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.
Canterbury Bulldogs
Preliminary final
Like the Raiders, the Bulldogs, it could be argued, were among the surprise teams in 2025, although not quite as much as the Canberra-based side.
The Bulldogs made the finals in 2024 and improved on that last year, but the season was a whirlwind, with team selections and odd changes to the spine costing them momentum.
Eventually they were also bundled out in straight sets come September.
The bottom line for the Bulldogs is that they should continue to improve, and that means winning games in September.
It's time for Cameron Ciraldo's side to jump that hurdle, even with a new look at halfback.
Preliminary final is really the minimum expectation for the blue and white heading into 2026.
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.