bill drinkwater

Will Wayne wave his magic wand at Newcastle? Will Manly bounce back from close season dramas? Can the NZ Warriors finally land that elusive title?
Apologies to any Penrith fans, BE will only allow 15 options,so i left the side out i felt had least chance of winning!! (sorry).

DeadVim

Manly, dunno why, just a gut feeling.

Given my performance in the Fantasy League it should be taken with less than a pinch of salt.

bill drinkwater

Yeah,fancy they will be there or there abouts,still got a quality side packed full of rep players,and Manly being Manly,they will want to stuff the critics.

DeadVim

Daly Cherry-Evans looks promising and although one player can't carry a team I reckon his form/fitness will be crucial if they are going all the way.

I'd like the Broncos to do it (given they are the first team I saw live) but I don't see it. Why Thaiday is the skipper and not Parker is a mystery to me but I am no student of the game.

bill drinkwater

Think the Broncos should have gone for Parker,Thaiday gives away a fair few penalties and i think he might just try TOO hard this year as captain,plus the loss of Locky will have an effect,they still dont have a player pencilled in for his spot after the trials so a lot of chopping and changing there i think.
The halves at Manly may be the best combination in the NRL,Foran is a fantastic player,tough as nails as well,and with Cherry-Evans,playing behind Manlys strong pack,they will take some stopping.
I just fancy the Warriors this season,went close last year,and with Shaun Johnson starting this season as halfback im giving them the kiss of death by tipping them.

bobbyftm

Being a season ticket holder i best go for the Broncos (loyalty and all that ) Appears Norman has been given the No 6 jersey...............for the first half dozen games at least hopefully another legend in the making .Most anticipated match this year for me will be the Titans game as i can see a significant improvement this season ,so much so gotta fancy em for the 8

DeadVim

I hope the Broncs do it (first team I supported live and all) but I can see this as a building season, too much to learn after Lockyer's departure ... I'll back 'em for the 8 though.

bill drinkwater

Bobby,im a Titans supporter,wish i shared your optimism.

bobbyftm

Imo they have a forward pack as good as anyone in the league ,aka bailey minichello,bird, harrison,myles and douglas,prince can't be as bad as last year and with idris, (hopefully gordon )& zillman in the backs could go very well Fitness and injury luck will be the key Biggest loss i fear will be friend at hooker although srama appears to be a good find

perth tiger

it looks a fairly even comp this year with any of the top 8 or so sides been able to win. i hate to say it but i think the storm are in for a big year again and you can never discount wb wherever he coaches

bill drinkwater

Agree the pack looks stronger,but Carty hasnt replaced Matt Rogers,he still isnt sure who to play at 6,Zillman or Rankin,personally i dont think either are good enough to play there.The winger Gordon is still struggling with injury from last year and new signing Beau Champion will miss first few weeks with injury.If Princey gets injured,i cant see where the creativity will come from,hope im wrong,as im gonna be wasting a lot of dollars again watching em.

Circus-of-Power

New Zealand Warriors.....why?.....because they are not Aussies!

bobbyftm

Good solid start from both teams Bill . Was at match against Eels and from what I could see thru' the rain very good defensive work by Broncos but gotta learn how to stop fumbling the ball very quickly cos a better team than the Eels would have probably punished their mistakes more so ALso a great show by Titansand had points been scored by pressure/possession it would've beentripl figures Any team that can keep the Cowboys scoreless for the first time in 9 years at home gotta have summit about them:sneaky as for the Cowboys ......................bring on next Friday($$$$$ well spent .......... on this occasion)

bill drinkwater

Agree with above Bobby,happy bunny so far

bobbyftm

Well it appears the honeymoon period is over ....after just 1 game Some very inept tackling last night coupled with a couple of slightly dodgy video refereeing moments ended with defeat for the Broncos Gotta give more time to Gillette and McGuire in my opinion and can't for the life of me see how the captaincy is given to a player who isn't guaranteed to play the 80 mins