NRL 2010!

My yearly "NRL is back!" blog post has to be one of my favourite posts I write each year. It means that the return of the greatest game of all is around the corner... As January rolls into February, slowly we start to see more NRL related articles in the sports pages. As February draws to a close the frequency gradually increases until there is page after glorious page of Rugby League news, previews and analysis. By March the anticipation for kickoff is exponentially high – and now here we find ourselves, just three sleeps from the first play of two thousand and ten.

I cannot wait for the action to start.

As it always is at this time of year – the big questions dominate the footy faithful. Who is going to win it this year? Who will be the most improved? Which players are set to make an impact? Which club will be the year's big surprise? The answers will be revealed over the next six and a half months, but in the meantime, here is my club-by-club analysis for season 2010. Where is your club?

Melbourne Storm

The ever-classy Melbourne stunned opposing teams with their late rally last year that culminated in them taking home the top prize. But after again shedding a host of players including Dallas Johnson, Will Chambers and Steve Turner, the pundits will be asking if the Storm can repeat the feat. You bloody bet they can. They still have the key men in the key positions and a coach that could make a footballer out of a pumpkin. History is against them in that no side since Brisbane well over a decade ago has won back-to-back titles, but somehow I think the only time the Storm are going to worry about history will be while they're busy making it. Keep an eye on their unknowns too – half of them are likely to be stars by year's end.

Newcastle Knights

Goooone! The Knights are a work in progress abandoned by the artist before he had finished. The departure of coach Brian Smith to the Roosters has left a motley group of players of various talent levels who are going to struggle as a cohesive football side. New coach Rick Stone too has his work cut out for him, particularly as the Chris Houston drug scandal rocks the club, only a few months after his mate Danny Wicks got done for a similar thing. If the Knights want to be any chance of making the eight, five-eighth Jarrod Mullen is going to have to deliver on the promise he showed back in 2007 when selected for Origin, and Kurt Gidley will need to perform at a level justifying of his hype. Sadly however, I see Newcastle being firmly entrenched in the bottom half of the ladder come September.

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles

When Manly won the comp in 2008, even the club itself said they had peaked earlier than expected. Now they must wondering if the whole thing was a fluke, as their fall from the top began even before one speck of dust had settled on the NRL trophy once on display at Brookvale. Scandals and poor form marred their premiership defence last year, with the team playing catch up for most of the season before being bundled out of the finals. Now without a recognised halfback with the sudden departure of Matt Orford, the team does have talent on the park but are going to need to find a very good on-field organiser very quickly if they are to make any kind of impact this year.

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

After the various trials and tribulations the Sharks experienced last year, the club is lucky to even still be in the NRL. Only the Roosters finished lower on the ladder in 2009, and only on points differential. Cronulla are understandably looking for a fresh start in 2010, and have brought on board a host of new players for Ricky Stuart to try and mould into a force. A major concern however, is that while most of the club's buys are capable, solid players, none have the flair or X-factor that the club really needs to make an impact. Adding to this concern is the halves equation – the same two men will be organising the troops as last year when the side could only muster five wins. It's going to be another long season in the Shire.

Parramatta Eels

Parramatta came within a win of being the dream story of 2009. In 2010 they're looking to go one better, and are as well placed as any top team to make this a reality. Already bursting with talent including the freakish Jarryd Hayne and workhorse Nathan Hindmarsh, the Eels welcome back gifted centre Timaha Tahu while bolstering their pack with the addition of Justin Poore. The recent re-signing of prodigal five-eighth Daniel Mortimer will also give the club a huge boost, though he will have to work hard to avoid the dreaded second year syndrome that has plagued many of the gifted players in the game. If he can keep firing, the Eels are going to keep the other contenders on their toes.

South Sydney Rabbitohs

The time for excuses is over. A football side with this much talent simply cannot keep underachieving. Especially with the additions of Sam Burgess and Dave Taylor up front, and names like Asotasi and Crocker beside them, the Bunnies now have the most formidable pack in the comp. Add to this their speedy try-scoring machine backline, a five-eighth pushing for Origin selection in John Sutton and 2007's Dally M Rookie of the Year Chris Sandow. As I said, a football side with this much talent simply cannot keep underachieving. I'm just sayin'.

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

2008's wooden spooners came within a dodgy ref call of the minor premiership last year and fell one game shy of the Grand Final to the red hot Eels. In 2010 the mighty Doggies will be looking to go one better, and have the right players in place to make it happen. Hazem El Masri may be gone, but Steve Turner is a more than capable replacement on the wing while the side has plenty of goalkicking options in Brett Kimmorley, Mick Ennis or Bryson Goodwin. Look for the immensely talented Jamal Idris to really make his mark this year and freakish attacking whiz Ben Barba to become a regular first grader. The Dogs have premiership potential all over the park with the only worry being injury – particularly if organiser Kimmorley goes down, Canterbury's depth may be questioned.

Brisbane Broncos

Everyone is waiting for Brisbane to fail, and many see 2010 as the year for it to happen, given the side's worrying form slump before the finals last year and the departures of Dave Taylor, Karmichael Hunt and Tonie Carroll among others. I'm usually the first to warn anyone never to write off Brisbane, particularly when it seems like the chips are down, but the truth is this year I actually have no idea how they'll fare. Their line-up, while depleted, still boasts surnames like Lockyer, Hodges, Folau, Wallace and Thaiday. But Hodges won't be back from his Achilles injury for a while yet and if the brittle, ageing Darren Lockyer falls, Brisbane's depth will just be too thin.

