Team-by-team guide to the NRL

Kevin Locke will be a key component of the Warrior's attack this year. Photo / Getty Images

St George Illawarra Dragons

2009: First in regular season (17-7) Eliminated by Broncos in semifinal
MAJOR ACQUISITIONS: None, unless you count Bronx Goodwin
MAJOR LOSSES: Wendell Sailor (retired), Justin Poore (Eels), Chase Stanley (Storm), Matthew Head (Dapto)
COACH: Wayne Bennett

With squad players such as Peni Tagive and Michael Greenfield their only arrivals, it was a deathly quiet off season for minor premiers. Then again, they didn't lose too much either. Wendell Sailor's impressive derriere will be missed by fans but, with Brett Morris and Jason Nightingale on their books, the Dragons have no shortage of wing talent. And with Bennett having worked his magic in his first season and playmaker Jamie Soward having emerged as a Dally M-type talent, the Dragons will be eyeing 2010 with plenty of optimism.

Canterbury Bulldogs

2009: Second in regular season (18-6). Lost preliminary final to Eels
MAJOR ACQUISITIONS: Steve Turner(Storm), Dene Halatau (Tigers), Corey Payne(Tigers), Mickey Paea (Dragons)
MAJOR LOSSES: Hazem El Masri(retired), Greg Eastwood (Rhinos), Matt Utai(Celtic)
COACH: Kevin Moore

Last year's zero-to-hero-to-zero story, the Bulldogs bottled their final regular season game against the Tigers to blow the minor premiership (a two-point deduction for an interchange breach early in the season didn't help) and were then blown out by the red-hot Eels a game short of the Grand Final. No choccies then, but the post-SBW revival was impressive enough. This year the (El) Magic is gone but, having made a couple of nice pickups in Steve Turner and Dene Halatau, the Bulldogs head into the season with genuine title aspirations. Second favourites with the NSW bookmakers behind the Eels.

Gold Coast Titans

2009: Third in regular season (16-8) Eliminated by Eels in semifinals
MAJOR ACQUISITIONS: Greg Bird (Catalans), Riley Brown (Roosters), Clinton Toopi (unattached), Marshal Chalk (Celtic)
MAJOR LOSSES: Chris Walker (Catalans), Brenton Bowen (Northern Pride), Brett Delaney (Leeds)
COACH: John Cartwright

Another surprise package last year, the Titans confounded all predictions right up until the finals - when, as widely predicted, they crashed and burned with two straight defeats. Still, for a fledgling club, 2009 represented good progress. Skilled Park was a fortress, with the Titans compiling an 11-1 record at home. Can they now go a step further and be a factor in the finals? That could depend on Greg Bird. The innocent-on-appeal former Shark clearly has a good lawyer, but can he still cut it in the NRL after an enforced Super League sabbatical? Is Bird the missing link, or will he crap in his own nest again? Questions, questions...

Melbourne Storm

2009: 4th in regular season (14-1-9) Champions
MAJOR ACQUISITIONS: Chase Stanley (Dragons), Luke MacDougal (Knights), Todd Lowrie (Eels)
MAJOR LOSSES: Steve Turner (Bulldogs), Dallas Johnson (Catalans), Scott Anderson (Broncos), Joseph Tomane (Titans)
COACH: Craig Bellamy

Does four straight grand finals and two titles qualify as a dynasty? Or is it just a purple patch for a team dressed in purple propped up by Rupert Murdoch's green? Either way, the Stormwill be among the contenders this year. A couple of old hands (Steve Turner and Dallas Johnson) have gone, but the core of superstars (Greg Inglis, Billy Slater, Cameron Smith, Adam Blair, etc) remains intact. The pick-up of Chase Stanley adds another layer of flair, but the key to the Storm's success has long been their robust structures, both on and off the field. In a nice nod to the Australian tradition of imaginative name-giving (see Great Sandy Desert), the Storm's shiny new home has been called Melbourne Rectangular Stadium. Really.

