NRL Season Review: The Bottom 9

The 2025 NRL season is over for nine teams, and while the disappointment of one season still lingers, an eye is already being cast over the next. Every fan will be convinced their team will improve and make the finals by March next year.

So, with that in mind, I’m looking over the nine teams that missed the finals this season, and highlighting a positive or two to come out of the last 27 rounds.

Newcastle Knights

As you’d expect, finding positives for the wooden spooners is rather difficult.

Even with Dylan Brown arriving next year, the long-term halves pairing isn’t much clearer. Fletcher Sharpe put himself in the mix, but doesn’t profile particularly well alongside Brown. Sandon Smith is on his way as well, but could fill more of a hooker role. Jack Cogger and Tyson Gamble remain signed for 2026. With Mathew Hunter a clear part of Newcastle’s future, the temptation to change things up in the halves will be there for the new coach, too.

Dylan Lucas is a genuine positive for the Knights. His first-half hat-trick against the Penrith Panthers in Round 12 ended up as one of the moments of the season. The 25-year-old is an excellent foil for whoever ends up in the halves on the left edge.

Kalyn Ponga’s latest commitment to the club is a positive, too.

It’s going to be a long summer, though…

Gold Coast Titans

The Gold Coast Titans have become a carousel for spine players, but they seem to have landed on their halfback with Jayden Campbell. He fits their current style and brand. He’s a wizard with the ball, and while he doesn’t play like a typical, organising halfback, the Titans don’t often play like they need one.

However, Josh Hannay is taking over as head coach next season and has already hinted at a change of style and rebranding.

We could be in for a perfect mix…

As much as Hannay speaks about the Queensland style of play, he will need to mould it to the team he is inheriting. In Campbell, AJ Brimson and Keano Kini, the Titans are blessed with speed, footwork and unpredictability. Brian Kelly, Phillip Sami, Jojo Fifita and Alofiana Khan-Pereira make up an exciting back line¹ .

Hannay won’t put on leash on them. Instead, I expect to see his influence come through the middle and in defence. Campbell, Brimson and Kini are only as effective as the momentum generated in front of them. It starts in defence and winning field position, and translates through strong carries from the likes of Mo Fotuaika and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui.

Plenty talked themselves into the Titans making the Top 8 based on their squad. Much of that squad remains for next season. It’s whether or not the new coach can put all of the pieces together to produce consistent football.

St George Illawarra Dragons

I tipped the St George Illawarra Dragons for a spot in the Top 8 before Round 1 and felt pretty good about it, even as they sat outside the eight early in the NRL season.

“They’ve blown a couple of leads already this season. Their loss to the Parramatta Eels in Round 5 was a shocker. Still, the Dragons’ attack is proving tough to handle as they load up their spine on one side of the field and ask the defence to do their best.” - Round 8 Review

Their attack featuring three spine players became a regular feature early.

As teams adjusted by stacking their numbers to the long side in response, the Dragons threw some different looks.

Here, they run a lead inside the three-man with Kyle Flanagan throwing face-ball to Clint Gutnerson out the back of the block.

A couple of weeks later, they run a similar shape, but with two blocks to the edge which ends up skinning the Raiders.

I found myself getting more excited about the Dragons attack every time they executed on one of these shifts before a poor period of play - often when running with a smaller forward pack - allowed the opposition back in it.

Flanagan will be fuming at how the season ended. His players will be nervous about returning for the pre-season. But if the Dragons can play with the grit and grind we’re accustomed to seeing from Flanagan-coached teams, they have the attack to end up on top.

South Sydney Rabbitohs

The postive can only be that it’s over for the Rabbitohs.

Injuries decimated this squad from the start and a top-heavy roster doesn’t carry the depth to cope with long-term outs.

Cody Walker, Latrell Mitchell and Campbell Graham managed only 11 games each. Brandon Smith only featured five times for his new club while it took until Round 27 for Cameron Murray to get on the field.

Those are five players that every team would struggle to fill in isolation let alone all five at once, as was the case too often this season. They’re also five players, though, that should be fit and firing for the start of 2026.

The experienced forced upon some of the depth players will help.

“There are a lot of things we will benefit from. The Jye Gray’s, the Ward’s, the Humphreys’. They all got a lot of experience they wouldn’t have probably got in a normal year.”

Lachlan Hubner played 20 games and will be better for the extra time he saw in first grade. Tallis Duncan ended up all over the field and will benefit from the versatility he was forced to display throughout the year. Jye Gray - assuming Mitchell stays healthy - could end up as their utility next season after filling a handful of different roles in 2025.

With Jamie Humphreys and Asthon Ward now in position to fight, possibly alongside Lewis Dodd, for a spot in the halves, the competition and improved health will set South Sydney up to perform better next season.

Wests Tigers

The improvement feels long-term for the Wests Tigers this season.

We’ve seen them spark excitement and hope within the fan base in recent years, but it’s been misguided. Late-season form hasn’t translated into the next. High-scoring periods haven’t been repeatable beyond a few weeks. However, with a clear focus on the future and, most importantly, who will be in it, the Tigers on the up. Finally.

