The engine room is the heart and soul of every rugby league team, and no team has ever won a competition with a poor forward pack.
It's really quite as simple as that.
SEE ALSO: Every NRL club's spine ranked for 2026
The spine might get all the credit, and the outside backs provide all the flash, but they might as well all stay in the dressing room.
RELATED: Every NRL club's outside backs ranked for 2026
For the purposes of this exercise, and given hookers were included in the spine, we will be looking at the prop, lock and second-row positions to determine which NRL side has the best forward pack.
Here are the rankings for the 2026 campaign.
16. Newcastle Knights
Likely first-choice: Jacob Saifiti, Trey Mooney, Tyson Frizell, Dylan Lucas, Jermaine McEwen
If potential was the standout attribute in ranking the forward packs, the Knights would be higher. Trey Mooney and Jermaine McEwen, as well as the likes of Cody Hopwood and Thomas Cant not in the 17 have it in spades.
They aren't there yet though, and combine that with Tyson Frizell, who has shuffled into the middle towards the end of his career, and Jacob Saifiti as the forward pack leader, and it's unlikely to be scaring rival sides.
The Knights do have Dylan Lucas as their best, with the edge forward likely to be in the State of Origin conversation by the time that starts becoming a real thing in the middle of the year.
Justin Holbrook will have his work cut out for him though getting the best out of this forward pack in the Hunter.
