The Winter of Our Discontent: We break down what went wrong and what teams can take heart from after missing the finals. This week the bottom five.
ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA (17th)
What Went Wrong: Some poor salary cap management led to the Dragons getting almost nothing out of their highest-paid players. The dramas around Shane Flanagan early in the season had a huge impact on the effort areas. Tyrell Sloan was once again the scapegoat despite being their best and most dangerous outside back. An inability to score saw them top 24 just once this season. The recruitment of Dan Atkinson proved to be one of the biggest miscalculations of the year.
What Went Right: The emergence of the young pack led by the Couchman brothers and Hamish Stewart but also including Dylan Egan, Loko Pasifiki Tonga, Jacob Webster and Jacob Halangahu. Young half Kade Reed managed just two games but showed flashes of ability. The Dragons finished the season well enough with three wins in their final five games.
Immediate Outlook: No team in the bottom five and arguably inside the Top 8 has a better outlook than the Dragons. They took a gutless option in naming Dean Young coach but they have recruited better than any side and with the best young pack in the competition emerging, the Dragons can play finals football in 2027.
What Needs To Happen: Integrating the recruits into the team will be key with all set to start. Moving on Clint Gutherson and Valentine Holmes. Bringing in a quality set of assistant coaches, particularly an attacking innovator.
Best Player: Toby Couchman was an absolute star with few players having his workrate, ranking Top 12 in both hitups and tackles. [Text Wrapping Break]Most Disappointing Player: Valentine Holmes was nothing short of disgraceful with his defensive efforts embarrassing. He finished fifth in missed tackles per game.
GOLD COAST (16th)
What Went Wrong: Gold Coast’s attack was really poor for most of the season, particularly when youngster Zane Harrison did not play. While the Titans did not concede more than 50, they kept opponents to less than 22 just six times. Keano Kini leading the Titans try assist count with 13 shows just how bad the playmaking was. Handling was a major issue all year, tying for second in handling errors. No team completed less. The conundrum of where to play one of their highest paid players in AJ Brimson went unsolved.
What Went Right: The emergence of young halfback Zane Harrison coincided with the best football the Titans played all season. Josh Hannay showed enough gumption and nous in his first season to suggest he was the right hire. Ollie Pascoe came from nowhere to win the hooking job and looks a likely type. Kurtis Morris got a long overdue opportunity and took it. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui showed real leadership and continues to get better. Phillip Sami was excellent in his work ethic and finishing.
Immediate Outlook: The road is long for the Titans, who organisationally are behind pretty much every other team and who really struggle to appeal as a destination to the right kind of player. Josh Hannay has them improving but anything outside the bottom five will be a better-than-expected leap.
What Needs To Happen: Ensuring Zane Harrison does not leave when he becomes available to talk to other clubs on November 1. Moving AJ Brimson on to free up cap space. Bolstering the pack.
Best Player: Zane Harrison did not play enough to win this but he certainly was their most important and their most exciting with the best football the Titans played when he was wearing the No.7. [Text Wrapping Break]Most Disappointing Player: AJ Brimson is on monster coin but just doesn’t cut it as a centre and his lack of versatility really hamstrung Gold Coast.
WESTS TIGERS (15th)
What Went Wrong: The selfishness, hypocrisy and lack of control around Jarome Luai’s departure completely derailed the best start the Tigers have had to a season in a long time. The ramifications were large, marginalising a cohort led by Adam Doueihi while disappointing a large group of Pasifika players. Luai clearly deprioritised the Tigers immediately after announcing he was off to PNG. The lack of institutional control after Shane Richardson was forced out not only hurt the Tigers on the field but will significantly hurt recruitment. From vaping in the gym to refusing to play, it caused drama all season. Uninspiring coaching did not help with Benji Marshall’s meddling with outside backs ensuring there was no continuity in the backline, leading to the Tigers scoring 13 or fewer in eight of their last 10.
What Went Right: The Tigers have a reliable middle with Alex Twal having his best season, Terrell May continuing to carry a large weight and Fonua Pole the only player to turn out for all 24 games. The recruitment of Kai Pearce-Paul was excellent before he went down injured. Samuela Fainu is an improving player. Early in the season the Tigers showed plenty of heart with their defence.
Immediate Outlook: The Tigers will start next season as one of the favourites for the wooden spoon as the work done to help the Tigers change course has been completely undone over the last 12 months thanks to a ridiculous board, a novice CEO, a belligerent coach and a playing group that mostly does not care.
