{"id":271704,"date":"2023-02-16T18:57:43","date_gmt":"2023-02-16T19:57:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=271704"},"modified":"2023-02-17T05:59:50","modified_gmt":"2023-02-17T05:59:50","slug":"worrying-trend-could-derail-nrl-big-guns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=271704","title":{"rendered":"Worrying trend could 'derail' NRL big guns"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Roosters<\/a>' shock exit in the opening round of the finals last season sent alarm waves through the club – and their transfer market work reflects that.<\/p>\n

The addition of prized signing Brandon Smith<\/a>, as well as Jake Turpin and Jaxson Paulo, gives the Roosters a leaner, younger look for the new season, and they appear one of the teams to beat.<\/p>\n

Sam Walker should continue to develop as the team's playmaker and James Tedesco shows no signs of slowing down – in a competition full of fine fullbacks, he remains the king.<\/p>\n

\ufeffREAD MORE:<\/strong> 'Dreaded' curse hanging over South Sydney star<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Youngster turns $187m hero 'into a traffic cone'<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> 'It was ridiculous'; Aussie Test debacle shredded<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

2022 finishing position:<\/strong> 6th<\/p>\n

Gains:<\/strong> Brandon Smith (Storm), Jake Turpin (Broncos), Jaxson Paulo (Rabbitohs), Corey Allan (Bulldogs).<\/p>\n

Losses:<\/strong> Siosiua Taukeiaho (Catalans Dragons), Daniel Suluka-Fifita (Rabbitohs), Oliver Gildart (Dolphins), Sam Verrills (Titans), Renouf Atoni (Wakefield).<\/p>\n

Best 17<\/h2>\n

James Tedesco<\/p>\n

Daniel Tupou<\/p>\n

Paul Momirovski<\/p>\n

Joey Manu<\/p>\n

Joseph Suaalii<\/p>\n

Luke Keary<\/p>\n

Sam Walker<\/p>\n

Jared Waerea-Hargreaves<\/p>\n

Brandon Smith<\/p>\n

Lindsay Collins<\/p>\n

Angus Crichton<\/p>\n

Nat Butcher<\/p>\n

Victor Radley<\/p>\n

Bench: Connor Watson, Egan Butcher, Matthew Lodge, Sitili Tupouniua<\/p>\n

Best buy<\/h2>\n

Brandon Smith without doubt – while he can be a bit of a loose cannon off the field, on it he is a dynamic ball runner and\/or dummy-half who hurts teams close to their own try line.<\/p>\n

Biggest loss<\/h2>\n

Siosiua Taukeiaho was one of the most underrated forwards in the comp in recent years and did a lot of the grunt work for the pack up front. His presence will be missed.<\/p>\n

Greatest strength<\/h2>\n

The strike power of James Tedesco, Daniel Tupou, Joey Manu and Joseph Suaalii out wide, coupled with halves Luke Keary and Sam Walker giving them time and space to work their magic. Few clubs in the NRL can match that scoring potential.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Biggest question mark<\/h2>\n

The Roosters have been hard hit by injuries in recent seasons and with their main men a year older and the game faster than ever, they could again have a big casualty ward derail their campaign.<\/p>\n

Man under pressure<\/h2>\n

Jared Waerea-Hargreaves<\/a> is the heart and soul of the Roosters and a true warrior. But he is slowing down and nearing the end of his career, and referees clearly watch him closer than most.<\/p>\n

Predicted 2023 finishing position:<\/strong> 2nd<\/p>\n

\ufeffFor a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Roosters' shock exit in the opening round of the finals last season sent alarm waves through the club – and their transfer market work […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271704"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=271704"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":271706,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271704\/revisions\/271706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=271704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=271704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=271704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}