Manly Sea Eagles

2009: Fifth in regular season. Eliminated by Storm in qualifying final
MAJOR ACQUISITIONS: Joe Galuvao, Matt Cross, Terrence Seuseu
MAJOR LOSSES: Matt Orford (Bradford), Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (Roosters), Adam Cuthbertson (Sharks), Glenn Hall (Bradford), Heath L'Estrange (Bradford)
COACH: Des Hasler

Sea Eagles fans will certainly be hoping new CEO Graham Lowe's heart scare on his first day in the job isn't a harbinger of things to come. Sadly, it could well be. Not quite a club in disarray, the 2008 champions must still be reeling from the late defection of key playmaker Matt Orford to Super League. All signs last year pointed to Orford accepting a pay cut to stay at Manly. So much for signs then. The only one Orford followed obviously looked a bit like this "$$$Bradford $$$". With a heap of other veteran hands also fleeing north, young hitman Jared Waerea-Hargreaves turning chook and star fullback Brett Stewart facing his day in court, Manly don't exactly have the look of champions. If they are to contend, much will rest on the young shoulders of Kieran Foran and the old head of Jamie Lyon.

Brisbane Broncos

2009: Sixth in regular season (14-10) Eliminated by Storm in preliminary final
MAJOR ACQUISITIONS: Denan Kemp (cough) (Warriors), Scott Anderson (Storm)
MAJOR LOSSES: Karmichael Hunt (AFL), David Taylor (Rabbitohs), Joel Clinton (Hull KR)
COACH: Ivan Henjak

When the Broncos had lost seven of nine midway through last season to raise the very real prospect of the club failing to make the playoffs for the first time since Alfie Langer was a promising junior, the chance of Henjak still being around in 2010 looked distinctly slim. Unlike Tonie Carroll when he came out of retirement to help save Henjak's bacon. Carroll clearly hadn't dodged many fried breakfasts in
his dotage but, despite his rolly-polly frame, the hitman had lost none of his sting. The Broncos tore off five in a row to make the cut, rolling the Titans and Dragons to make the preliminary final. But that run did little to impress Sydney odds-setters, who have this years Broncs ninth-favourites at $21. Ouch.

Newcastle Knights

2009: Seventh in regular season (13-11) Defeated by Bulldogs in qualifying final
MAJOR ACQUISITIONS: Evarn Tuimavave (Warriors)
MAJOR LOSSES: Chris Houston (resigned), Danny Wicks (resigned), Luke MacDougall (Storm)
COACH: Rick Stone

As far as bad omens go, the suspension of betting on the wooden-spoon market due to the goings on at your club is probably as bad as it gets. At least until it transpires that said goings on are the police busting a drug-trafficking ring run by a couple of your senior players. Throw in persistent reports of the rozzers having wire taps suggesting more players are regular customers of the drugs ring and an injury to your best player (Kurt Gidley) in a Mickey Mouse festival match and, well, that really is about as bad as it gets. The 2010 Knights have the potential to make the Sharks of 2009 look like a slick, professional, highly successful operation. That certainly takes some doing.

Parramatta Eels

2009: Eighth in regular season (12-1-11) Defeated by Storm in Grand Final
MAJOR ACQUISITIONS: Justin Poore (Dragons), Timana Tahu (Waratahs)
MAJOR LOSSES: Todd Lowrie (Storm), Josh Cordoba (Hull), Joe Galuvao (Sea Eagles)
COACH: Daniel Anderson

If the bookies and the slavering tonguedown- the-back-of-the-trousers Sydney media have got it right they might as well just give Parra the trophy now. Of course, a certain team from around these parts were widely tipped to go all right last season. The NRL is the most unpredictable of beasts. Sure, the Eels have plenty of talent. But last
year's run was all about momentum and there's no guarantee they'll be able to recapture it. And they may have retained Jarryd Hayne – but at what price? If there's one thing sure to bugger up a footie team's
chemistry its the knowledge that one superstar player's salary is gobbling up cash that can no longer be used to upgrade deserving teammates. The Eels might be champs-inwaiting, but they also might be the Cowboys in disguise.

