Light, I see Terrace coming fifth, with the potential to go higher given a few results. The competition has no clear front runner - Churchie, even with all its star power, have struggled. The other teams all seem to be fairly equal, its going to be a topsy turvy year. I'm not going to try and rank the teams, rather sort them into three groups - premiership caliber, middle teams, bottom.
Contenders
NC - Huge forward pack. Tuttle running the show in the backs. Backline would be their downfall, but I think their forwards will be too match for Churchie's.
TSS - Beat Churchie in a full length trial game. Have some quality players in Third, Tarr and Cooney. Wouldn't be surprised to see them actually win the comp.
ACGS - Quick, skilled backline with a lot of depth, but lack size in the forwards. Australian reps in Gunn and Ioane, as well as several other impressive players (Oppenheimer, Georgiou, McClanachan, Tanuvasa). Will have the pace to outrun other teams but I think they'll get done up front against Churchie.
TGS - A lot of hype with this team, and they look to have some quality players up their on the range. Really wouldn't be shocked if they upset Churchie in the first game of the season. A borderline middle of the pack team.
Middle of the pack
GT - Really comes down to how well the team is coached, and it appears to have a significant upgrade from last year. Terrace has always had talent, it just appears to have been (obviously) poorly managed. Key players are in the backs, with Dalgleish and Given at 10 and 15 likely to share playmaking duties (Given is a handy backup to Dalgleish at 10), with Heenan further out wide with a bit of toe. The forwards is where this team might struggle, mainly with size, but they appear to have an upgrade from last year, too - Rob Green and Daniel Sitanilei add some much needed size to the Terrace pack, and Isaac French is back to control the lineout and bring a lot of aggression. Watch out for Toby McNamee - small, but an excellent pilferer. He'll turn some heads with his play this year. Return to Tennyson should really help the morale of this team.
BBC - When I saw this team play the first thing that struck me was how big they were. It's a big side. Lolo Fakaosilea is a quality player, and this BBC has size and speed across the park. Ben Tarr might live to regret his move down the coast, this team does have potential to go much higher.
Bottom
BGS - Return alot of players from last year, and a lot of people have high hopes for this team. I'm really unsure, I'd say they're a classic darkhorse team. The boot of Greene should really aid them. Should have a cracker of a game with Terrace.
IGS - Preen, Takau and Pleash make up the bulk of a very strong forward pack, but their backline appears to be suspect and may be their eventual downfall.
BSHS - Australian rep in Korczyk, but not really too much else to write home about. Have a reasonable group of pigs and an average at best backline. The glory days of State High rugby might be over for a few years.
That said, this competition has depth from top to bottom, and there are a few teams that could just as easily finish third as ninth. Here's to a great year to come.
