The 2026 NRL season is set to kick-off on Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas, with 16 teams out to chase the Brisbane Broncos in the new campaign.
Every club will see key reasons why they can and can't perform in 2026, and Zero Tackle have pulled the key one on each side of the coin.
New Zealand Warriors
Why they can: Improved culture under Webster
The Warriors have been much improved in their three seasons to date under Andrew Webster.
For a team who were often, at best, fighting for a spot on the edge of the top eight, they have looked like premiership contenders in two of their three seasons to date under the former Panthers assistant.
It's clear the club are building a winning culture - now it's just whether they can take the next step.
Why they can't: No recovery from a slow start
The Warriors biggest roadblock heading into 2026 will be starting the campaign off without halfback Luke Metcalf.
He was superb in 2025, leading the Dally M Medal count by a country mile before being injured.
His injury saw the Warriors slump down the table, and now he is due to miss the first month and a half this year too.
He will be back on the field at some point, but whether the Warriors can find any consistency or rhythm after that is up for debate. So too is what happens if Metcalf gets injured again.
Objective: To say in one article what everyone else says, and to say what everyone else does _not_ say.
Who said that ? Was it Nietzsche ?
Well, whoever it was, he’d be proud to have written this one, Scott.