The attack looked real all season. Personally, I think Latu Fainu could be the better fit for this squad in the long run. Benji Marshall has been desperate for results so picked the 17 each week he thought had the best chance to produce it. Eventually, though, Fainu will be the consistent #7.

Fainu is still learning the position but already plays with the poise and deception of an experienced half. When his footy IQ and processing speed of a defensive line catches up to his skill, he’s in for a sharp rise.

There will be finals hype around this team next season and for the first time in a long time, it’s justified.

North Queensland Cowboys

While already a State of Origin and International calibre player, Tom Dearden firmly established himself as a top tier halfback in the NRL this year. He has typically been seen exclusively as a five-eighth. A run-first player spotting up down a short side or on the second layer of a shift. But as he’s been forced into owning the North Queensland attack more this season, he’s only getting better.

As Team of the Season picks start to pop up across social media, he’s filling the #7 jersey in most of them.

Like Jahrome Hughes at the Melbourne Storm, Dearden’s run-first reputation is what makes him so dangerous. He touched the ball 59 times per game this season, up from 48 touches per game in the last. Still, he’s getting into his most dangeours spots on the field despite playing more of an organiser role.

I love seeing him in these areas:

Flat and fast over the advantage down the short side, creating space for those outside him.

As the players around Dearden learn to play alongside him in his new role, the Cowboys attack can click into another gear next season.

ALSO READ: Cowboys Capitalising Through The Middle

Parramatta Eels

The Parramatta Eels went through a lot of pain in 2025, but it will pay off in 2026. Despite the viral article about their lack of improvement² those that understand the game could see the improvement on the field.

For a team that looked so poor in defence and devoid in attack throughout the early rounds to finish up Round 27 with 10 wins for the season is the improvement.

Jason Ryles played for next season by removing Dylan Brown from the halves. The easy avenue for a new coach is to put his best players in their best spots to win today, but Ryles will win a game or two in 2026 with how he approached this year.

Mitchell Moses is the key. He sees the game in advance of any other Eels player. By being able to create plays for himself and others, the attack moves through him.

We only have to look at the first try of the 12 they scored last week to see how, despite being no where near the action when the try is scored, he organises the attack and makes the right pass.

With his long pass to Dylan Walker, he’s able to pass his lock onto the four-man of the Knights edge. Dom Young isn’t up with his line, possibly cheating to field a kick on the following tackle. That allows Junior Paulo to fade into the space between three and two with his arms free to offload.

Parramatta likely drew this up during the week. They’ve identified a tight Knights line from this field position and played to it. Through Moses, the Eels executed to perfection.

So long as he’s on the field next season and the defence makes slight improvements around him, the Eels will climb the NRL ladder.

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles

Daly Cherry-Evans is a club legend and one of the best players in NRL history. However, it’s difficult to ignore the impact his decision to leave the club had on their 2025 season.

Who knows how it would have ended up, but clearing 40+ points twice in the opening three weeks - including hanging 40 on the Canberra Raiders - set the Sea Eagles up nicely. Then came the annoucnement…

Nothing ever felt quite right watching the Sea Eagles from that point. While they looked a Top 8 calibre side by the end of Round 27, five consecutive defeats after Cherry-Evans confirmed his future put Manly in a hole. Another four-game losing streak dug it too deep before their three wins to finish the regular season.

The positive is that despite the turmoil and long-term injuries to key players, the Sea Eagles finished only one win outside the Top 8. Taniela Paseka will be back to full strength next season. Meanwhile, a healthy Haumole Olakau’atu will carry the sort of gravity in attack that will give whoever takes over the #7 jersey more time on the ball.

There are worst positions to be starting from when losing a 352-game legend of the game.

Dolphins

This is an Isaiya Katoa appreciation segment.

Katoa Cleaning Up

The tempo of his first is outrageous. Katoa takes possession and all but stops on his run to sit the defence and consider his options, shapes in, sprints forward, shapes long, and tucks the ball under his arm to break the line. He does this all in little more than a second.

Even in the backfield he has the time to look left and right before finally throwing the pass with the fullback well and truly engaged.

Katoa Creating The 2 v 1

The double pump is fairly common among halves, but a lot are premeditated. They’re designed to throw the defender off rather than create a cue. Katoa, however, is different.

He seems to process his options like an NFL quarterback, looking short to long, waiting for the right pass.

Here, he shapes early with the first dummy. It’s early enough that he can still throw it without the defender landing on his lead on the catch. But he sees the three man on his heels and looks long.

His pass floats across Nikorima’s face straight into the hands of Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, who simply has to execute on the 2 v 1 Katoa has created.

Katoa’s Pass

When Isaiya Katoa takes the ball behind a lead inside Eli Katoa, Jahrome Hughes is on an island. Isaiya knows the pressure is coming from the inside, but if he can burn to Hughes with Lemuelu first shaping to run at the inside shoulder, he can trust Grant Anderson will jam from centre - it’s fairly typical of the Storm defensive system.

The pass is a peach, slightly forward or not. The line is perfect. That’s a late fade any hole-runner in the NRL would be proud of pulling off.

1  Let me get in early on the Harley Smith-Shields hype for next season. He’s finishing this year with the Ipswich Jets and I still have high hopes for the 25-year-old as an attacking threat.

2  I know better than to have read it.