Gold Coast Titans

The NRL's newest team may very well find themselves in a position soon where the entire state of Queensland is depending on them. While Brisbane are on the wane and the inconsistent North Queensland are no certainty to be a threat, Gold Coast have bolstered the team that made last year's finals. The biggest news in the off-season was the addition of Greg Bird in the halves, but aside from him the Titans have been busily adding to their depth. With key men in jumpers one, six, seven and nine, a classy forward pack and plenty of backline and three quarter options, making their second finals series should be a formality. Ask me again at that point how I think they'll go from there.

Wests Tigers

The biggest word on Tigers coach Tim Sheens' lips this year will be consistency. For lack of it is the only thing that has kept Wests out of September football since their 2005 premiership win. Again last year they showed just how lethal they can be in attack, with a late streak almost putting them in finals calculations before they cruelly fell short by a point. This year they'd added a host of new players to reinforce their depth, locked down superstar five-eighth Benji Marshall for the next six years and snared arguably the coup of the year by signing Lote Tuquiri. On paper the Tigers have talent falling off the sides of the page. How that talent fires in 2010 will determine whether the glory days of 2005 are revisited or whether this year ends up being another "what if".

Canberra Raiders

Every year the Raiders bleed talent. Every year their team of unknowns is written off. Every year their crop of youngsters overachieves. Then the next year they bleed talent. 2010 sees a fresh crop of players ready to take on the NRL heavyweights, but the mail this time is that this bunch of young blokes might just be the core that Canberra have needed ever since the end of their late 80s/early 90s glory days. Complementing the likes of the fresh Josh Dugan, Jarrod Croker and Justin Carney will be representative players Joel Monaghan, Tom Learoyd-Lars and David Shillington. Talented five-eighth Terry Campese and inspirational lock/hooker Alan Tongue complete a team with tremendous potential to build into something over the next few years. If they don't bleed players.

North Queensland Cowboys

The perennial under-achievers of the last five years finally go into a season without being touted as heavyweights. Relatively quiet in the player market over the off-season, their only major acquisition – Willie Mason – is a player who makes more headlines off the field than on it. If North Queensland want to achieve anything of note this season, they are going to need plenty of heart. They still have one of the best playmakers in the game in Jonathan Thurston but will be missing his partner in crime Matt Bowen early on, have several question marks around depth issues and are still without a stable five-eighth. What they do have going for them however, is that finally no one expects anything of them.

Sydney Roosters

The Roosters' crash to dead last in 2009 was a spectacular decline. Plagued by off field problems, poor discipline and a lack of footballing focus, everything that could go wrong did. The upside when it comes to 2010 is things can't get any worse. With a new coach in Brian Smith and a lot of the dead wood gone from the roster, there is an opportunity for a fresh start but it's going to take time. New recruit Todd Carney is a gifted footballer however his own discipline problems are well documented. In the forwards, Jason Ryles is a good addition to the front row but the Rooster's second row does look conspicuously underdone. Much of their fortunes this year will depend on their halves – Mitchell Pearce in particular is going to have to live up to his famous surname for the Chooks to be any finals chance.

Penrith Panthers

The Panthers showed glimpses of being a great football team last year. Their shopping list in 2010 was all about strengthening in key positions, with the result being a well-balanced side consisting of youth and experience. With veteran Petero Civoneciva leading from the front and Travis Burns now providing some structure at five-eighth, the Panthers backs will be able to concentrate on what they do best, which is provide attacking flair and score tries. This is the year for rookie halfback Luke Walsh to live up to his promise – if he's able to do that then Penrith will be a team to watch.

St George Illawarra Dragons

There's an old joke – What do the Dragons have in common with snow? Both are gone by September... and indeed last year the form team throughout the regular season crashed spectacularly out of the finals. With most of their talent intact and that lesson now learned, fans of the red V will have plenty to be hopeful for in 2010. Wendell Sailor and Justin Poore have moved on but St George still have one of the game's best wingers in Brett Morris plus State of Origin prop Michael Weyman. Speaking of Origin, Jamie Soward will be pushing hard for selection this year while centre Matt Cooper, criminally overlooked for state honours last year, will be out to prove that the selectors got it wrong. Expect the Dragons to finish in the top four, and their fans will hope for a better finals performance.

New Zealand Warriors

2009 was a wasted year across the Tasman. After a strong 2008 campaign much was expected, particularly with the return of Stacey Jones. Indifferent team form and Jones' failure to make any real impact saw the Warriors finish 14^th in a disappointing effort. In hindsight welcoming Jones back onto the fold was the wrong choice, he ended up retiring again anyway and the talented Nathan Fien was lost to St George. This year they've gone for their third halfback in as many years with Cronulla discard Brett Seymour filling the number seven jersey. Elsewhere inspirational prop Steve Price is still there and winger Manu Vatuvei will be ever dangerous on the wing, but some of New Zealand's lesser known players are going to have to step up and be counted if the team is to have much on-field success.