Ranking the spines of every NRL team ahead of 2021 season
Editor s Picks
1 Related
These players are able to get their hands on the ball more frequently and heavily influence their team s ability to drive downfield and score points. More often than not, the quality of a team s spine will directly correlate to their final position on the ladder.
This is where each club stands prior to the 2021 NRL season:
South Sydney Rabbitohs
9. Damien Cook
On paper, I believe the Rabbitohs have the most polished, consistently performing spine. I think each individual offers their own unique point of attack, while complementing each other nicely to form a lethal spine. Latrell Mitchell is perhaps the only member of the spine to have some question marks around him, given his propensity to fall in and out of games, but on his day he is simply unstoppable. Cody Walker offers some dangerous off-the-cuff attack for Souths, with his running game and vision in broken play supporting Adam Reynolds p
Broncos
This unit was on a hiding-to-nothing for almost all of 2020, but can they show some signs of development this year? Getting consistency out of the inconsistent Anthony Milford would be a great start. Just behind that in terms of importance is finding a No.7. When Kotoni Staggs returns mid-season, they will at least have some strikepower out wide in both he and Xavier Coates.
Raiders
Finding a replacement for Nic Cotric is the only problem. Jack Wighton is as good as there is in the No.6 jersey and fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad continues to improve. The wildcard player on the Raiders’ list is Curtis Scott. Ricky Stuart will be hoping the potential he showed while with Melbourne can be realised. Halfback George Williams should be able to improve on an impressive debut NRL season.
Gold Coast marquee signing David Fifita is confident he will have the match fitness to be an 80-minute player for the Titans despite being shocked at the new speed of the game coming out of the Indigenous All Stars season opener.
Indigenous All Stars 2021: Latrell Mitchell sails through return as All Stars clash ends in draw smh.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from smh.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.