The 2020 NRL season is upon us. In a storm of nostalgia, pettiness and old fashioned sing-a-long joy, the year will play under a banner that transformed and modernised the game so rapidly 30 years ago: Simply The Best.
It is an apt motto. The game does showcase the best athletes at the peak of their powers like few others. No sport is better at creating manufactured drama with no better example being the divisiveness the new marketing campaign based on the Tina Turner song has caused through a message of inclusiveness. Rugby league as a spectacle is to so many “better than all the rest”.
This season, the best should also remain the best. The three best teams last season were premiers the Sydney Roosters, minor premiers Melbourne and losing grand finalists Canberra. They again shape as the teams to beat in 2020.
The reason is simple: stability. There has been very little change over the course of the offseason. Major player movement appears to be at its lowest in years and there were just two coaching changes. This is not a transition year; the powerful remain powerful and those on the outside looking in remain cold. The more things change, the more they remain the same.
The Roosters are chasing an historic third straight premiership. No team since Parramatta in the early Winfield Cup days has completed the hat-trick. There would typically be a downturn expected if a team lost two internationals but the departures of Cooper Cronk and Latrell Mitchell have been handled well. Kyle Flanagan is an astute replacement for Cronk, missing just the intangibles Cronk and his experience brought. The Roosters were also clearly through with the talented-but-troubled centre. In seven years Trent Robinson has coached the Roosters, the team has finished top two on the ladder six times with three premierships to boot.
The story is similar with in Melbourne where Craig Bellamy and Cameron Smith do not know the meaning of failure. Down seasons do not exist at the Storm. Since 2006, they have missed the top four twice and one of those years was when they were consigned to last place due to systemic salary cap rorting. Melbourne will be better through subtraction in 2020 with Brodie Croft’s departure ensuring speedster Ryan Papenhuyzen is locked in at fullback and Jahrome Hughes at halfback.
Canberra are the one team from last year’s elite that enter the year with question marks over them. They have the upside to go one better but there is no legacy of sustained success with either the Raiders or coach Ricky Stuart and there are some personnel worries. Star backrower John Bateman, so integral to Canberra’s success last season, will miss the first two months of the year. George Williams was recruited to halfback but there has been more bombs with English backs than gems and he is a running half who will now be required to play an organisational role next to Jack Wighton.
There have, of course, been some big names shift clubs.
Latrell Mitchell is a massive addition to an already loaded South Sydney backline. The Rabbitohs reached the preliminary finals last year but a strengthened backline may not be enough to overcome the loss of Sam Burgess and a weakened pack. He will be under additional pressure following his request to play fullback.
Brodie Croft has inherited the famed Broncos No 7 jersey but will need to improve significantly – something few who leave Bellamy and the Storm system manage – to lift the Broncos from mid-table mediocrity. In Parramatta, Ryan Matterson may turn into the buy of the year. A skilful and hard-working edge forward, he brings a skillset that fits perfectly with what the Eels have implemented over the last 12 months.
Perhaps the most interesting and impactful signing heading into the 2020 season though is Valentine Holmes, who returns to the NRL and the fullback spot at North Queensland. The Cowboys have dramatically underachieved the last two years, primarily because of their weakness in the key positions. Holmes provides a dynamism at the back while also allowing talented youngster Scott Drinkwater to move to the halves. New addition Reece Robson is seriously being considered for the No 9 jersey. In six months, the Cowboys have reworked their spine and with a back that can dominate, the Cowboys have the tools to seriously rise in 2020, perhaps even eyeing a top four berth.
Knights fans will also be optimistic heading into the year. There have been few personnel changes but new coach Adam O’Brien comes with the right credentials having learnt from Bellamy and Trent Robinson. The Knights have stockpiled plenty of talent over the last two years and will benefit significantly from a change of message, a change of routine and a coach who is likely to tinker far less than his predecessor. Kalyn Ponga being locked into fullback on its own is enough to see the Knights improve.
The outlook is significantly less rosy for a few teams. Cronulla have lost six of their best 17 last year and have spent the offseason trying unsuccessfully to move on Josh Dugan and Matt Moylan. Josh Morris has been granted a release to join the Roosters. With salary cap pressure immense and Shark Park under reconstruction, John Morris and the Cronulla front office face a difficult year.
Paul McGregor at neighbouring St George Illawarra has endured with few notably bright seasons – a poor start and the Saints faithful will be baying for his blood. The Jack De Belin saga will loom large all year after his trial was pushed to August and with star Gareth Widdop moving on, the Ouija board is not delivering strong signs for the Dragons in 2020.
Stephen Kearney is another who has his head on the chopping block. The Warriors have moved from an entertaining yet wildly inconsistent team pre-Kearney to an incredibly boring yet wildly inconsistent team on his watch. New owners have no attachment to him. Anything but a strong start and Kearney will not see out the year.
The build up has been dramatic. But now it is time for rugby league to live up to the hype and prove it is simply the best.
