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.
Manly Sea Eagles
Why they can: Tom Trbojevic
If Tom Trbojevic is fit and healthy, the sky's the limit for the Manly Sea Eagles. We've seen him carry the side to a preliminary final berth in 2021 in his Dally M year, and with a more balanced roster in 2026, the side will lift with him.
There is more than just one strike weapon now since that Dally M year, with Tolu Koula emerging as a star centre, and if Haumole Olakau'atu can stay fit, they will be dangerous.
The signature of Kobe Hetherington from the premiership-winning Brisbane Broncos is a massive get, with the backrower bringing aggression and another ball-playing middle option to their side.
If they can get some luck with injuries in key positions, they will create havoc for most of the competition.
Why they can't: Issues in the forward pack
It's a pretty simple explanation for the Sea Eagles; they're lacking a strong forward pack. An untimely Achilles injury in Round 3 last year to Taniela Paseka really highlighted the weakness of the Sea Eagles' middles compared to the premiership heavyweights.
They were unable to use aggression up front to build momentum and had to rely on their talented outside backs, such as Koula and Jason Saab, to get them out of trouble with early spreads.
Recruit Hetherington will help strengthen the middle, but with Caleb Navale suffering from a preseason ACL injury, they will be relying on everyone staying fit to be able to compete.
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Who said that ? Was it Nietzsche ?
Well, whoever it was, he’d be proud to have written this one, Scott.