Wests Tigers

2009: Ninth (12-12)
MAJOR ACQUISITIONS: Lote Tuqiri (Leicester), Jason Cayless (St Helens), Daniel Fitzhenry (Hull KR), Tame Tupou (Bradford)
MAJOR LOSSES: John Skandalis (retired), Dene Halatau (Bulldogs), Shannon Gallant (Cowboys), Danny Galea (Raiders), Daine Lawrie (Panthers), John Morris (Sharks)
COACH: Tim Sheens

Another club to put together a dazzling late-season run, the Tigers came up cruelly short in 2009. At least that's how they'd see it, particularly after spanking the high-flying Bulldogs 34-12 in the final round. But the reality is you get what deserve in the NRL – and the Tigers deserved to come ninth, which is about where they usually finish. Shock champions in 2005, the Tigers have graced the playoffs just once in the past decade. With Kiwi superstar Benji Marshall conjuring the kind of magic most mortals can only dream of, they are consistently the most watchable team in the competition. Shame really, that Tiger watching nearly always comes to an abrupt halt in round 26.

South Sydney Rabbitohs

2009: 10th (11-1-12)
MAJOR ACQUISITIONS: Sam Burgess (Bradford), David Taylor (Broncos), Ben Ross
MAJOR LOSSES: David Fa'alogo (Huddersfield), Craig Wing (Japan), David Kidwell (retired)
COACH: John Lang

The Bunnies seem to have made all the right off-season moves, punting an erratic coach for headbutting David Fa'alogo's fist at a knees-up and recruiting the game's most exciting young forwards, Sam Burgess and David Taylor. On paper, Souths look primed for a genuine crack at the title. They have a massive pack, an exciting little playmaker in Chris Sandow and a brilliant strike winger in Nathan Merritt. Balancing that is the weight of recent history. The last of their 20 premierships came in 1971. Since then they have more often been battling for survival than the title. Still, maybe this will be their year. The bookies say maybe, installing them as $11 fifth-equal favourites.

Penrith Panthers

2009: 11th (11-1-12)
MAJOR ACQUISITIONS: Daine Lawrie (Wests Tigers), Travis Burns (Cowboys)
MAJOR LOSSES: AdamWoolnough (retired), Paul Aiton (Sharks)
COACH: Matthew Elliott

Right in the hunt until the final weeks of last season, the Panthers lost five of their last six to fade to 11th, missing the playoffs by just two points. That sealed a run of five years without making the finals. Bolt-from-the-blue premiers in 2003, the Panthers have hardly been sighted since. But shock title runs are very much the stock in trade of a club propped up by its massive junior strength. In the two years prior to winning the '03 title under John Lang, the Panthers finished last and third-last. In Elliott they have a cagey, veteran coach while the likes of Frank Pritchard and Michael Jennings make them a dangerous prospect for any team. If they stay injury free another shock might not be beyond them.

North Queensland Cowboys

2009: 12th (11-13)
MAJOR ACQUISITIONS: Willie Mason (Roosters), Shannon Gallant (Wests Tigers), Leeson Ah Mau (Warriors)
MAJOR LOSSES: Shane Tronc (Wakefield), Travis Burns (Panthers)
COACH: Neil Henry

A case study in how having the world's best player in your team (Eels take note) doesn't make you the world's best team, the Cowboys have finished an underwhelming 12th and 15th in the past two seasons. If any
explanation is needed as to why they picked up Willie Mason when most other clubs avoided him like anthrax, that lack of success is probably it. Whether Mason still has the game to dominate the NRL remains to be
seen, but he should at least provide a distraction from the endless hand-wringing over Johnathan Thurston's future. Cowboys fans are doubtless distraught at the thought of losing their genius halfback, but for an example of what can be achieved with a big salary dump they need look no further than the Bulldogs. For an example of the damage a big dump in a hotel corridor can do they should contact Mason's former teammate Nate Myles.

