But I will mainly remember 2020 as the year the Broncos were awful.
Also, COVID-19. Actually I don't know what it's says about my predictive powers that my best performance in six years is in the season where everything changed AFTER I made my predictions.
Here are the full results...
So the format is one point for every position off being correct e.g. if I say Team A will come 5th and they come 3rd, I get 2 points. Lower scores are good.
Previous results:
2015 - 66, 2016 - 72, 2017 - 61, 2018 - 68, 2019 - 68.
1. Penrith Panthers (Predicted: 7th)
What I Said:"...could go either way. A lot comes down to Cleary taking his game to the next level..."
What They Did: Went one way - UP! - as Cleary took his game to the next level.
Verdict: 6 points
I was wrong, but most people were even more wrong. Like over at NRL.com where they get paid to be experts, only 6 of 23 had the Panthers making the finals. And only 1 in the top 4 (at 4th).
2. Melbourne Storm (1)
What I Said: "Before not making the Grand Final, the Storm finished minor premiers by three wins. I don’t see anyone making up that much of a difference.
What They Did: It's more what the Panthers did, because the Storm were still very good.
Verdict: 1 point, 7 total
3. Parramatta Eels (2)
What I Said: "Last time I picked the Eels to come 2nd, they got the wooden spoon."
What They Did: Much better than the wooden spoon.
Verdict: 1 point, 8 total
4. Sydney Roosters (3)
What I Said: "The Roosters will suffer a bit from losing Cronk and Mitchell – the latter at least until they find an actual centre to play centre"
What They Did: Started with two losses. Looked better when they got Josh Morris - an actual centre - over from the Sharks to play centre. Also suffered a bit from Cronk's absence, with his replacement Flanagan dropped at one stage.
Verdict: 1 point, 9 total
5. Canberra Raiders (9)
What I Said: "I think the fairytale is over for the Raiders... I’m very sceptical about their new English half Williams..."
What They Did: Kept winning despite a mounting injury toll, led by their outstanding new English half Williams.
Verdict: 4 points, 13 total
After three solid predictions, sometimes you get them completely wrong.
6. South Sydney Rabbitohs (5)
What I Said: "Depth in the forwards may be the main concern."
What They Did: It was a concern, but their backline really hit its stride. Ask the Roosters.
Verdict: 1 point, 14 total
7. Newcastle Knights (6)
What I Said: "The Knights will improve... I’m also getting good vibes from the new coach O’Brien"
What They Did: Improved and the new coach seems good.
Verdict: 1 point, 15 total
They were 6th until a shocking last round effort.
8. Cronulla Sharks (4)
What I Said: "Johnson and Moylan can’t be more injured..."
What They Did: They did get more injured.
Verdict: 4 points, 19 total
Wrong, but props to the Sharks for finishing 10-10 with zero points differential, and no wins against teams ranked above them. They redefined average with the greatest precision possible. Which is going to make it even funnier when they win their first final.
9. Gold Coast Titans (13)
What I Said: "I’m backing the new coach from a successful club to turn things around for the Titans."
What They Did: Turned it around, and ended the season with five successive victories.
Verdict: 4 points, 23 total
Titans finished too strong for me.
10. New Zealand Warriors
What I Said: "The broader Australian media tends to always pick the Warriors to come last... But this year, it’s hard to see how they get off the bottom."
What They Did: Despite living like backpackers, the Warriors have still never come last.
Verdict: 6 points, 29 total
Happy to be wrong here.
11. Wests Tigers (14)
What I Said: "I think the Tigers will really struggle..."
What They Did: It was about not having a hooker. They got Grant in round 3.
Verdict: 3 points, 32 total
12. St. George-ILLAWARRA Dragons (15)
What I Said: "Yeah, nah."
What They Did: Yeah, nah.
Verdict: 3 points, 35 total
I don't know how they snuck 12th place, to be honest.
13. Manly Sea-Eagles (11)
What I Said: "They don’t have a lot of depth. And their best hooker is in gaol."
What They Did: Got exposed for having little depth and a lack of quality dummy half.
Verdict: 2 points, 37 total
In that NRL expert link under the Panthers section, 20 of 23 had the Sea Eagles making the top eight. So this was maybe my best call.
14. North Queensland Cowboys (10)
What I Said: "I am intrigued to see how quickly Holmes adjusts back to the NRL, and how much it lifts the Cowboys."
What They Did: Holmes got injured and nobody was lifted this season.
Verdict: 4 points, 41 total
This was another one where I was wrong but by less than the concensus.
15. Canterbury Bulldogs (12)
What I Said: "The Bulldogs defy the odds every year by appearing like the worst side on paper and then coming 11th or 12th."
What They Did: Did not defy the odds.
Verdict: 3 points, 44 total
16. Brisbane Broncos (8)
What I Said: "It doesn’t get much worse for the Broncos - 8th place is basically the wooden spoon for them."
What They Did: It got much, much, much worse for them.
Verdict: 8 points, 52 total
Ending with my worst score, which is still closer than most predictions for the Broncos.
So I got 52, smashing my personal best of 61. Enjoy the finals.
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