NRL Offseason: 25 Wishes for 2025 (Part 2)

NRL Offseason: 25 Wishes for 2025 (Part 2)

Oscar Pannifex

We’re already looking ahead to the 2025 NRL season and every fan of every club has a different Christmas wishlist for the year ahead. 

Let’s keep the ball rolling with Part 2 of our 25 Wishes for NRL 2025. 

6. Less Bunker howlers

There will always be mistakes made by referees and video referees in the NRL, just as players and coaches will also inevitably make the wrong decisions. 

The howlers we regularly saw throughout NRL season 2024 however – particularly from The Bunker – need to be addressed. 

Blocker interpretations, obstruction rulings, rewinding the clock to rule on foul play but not doing the same with clear errors; the NRL has written itself into a corner with a host of rule changes introduced over the past few seasons and the end result is a refereeing team who can’t keep up. 

Every footy fan reading this article will have that one moment from the ‘24 season where their team was dudded by a shocker call.

The growing supporter base in the NRLW will tell you that the standard of refereeing in the women’s game is even worse. 

We need to be better than this. 

7. Parra back on track

The NRL’s newest Head Coach Jason Ryles has an almighty task ahead of him in Parramatta next year. He moved on some big names (and big earners) at the club upon arrival to quickly usher in a new era and Eels fans will be hoping for equally fast results. 

Realistically, Parramatta will likely start a few yards off the pack in NRL season 2025. 

Clint Gutherson leaves an enormous hole in the Eels systems and while Isaiah Iongi is a nice prospect, first-grade development takes time.

As I mentioned with Redcliffe last week however, the Eels don’t need to rapidly improve on their ladder position for season 2025 to be considered a success. 

We all laughed at Penrith’s ‘five year plan’ but the results now speak for themselves. Canterbury took some time with their current rebuild but the fruits of that labour are now beginning to show. 

There’s rarely an overnight fix in rugby league but we’ll get a good idea of the direction Ryles is taking this Parramatta outfit in the early stages of the season.

There will be considerable changes to their attack with Isaiah Iongi presumably as fullback, but it’s the Eels defensive systems that I think will display the most improvement to begin with. 

8. Hasler to solve positional headache

Des Hasler’s first season on the Gold Coast didn’t go according to plan.

Injuries to key players forced his hand and forced the Titans to play catch-up footy for most of the regular season after dropping their first six games. 

The silver lining in a horror ‘24 season was the emergence of Keano Kini at fullback and a shift to five-eighth for Jayden Campbell. 

Now with AJ Brimson back from injury and Carter Gordon reportedly pushing for a first-grade role in 2025, Des Hasler has some big positional calls to make. 

On current form, Kini has to be at fullback and Kieran Foran is undoubtedly the first-choice No.7. Where Brimson, Gordon and Campbell fit in around them will have a major impact on how the Titans play and potentially how they fare in the ‘25 NRL premiership race. 

A stacked forward rotation and a deep backline should see the Gold Coast avoid the injury woes that crippled them this year.

The challenge for Hasler and the Titans unsettled spine is to add the icing on top of what is a stacked first-choice 17 on paper. 

9. Tohu Harris comeback season

After 230+ games across 12 full seasons, One NZ Warriors skipper Tohu Harris is still somehow criminally underrated by most rugby league fans. 

He’s filled the Isaah Yeo role for the best part of a decade; getting through a mountain of work in defence while threatening equally as a ball runner or distributor through the middle of the field. 

An injury disrupted 2024 campaign restricted Harris to just 14 appearances this year (most of them playing through injury) until he was eventually ruled out in NRL Round 17. 

If the Warriors are to rebound in ‘25, they need Harris on the field and back to full fitness. 

His ability to take pressure off what will be a new halves pairing in Luke Metcalf and Chanel Harris-Tavita will be crucial as New Zealand transition into life without star halfback Shaun Johnson.

On the other side of the ball, Tohu and James Fisher-Harris will provide the Warriors with two of the most productive and mobile defensive middle forwards in the NRL. 

We saw New Zealand lose the ruck at different times this year but it already profiles as an area of strength for them in season 2025 with Harris and Fish leading the pack. 

10. Xavier Willison breakout year

All the chat in Brisbane right now has been solely focussed on Ben Hunt and the makeup of the Broncos spine. 

How Payne Haas returns from injury will be another key narrative in Michael Maguire’s first season at Red Hill, but I’ve got my eyes on another hulking Broncos forward. 

Xavier Willison already has a growing highlights reel from just 30 NRL games across four seasons.

Entering his fifth year in first-grade and with the benefit of an infamous ‘Madge’ preseason though, next year feels like a potential breakout campaign for Willison. 

With lovely late footwork and a quick play-the-ball for such a big body, Willison is a problem in good-ball when isolated onto smaller defenders.

His ability to generate momentum in yardage with a skittling carry was also a feature for the Broncos and the Māori All Stars earlier this year. 

The beauty of Brisbane’s pack heading into next season is in its balance. 

With Haas, Pat Carrigan, Corey Jensen and Kobe Hetherington all getting through a heap of work around the ruck, Willison will be able to pick his moments and offer a real point-of-difference through the middle of the field.

How Brendan Piakura and Jordan Riki kick on defensively will be a focus for Maguire over the summer, but Brisbane should have no trouble rolling down field in NRL season 2025. 

What’s on your NRL wish list for season 2025? Let us know in the comments.

Written by Oscar Pannifex | RLWAPPAREL.COM