Sport

NRL

NRL 2025

Opinion

NRL’s beaten brigade: Why your team was no good in 2025, and might struggle again in ’26

Neil Breen National sports editor September 8, 2025 — 5.38am Advertisement

Some had excuses, others crippled by injury and many were downright dreadful. The nine teams which missed the 2025 finals have six months to get their act together for 2026. While a few have promise, others are going nowhere.

Knights (Wooden-spooners)

Let’s face the facts. At $1.3m per season, Kalyn Ponga doesn’t deliver. His form is too streaky and he’s injured all the time. Add Dylan Brown on the same coin and they’ve got problems. Massive ones. They have way overpaid for Brown as he is not the player they think he is. Adam O’Brien did the right thing by his sanity in negotiating a w

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