With the festive season looming before us, it feels only right to start working on a Christmas wish list for NRL season 2025.
Many predicted that the ‘24 season would be the closest in recent history and the host of player transfers over the summer looks to have balanced the competition, further still.
Let’s kick off (in no particular order) my 25 Wishes for NRL Season 2025:
Redcliffe to break the Bennett Curse
One of the more tired anecdotes in rugby league is that NRL clubs historically struggle after farewelling Wayne Bennett as Head Coach.
Even when said clubs have the time to put a succession plan in place (eg. South Sydney and Jason Demetriou), following in the footsteps of Bennett has proven one of the more difficult jobs in the NRL.
In saying that, there’s a lot to like about how The Dolphins are shaping up following Bennett’s departure.
Kristian Woolf has served his apprenticeship and we need look only as far as Tonga and the 2024 Pacific Champs as evidence of his ability to galvanise a playing group.
At the core of that playing group is a young playmaker named Isaiya Katoa who, at just 20 years of age, is the best young halfback prospect in the NRL right now.
Isaiya Katoa makes the field goal to put Tonga back in front ☝️
📺 Watch #PacificChamps on ch.502 or stream on Kayo: https://t.co/6AcOjlvRqb
✍️ BLOG https://t.co/spqA8BIJ57
🔢 MATCH CENTRE https://t.co/UfIT7kYHPI pic.twitter.com/5fbWcadSAD— Fox League (@FOXNRL) November 2, 2024
With Woolf in the coaches box and Katoa in the No.7 jumper, Redcliffe look well placed to kick on from an encouraging first two campaigns in the NRL.
Dolphins fans will want results quickly but Redcliffe don’t necessarily need to improve on their current ladder position for season 2025 to be considered a success.
Provided Katoa continues trending in the right direction and key players like Tom Gilbert, Thomas Flegler and Jeremy Marshall-King enjoy some better luck with injuries though, I like the Dolphins to challenge for a maiden finals berth next year.
More Munster Magic
Season 2024 was a frustrating one for Cameron Munster.
Lingering injuries restricted the mercurial Melbourne five-eighth to just 17 appearances this year – his least productive campaign across 10 full seasons in the NRL.
Now on the wrong side of 30, it’s sobering to realise we are getting close to the end of an era for Munster, Melbourne and the Maroons.
In saying that, I think the Money Man still has a few tricks up his sleeve.
"The second the Panthers won the Premiership, he rang me straight away and said I'm staying."
Braith discusses how the Panthers success inspired Cam Munster to stay loyal to the Storm.
📺 Watch #NRL360 on @Foxtel CH 502 or stream on @kayosports: https://t.co/NUcyGh33g4 pic.twitter.com/Dj1b3jwbPG
— Fox League (@FOXNRL) October 2, 2024
Jahrome Hughes and Harry Grant were superb in Munster’s absence this season but with some better luck, we should see the Storm spine spend much more time on the field together in 2025.
With the benefit of fitness and continuity, I’m backing Munster to wind back the clock and recapture his best for club and state in ‘25.
He was forced to battle through injury and unfamiliar combinations this season as Melbourne finished the year with a new-look left edge of Xavier Coates, Jack Howarth and Shawn Blore but that quartet can kick on where they left off in this year’s Grand Final.
Howarth in particular looks ready to fulfill his potential playing outside Munster and it’s a combination I’m expecting Craig Bellamy to double down on in NRL season 2025.
Redemption for Lachlan Ilias
As an early believer of young Lachlan Ilias, it’s encouraging to see him pick up a new contract with St George-Illawarra.
While he might not be the headline signing Dragons fans were hoping for but there’s a lot to like about the fundamentals of Ilias’ game.
He’s a superb defender, a wonderful competitor and a smart playmaker who isn’t afraid to dig into the line and wear a shot before passing into space.
Ilias mightn’t have the attacking ceiling of a guy like Ben Hunt but his floor is high and he profiles nicely as a Shane Flanagan-type player.
How he combines with a somewhat similar playmaker in Kyle Flanagan remains to be seen, but Ilias is first-grade quality and can put guys like Clint Gutherson and Valentine Holmes into positive involvements in attack.
He was made a scapegoat for South Sydney in a horror 2024 season but I’m backing Ilias to bounce back in ‘25.
Matt Burton Season
NRL season 2024 was undoubtedly the year of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
Cameron Ciraldo did a superb job to fashion and implement a playing style that suited a smaller, more mobile playing roster to the tune of a sixth placed finish and a drought-breaking finals appearance.
Every single player on Ciraldo’s roster improved on their 2023 form, culminating in a team that worked hard on both sides of the ball and never made it easy for their opposition.
Assuming that base translates into next year, Matt Burton profiles as the point of difference in the Bulldogs 2025 campaign.
Matt Burton the ice man! 🥶#NRLBulldogsSharks pic.twitter.com/QtITDqPSvc
— NRL (@NRL) June 28, 2024
In what will be his fourth season at five-eighth, Canterbury need more in attack from their star half if they are to continue climbing up the NRL ladder.
That improvement may come in the form of variety – we’ve seen Burton experiment in a first-receiver role or sweeping over to the right edge to combine with Stephen Crichton in the second- or third-layer of a shift.
This is not to say that Burton was poor or underwhelming this season but it’s fair to say he’s got a few more gears to go as the Bulldogs primary playmaker.
A Redfern Revival
This might read like a desperate, Rabbitohs optimist trying to manifest his hopes into reality but hear me out…
After a shit-fight of a ‘24 campaign, South Sydney have not only welcomed Wayne Bennett back to the fold but have quickly shed a ridiculous ten players from their existing Top 30 squad.
With more than one third of the roster turned over and almost no positions locked in for season 2025, Bennett will presumably oversee a decidedly intense and competitive off-season.
With names like Matt Lodge, John Bateman or Brandon Smith potential additions over the coming weeks, there’s a lot for Bunnies fans to be excited for in season 2025.
That excitement needs to come with measured expectations; an unfamiliar playing group led by a rookie half and hooker will have some growing pains to work through in the early stages of the season.
How players like Latrell Mitchell, Alex Johnston, Campbell Graham, Tevita Tatola, Cam Murray and Jai Arrow all return from extended layoffs is another factor to consider.
With a much deeper squad and an entirely new coaching staff however, the Rabbitohs will roll into season 2025 with little external expectations and plenty of internal competition – just how the Old Coach would want it.
What’s on your NRL wish list for season 2025? Let us know in the comments
Written by Oscar Pannifex | RLWAPPAREL.COM