Here are the 4 players I hope take the remaining contracts
Adam Elliott - 180 NRL Games
Tim Johannssen - 1 NRL Game
Isaiah Tass - 70 NRL Games
Haze Dunster - 19 NRL Games
Total 269 additional games
I ran a quick check of our 2026 NRL squad against two other randomly selected teams so as to get some data to assess the Benji Marshall claim that the club needs more experience. The data only collected the Top 28 NRL contracted players but the results make it clear that we are still very short on NRL match ready players.
To really change the culture and establish an experienced base of players the club needs to also spell this plan out to young players who have previously come to expect a debut straight out of High School. This should not happen.
The culture must be one where development paths are honoured so we need to make it clear to every junior coming up through the grades - you will not play NRL until or unless you have played a minimum of 25 NSW Cup games. This ensures staggered development for guys like Makasini and Tavana who were clearly not ready when thrown in this year.
One of the better performing rookies this year was Vaka Aho - the only young player whose development path was honoured. If Johannsen is not an option then Aho should get his Top 30 contract.