What Needs To Happen: The Tigers need to find a few adults. The young CEO is not the right person to lead such a fractured club. Benji Marshall has shown a decided lack of control, flexibility in his thinking and willingness to accept outside advice and needs to be moved on with his insistence on hiring only old teammates as assistants surely the final straw. The entire backline needs an overhaul.
Best Player: Alex Twal added some attacking flair to his relentless workload making him one of the few reliable players in 2026. [Text Wrapping Break]Most Disappointing Player: Jarome Luai has played like a reserve grader and let everyone at the club down with his selfish, self-indulgent behaviour.
BRISBANE (14th)
What Went Wrong: The worst premiership defence in premiership history had many fathers and they spanned the entire organisation. Michael Maguire has never been popular as a coach and the players certainly didn’t want to follow his regime after winning a premiership. So unpopular is he, Ben Te’o walked out early in the season, Payne Haas signed with Souths without giving Brisbane the opportunity to counter and Reece Walsh liking a post that slammed him. The attack was at times laughable while the defence lacked effort and intensity. At the end of the day, the Broncos were incredibly lucky to win last year and this season’s finish is a better indication of where they really are at. They could not even send a legend of the game off with any class.
What Went Right: Not a lot. Xavier Willison emerged as one of the best young props in the game. Kotoni Staggs has matured as a top grader. Billy Walters looked good when the season was over after returning from a long injury.
Immediate Outlook: Brisbane
What Needs To Happen: If the Broncos were in any way serious they would be entering a full blown organisational rebuild. Everyone from the chairman to the coach should be out. That won’t happen. Karl Morris has no self awareness, Michael Maguire won’t step away and Dave Donaghy knows what a good wicket he is on with zero need for accountability. There is talent there but without any depth or belief in coaching this team is merely treading water.
Best Player: Xavier Willison is an absolute star in the making who was outstanding both in the middle or on the edge but always surrounded by dumpster fires. [Text Wrapping Break]Most Disappointing Player: Reece Walsh spent a good deal of the season on the sideline but his 17 try involvements to go with 28 errors and 11 penalties was an awful return after his key role in the Grand Final win.
PARRAMATTA (13th)
What Went Wrong: The roster construction at the Eels has been dreadfully poor and the signing of Jonah Pezet on a one-year deal showcased that. The boom on Jason Ryles proved to be unfounded. No team was worse at handling the ball. The Eels were defensively poor at the start of the season. The loss of J’maine Hopgood in the first game had a negative impact.
What Went Right: Isaiah Iongi has come along nicely as a fullback. Tallyn Da Silva has plenty of holes in his game but proved a dangerous attacking weapon, topping Parramatta’s tryscoring tally.
Immediate Outlook: The Eels are showing no indicators of any significant improvement next season and look to be one Mitch Moses injury away from the wooden spoon.
What Needs To Happen: A complete cleanout of the football department needs to be the priority. Mark O’Neill has, frankly, done a shameful job at building out the Eels roster. The Eels need a fresh start with investment in talent and an understanding of how the salary cap works. The Eels need a hooker and a five-eighth, some strong middles and outside backs who can hold the ball.
Best Player: Jack Williams toiled incredibly hard all year and let nobody down with his effort and leadership. [Text Wrapping Break]Most Disappointing Player: Jonah Pezet was using the Eels as a transit lounge and one would have thought the club would have learned from that lesson with his very disappointing year.
The Warriors Kicked A Lot of Penalty Goals – And They Had To: Points are hard to come by in finals and when the Warriors continued to be gifted two after two thanks to a sub-par showing from Adam Gee, the team rightly accepted. The fact they lost should not take away from that. The Warriors would have been mad not to accept the points and at one stage led despite scoring fewer tries. The issues behind the Warriors loss was not conservatism when it came to penalties but the awful call to play Adam Pompey and Alofiana Khan-Pereira having his worst game.
Chris Butler Is Confused and Wants To Be Dux of the School: We have reached a stage now where the appointment of Chris Butler to any future games is utterly reckless negligence that does not uphold the duty of care the NRL have to preserving the integrity of the sport. Butler, who has always seemed unaware of the rules, is currently King Kong Bundy pretending to be Usain Bolt in terms of speed. Butler just makes stuff up. He was so confused on a decision on Friday night that Ashley Klein had to walk him through what to look for. The time he took to rightly disallow a South Sydney try after Alex Johnston knocked on was ridiculous and rightly infuriated South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett. His performance the next day was significantly worse, highlighted by a captain’s challenge when a Mitch Barnett obstruction followed by a Warriors knock on somehow led to a Warriors penalty. He just makes things up. It is truly astonishing the NRL keep shoving him down our throats like some overcooked broccoli dipped in faeces.
