the idea of moving Tom Trbojevic into the centres is starting to look at least somewhat real.

Tolutau Koula has looked that good.

In theory, Trbojevic won’t be asked to do so much work in the centres and therefore reduces his risk of injury. We’ve seen him dominate State of Origin in a roaming centre role. The thought of him doing the same across a full season at club level isn’t that far-fetched. Sure, he becomes a very, very expensive centre. But having him on the field for 20+ games in the centres is better than ten at fullback and all of the juggling that comes with his moving in and out of the team.

Outside of the Panthers who are in a league of their own when it comes to playing at their own pace and grinding down an opposition, the best teams are playing at speed. The Sea Eagles are stacked with it and having Koula at fullback allows them to link up at speed across the field.

We’ve seen how much Ryan Papenhuyzen helps the Melbourne Storm attack with his speed alone. He’s not a big body but he gets to spots on the field other fullbacks simply can’t. Koula can play that role for the Sea Eagles.

This try in Round 27 is just ridiculous:

The Sea Eagles played like a Top 8 team at times this season. Their attack is certainly encouraging and will only get better when Trbojevic returns to the field, whatever position that might be. With Daly Cherry-Evans showing no signs of slowing down and Luke Brooks arriving at the club next season, 2024 will start with relatively high expectations.

Dolphins

While the Dolphins limped to the end of the 2023 NRL season, they laid the platform for their future with a strong start.

Wayne Bennett worked his magic to set the foundations for the club in their foundation season. In the end, they exceeded expectations on the field and justified their place in the competition. The challenge now is to improve in 2024.

Isiaya Katoa is the highlight of the season for me. The Dolphins weren’t able to sign the big-money player to hang their hat on in years to come but Katoa can develop into that player in time.

He is exceptionally smart for his age. Halves typically enter their prime at around 27-28 years old. They can have all of the physical tools in the world, but it takes years to learn how to use them effectively and consistently. Katoa, while still having a long way to go, looks ahead of schedule.

I received a little blowback on announcing him as my Rookie of the Year. Highlighting a play in which he did little more than run a few steps forward and throw a simple pass probably didn’t help. However, it’s how he did it all with such ease that impressed me.

Identifying targets in the line is one thing. Being able to execute at speed is another. To have done it so consistently all year at only 19 years old sets the Dolphins up for years to come.

More good NRL & NRLW reads

The demise of Twitter has made stumbling on good NRL content even more difficult so I think it’s important to share it around where possible. Here are a few things – sometimes not specifically rugby league related but lead me to rugby league thoughts – that I’ve read or listened to recently:

Gold Coast Titans

David Fifita scored 17 tries in 2021 and looked unstoppable at times, but his 2023 NRL season trumps it.

The 23-year-old ran for a career-high 145 metres this season. He popped up in yardage and I liked how they used him to generate ruck speed rather than waiting to get close to the opposition line and throwing him the ball hoping for the best.

Relied on less as a battering ram, Fifita finished the season with nine try assists after only picking up nine in his prior five seasons combined. I’m not so sure that he would have had this pass in his bag two seasons ago.

Playing outside Kieran Foran has really helped Fifita. I’m excited to see what another summer alongside the veteran half and introduction of coach Des Hasler does for him next season.

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

The positive is that I don’t think it can get much worse for the Canterbury-Bankswon Bulldogs. It isn’t our style here at RLW to speculate on what goes on off the field behind closed doors, but it’s difficult to ignore all of the stories coming out about the club right now.

While there is sure to be some media mayo on these issues being leaked, where there is smoke there is usually fire.

The Dogs disappointed on the field. A season that promised so much delivered little but youngsters Blake Wilson and Jacob Preston are positive lights within an otherwise bleak campaign.

Preston looks set to win the Rookie of the Year Award. He will do so for a lot of the reasons I like Katoa for it. The 21-year-old played consistent footy in a struggling side which isn’t easy to do for anybody let alone a rookie, played above his years, and gives the Bulldogs a cornerstone player on the edge in coming seasons.

With six tries and ten line breaks in 20 games this season, he did exceptionally well to put up decent attacking numbers. He didn’t look out of his depth defensively either. Again, impressive for a rookie across a full season.

Given the state of the Bulldogs this year Wilson wasn’t provided with so many opportunities on the wing. Still, six tries, four try assists and 47 tackle breaks in 11 games while averaging 130 running metres is something to build on. He stood out as one to watch in the games I saw of him at Cup level too.

It will take a few months to process this season and to start looking at the next with optimism but when that time comes, the likes of Preston and Wilson will be at the forefront.

St George Illawarra Dragons

This may come as a surprise given he spent time at NSW Cup this year, but I’m confident in Zac Lomax putting it all together for the St George Illawarra Dragons next season.

Sometimes coaches just aren’t right for players. With Anthony Griffin’s apparent lack of detail and Lomax wanting instructions on how and where to improve, the two weren’t on the same page. It’s not a coincidence that Lomax has played a lot better since Griffin’s departure.

Importantly, Ben Hunt didn’t follow him out the door. Shane Flanagan convinced the halfback to stay on as his first big win as the new coach. If the Dragons are to dig themselves out of this hole, Hunt will need to lead the way.

I think we can expect to see a lot more of the Couchman brothers next season. Flanagan seems to like players that are prepared to do the dirty work and these two look set to make careers out of it. Pair them with the Molo’s, an improved Blake Lawrie and Jack de Belin, and the Dragons all of a sudden have a hard-nosed middle to lay the groundwork in attack and defence. From there, Hunt, Lomax and some exciting talent out the back can work their magic.

They finished 16th on the NRL ladder but the Dragons weren’t the second-worst team this season. As a first ‘way too early prediction for 2024,’ I like the Red V to jump four or five spots up the standings in Flanagan’s first year in charge.

Wests Tigers

Jahream Bula has ended up as one of the best young players in the game but Api Koroisau signing an extension with the club is the first big positive that comes to mind for the Wests Tigers in 2023.

There are some exciting young players coming through but having a captain in a spine position with the experience and ability of Koroisau is crucial to their development.

He has single-handedly kept them in games at times this season. Whether it be at half or hooker, his fingerprints are on most of the positive actions the Tigers make with the ball. His work rate in defence can’t be questioned, either. As expected, he had a couple of problems defending on the edge towards the end of the season, but that happens to any player moving to a different position. He never stopped coming, though.

His line speed, kick pressure and work rate around the ruck are things the young players will take into the rest of their careers.

It remains to be seen whether or not the Benji Marshall experiment pays off. Moving on early from Tim Sheens and avoiding another transition year is a positive, though. Benji, for better or worse, will take a lot out of this season as a coach. If nothing else, he will have a good idea of what doesn’t work and we can expect changes to how the Tigers play next year. With the ball, in particular.

They have an elite hooker who thrives in playing direct football. Having him constantly shift the ball doesn’t put him or the rest of the team in the best position to dominate. With Koroisau locked in and Marshall surely plotting new ways to play in attack, the Tigers will once again be one of the most interesting teams in the competition next season.