Canberra Raiders

2009: 13th (9-15)
MAJOR ACQUISITIONS: Danny Galea (Wests Tigers)
MAJOR LOSSES: Phil Graham (Roosters), Adrian Purtell (Panthers)
COACH: David Furner

If you believe in the power of statistics, the Raiders will make the eight this year. Forget about their lack of stars and raging inconsistency (they lost to the Knights, Panthers and Tigers in succession last year before thrashing the Broncos 58-0), the Raiders haven't missed the finals in consecutive years since 1987. Starting from 2004, their form line runs quarter-finals, 14th, quarter-finals, 14th, qualifying finalist, 13th. So put them down for seventh or eighth and a first-round playoff exit this year. That may not be the most
enlightening piece of analysis you've ever read but, hey, what do you want – 150 words on what Danny Galea will bring to the team?

New Zealand Warriors

2009: 14th (7-2-15)
MAJOR ACQUISITIONS: Brett Seymour (unattached), James Maloney (Storm), Jeremy Latimore (Eels)
MAJOR LOSSES: Stacey Jones (retired), Evarn Tuimavave (Knights)
COACH: Ivan Cleary

Having gone through the rather curious process of binning this season's unwanted players mid-campaign last year, the Warriors head into 2010 on fairly stable ground. Low ground, maybe, but stable nonetheless. Regardless of which side of the great Stacey Jones debate people came down on, few will be mourning the fact the club isn't trying to coax another season out of an ageing legend. Okay, make that two ageing legends. Responsibility for resurrecting a team that suffocated under the weight of expectation last year now falls to recovering booze hound
Brett Seymour. Can the two-time bad boy provide the direction the team needs to put wins on the board? And will he stay out of the pub afterwards? If the answers are "yes" and "yes", then the Warriors could go okay. If not, it could be another long year.

Cronulla Sharks

2009: 15th (5-19)
MAJOR ACQUISITIONS: Adam Cuthbertson (Sea Eagles), John Morris (Wests Tigers), Dean Collis (Wests Tigers)
MAJOR LOSSES: Corey Hughes (retired), Brett Kearney (Bradford), Misi Taulapapa (Gateshead), David Simmons (Panthers), Ben Ross (Rabbitohs), Terrence Seuseu (Sea Eagles)
COACH: Ricky Stuart

Name badges would have been compulsory issue at Sharks pre-season training this year after a cleanout on a scale not seen since the Dawn Raids. No fewer than 12 of last year's squad got the bullet following a campaign that was dogged by Brett Seymour's sacking, Greg Bird's ongoing court action and (former) chief executive Tony Zappia punching a female staffer and oggling porn in the office. Then there was the group-sex scandal that brought down Matty Johns, and captain Paul Gallen stepping down after being accused of a racial slur on the field. Oh dear. Ten new players have been brought in, but Ricky Stuart will have his work cut out turning the club's fortunes around. If he doesn't, the spiky former Roos coach could be next to
walk the plank.

Sydney Roosters

2009: 16th (5-19)
MAJOR ACQUISITIONS: Todd Carney (Atherton), Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (Sea Eagles), Jason Ryles (Catalans)
MAJOR LOSSES: Willie Mason (Cowboys), Craig Fitzgibbon (Hull), Mark O'Meley (Hull), Iosia Soliola (St Helens), Setaimana Sa (Catalans), Jordan Tansey (Hull)
COACH: Brian Smith

If any team rivalled the Sharks in the 2009 annus horribilis (a latin
phrase meaning "bad year", not a reference to Nate Myles) stakes it was the Roosters. For all their sins, no Shark could be accused of defecating in a hotel corridor. And Ricky Stuartnever felt the need to fine himself after a particularly heavy night on the lash. That incident likely cost Brad Fittler his job, although the small matter of the wooden spoon and just five wins all season doubtless didn't help. The Roosters reacted to the shambles swiftly by bringing in arch-disciplinarian Brian Smith and, er, Todd Carney. Quite how Carney fits into a club trying to rebuild its image is anybody's guess, but the fun-loving playmaker is off to a cracking start, burning a
man after setting fire to his pants for a laugh. Julian O'Neil, the former Kangaroo crackpot who once set fire to a man in a dolphin suit on a riverboat, would be proud.