Rugby Union is a Sad, Weak, Small-Minded Sport: The attempts of some rugby union outfit called the Waikato Chiefs to extort the PNG Chiefs is perhaps the clearest signal that the sport that has already died in Australia is on its way to dying in New Zealand. The Waikato Chiefs are trying to force the newest Rugby League team to ditch their name in a clear bid to win an injection of cash and a major boost in relevance. Nobody is mistaking the PNG Chiefs for the team from Waikato. That is because nobody knows or cares about Waikato other than the fact they likely took their name from the Kansas City outfit. The NRL and PNG should send the Waikato team broke in court costs rather than reach any kind of settlement.
Kasey An Embarrassment to the NRLW: There have been just three NRLW games that have had penalty counts over 20 this season. The official in each was Kasey Badger. On Friday night in the Raiders-Tigers game she awarded an obscene 22, the most awarded in an NRLW match. The NRL have made it perfectly clear that they do not care about the standard of officiating but even they should be too ashamed to let Badger continue on in any capacity.
The Willie M Team of the Week: This week’s team of finals flops and fools:
1.Scott Drinkwater (NQ)
2.Braidon Burns (NQ)
3.Adam Pompey (NZ)
4.Ali Leitaua (NZ)
5.Alofiana Khan-Pereira (NZ)
6.Jake Clifford (NQ)
7.Tom Dearden (NQ)
8.Griffin Neame (NQ)
9.Brandon Smith (Sou)
10.Jason Taumalolo (NQ)
11.David Fifita (Sou)
12.Jacob Laban (NZ)
13.Cameron Murray (Sou)
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14.Soni Luke (NQ)
15.Tanner Stowers-Smith (NZ)
16.Lachlan Hubner (Sou)
17.Jeremiah Nanai (NQ)
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Coach: Todd Payten (NQ)
Referee Gradings: The officiating gradings for Week 1 of the finals:
- Ashley Klein (D-)
- Adam Gee (D-)
- Grant Atkins (C)
- Gerard Sutton (D)
The 2026 Field Goal Update – 23: Nathan Cleary slotted a key field goal to put the Panthers into their seventh straight preliminary final. It was Cleary’s third finals field goal – making him just the 19th player in premiership history to kick three or more field goals in finals.
Fun Fact #1: The two leading 40/20 kickers this season were hookers with Owen Pattie and Phoenix Crossland kicking four apiece.
Fun Fact #2: Lachlan Galvin played the most minutes of any player this year with 1933 minutes.
Fun Fact #3: Nathan Cleary led the NRL in kicking the ball dead, one ahead of Dan Atkinson.
Rumour Mill: Herbie Farnworth heading to the Sydney Roosters continues to remain warm even with both teams finishing in the Top 4 this year. AJ Brimson is keen to move to the PNG Chiefs with a deal likely to eventuate in the coming weeks. Tyson Frizell will either remain at Newcastle or sign with the Brisbane Broncos for 2027.
The Coaching Crosshairs: The Tigers have taken the first step to forcing Benji Marshall out of the club – whether intentionally or unintentionally – by stripping the head coach of the ability to hire his own assistants. Marshall has taken the incredibly stupid and incredibly insecure approach to putting together his football department, using his total power to surround himself with former teammates, particularly those from the 2005 side. The departure of John Morris though, has seen the Tigers step in and will interview candidates and present Marshall with a list of two as they look for diversity. Marshall is unlikely to take the impingement on his ground well – he certainly hasn’t in the past – as the rug slowly slips out from under him.
Moronic Coaching Decision of the Week: Trent Robinson is one of the great coaches, but his decision to start Egan Butcher against Penrith was incredibly odd. Solesi Foketi has been outstanding over the backend of the season playing an edge and limiting his time off the bench to play a plodder like Butcher certainly did not help the Roosters win the early arm wrestle.
Watch It: Forwards kicking field goals is one of the great treats and seeing Paul Vaughan nailed a completely meaningless beauty in his final Super League game for York was an absolutely tremendous moment. Watch it here:https://x.com/TrylineUK/status/2098430111611760774?s=20