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.
Gold Coast Titans
Avoid bottom four
The Titans are under new coaching heading into 2026, with Josh Hannay taking over from Des Hasler after what can only be described as a miserable two-year stint in charge.
The Gold Coast need to find a way to turn things around, and while that looks tricky at best given the squad on paper, they are heading in the right direction with a host of young talent.
Off-field contract speculation will likely continue to plague them for some time as captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui makes his mind up, but they must be better on field.
That all said, the expectations for the Titans are still well and truly at the lower end of the scale.
Truth be told, it would be a surprise to see too many tipping them for anything other than the bottom four, but avoiding it would be a pass.
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.