LeagueNews.co | Jess Malloy
NRL 2025 preseason tiers: Title contenders, finals pretenders, early Bali bookers
The three-week Preseason Challenge is over and the 2025 NRL season is set to kick off in Las Vegas.
It takes a degree of bravery to predict the outcome of an increasingly close competition -- unless you just keep picking the Panthers to win it all.
It is a bit easier to group the teams according to their chances, with the very real possibility of still ending up with a face covered in egg.
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Melbourne Storm - The last team to beat the Panthers in a grand final, the Storm had another shot last year, but fell short on the night.
They have retained the majority of that lineup as well as adding a potentially dominant front-row forward in Stefano Utoikamanu.
Craig Bellamy is desperate to grab another title to top off his remarkable coaching career and 2025 could well be the year.
Penrith Panthers - You simply cannot leave them out of this tier, regardless of how unlikely it seems that they will win a fifth consecutive title.
During their incredible run they have shed quality players, but none as intrinsic to their success as Jarome Luai and James Fisher-Harris.
They no doubt have the next generation ready to step into the breach and can't be underestimated.
Manly Sea Eagles - Another season to improve what is already a very effective halves combination between Daly Cherry-Evans and Luke Brooks, should see the Sea Eagles nipping at the heels of another premiership.
As always, a fit and firing Tom Trbojevic will be key to their chances.
Cronulla Sharks - The Sharks weren't far off making the big dance last season and have mostly maintained their roster, with the key addition of Addin Fonua-Blake adding grunt to their engine room.
They are a well-coached unit with Nicho Hynes playing better as his confidence grows at club level.
Brisbane Broncos - Despite missing the finals last season, the signing of new coach Michael Maguire and Origin veteran Ben Hunt sees Brisbane right back in the mix for the premiership.
If Maguire can get the best out of players like Payne Haas, Reece Walsh, and Kotoni Staggs, the Broncos will be very hard to beat.
Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs - The Bulldogs made the finals last year, breaking a painful drought for their fans, and they were a little unlucky to bow out in the first week against the Sea Eagles.
Whilst the team will be better for the season together, they haven't really added the final ingredients needed to push them into the contenders tier.