Every year, NRL teams enter the competition with varying levels of expectations.
Some are aiming for the premiership, some are trying to sneak back into finals footy, others are trying to stop a slide, and some just want to steer clear of the bottom after a handful of disastrous campaigns.
The 2025 campaign saw new premiers crowned, finally dethroning the Penrith Panthers, while some clubs were ahead of expectations, led by the Canterbury Bulldogs and Canberra Raiders, and others fell well short of where they should have been, led by the North Queensland Cowboys and South Sydney Rabbitohs.
With off-season moves done, Zero Tackle have unpacked the realistic expectations for every NRL team heading into 2026, picking the pass mark for each and every team.
Multiple teams share the same pass marks throughout, but that ultimately means some teams are going to be left unhappy.
Sydney Roosters
Top four
The Roosters were never supposed to be anywhere near the finals in 2025. Most had them in the mix for the wooden spoon.
When you consider what they lost talent wise at the end of 2024, and the injuries which hung over their squad for the first half of the campaign, even in hindsight, that is hardly a surprise.
But now, fit, and with Daly Cherry-Evans joining, as well as a host of young players having a year of first-grade under their belt, the James Tedesco-led side should go to another level.
They will fancy themselves as a premiership contender, and while we aren't sure that is on the table, anything less than the top four wouldn't be a great result for the Bondi-based outfit.
I think “Push for the Top Four” is ambitious for the Dolphins.
If I were one of their management or their fans, I would think that just making the top eight and playing finals would be a success, this season.