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.
St George Illawarra Dragons
Why they can: Young forwards
The Dragons boast an abundance of young, talented junior forwards who have hit the ground running last year. Players such as Hamish Stewart, Dylan Egan and the Couchman brothers provide a strong nucleus to their ageing forward pack and will only grow stronger as time goes by.
As they transition into getting more game time, the Dragons halves will play on the front foot of their good work in the engine room and create opportunities for the outside backs.
Why they can't: The spine
The Dragon's spine is on the more inexperienced side, with Kyle Flanagan and Daniel Atkinson not boasting a lot of big finals game experiences. It is relying on Damien Cook and Clint Gutherson as the players who have ‘been there, done that'.
All the past premiership-winning sides boast a strong spine with representative-level players, and the Dragons aren't quite there yet.
Although the more we see of promising youngster Kade Reed, the more it will benefit the side's long-term success.
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.