Squad breakdown: Panthers & Sharks 2025 NRL SuperCoach analysis

The Penrith Panthers come into the 2025 season in search of their fifth consecutive NRL premiership.

Generally speaking this would suggest they’d all be priced at their peak and that a decline is likely, but after four seasons of success this can’t be the assumption from a Supercoach perspective. 

They have major roster changes in Jarome Luai and James Fisher-Harris, but this hasn’t impacted them in the past.

They’ve also recruited extremely well which bolsters their already booming base of junior talent coming through the ranks.

Their draw to begin the season is extremely tough, however they are probably the exception when it comes to fixture analysis.

Let’s take a look at their NRL Supercoach prospects heading into round 1.

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Penrith Panthers

1. Dylan Edwards
2. Brian To’o
3. Izack Tago
4. Paul Alamoti
5. Casey McLean
6. Jack Cole
7. Nathan Cleary
8. Moses Leota
9. Mitch Kenny
10. Lindsay Smith
11. Isaiah Papali’i
12. Liam Martin
13. Isaah Yeo
14. Blaize Talagi
15. Scott Sorensen
16. Luke Garner
17. Liam Henry

Unavailable: Brian To’o (Hamstring, in doubt for round 1), Liam Henry (Shoulder, in major doubt for round 1)

Analysis: The major battle at Penrith is the successor to Jarome Luai at five-eighth.

Jack Cole is expected to beat out Blaize Talagi for the starting five-eighth role in Vegas.

The other question is in the back-row, Isaiah Papali’i is likely to come in and start on the edge, with Scott Sorensen to revert back to a middle role off the bench that he’s done successfully in the past.

Brain To’o and Liam Henry are both in doubt for the Vegas clash due to minor injury concerns.

Draw: Sharks (Vegas), Roosters (H), Storm (A), Rabbitohs (A), Cowboys (H), Dolphins (A), Roosters (A)

First five round rating: 4/10

Guns:

Dylan Edwards I FLB I $839,000

Dylan Edward produced a stunning Supercoach season in 2025 averaging a career high 86 points.

The fact that he averaged more than Cleary and starts $38k more expensive is mind-blowing.

I have no interest based on the fact I believe he’s overvalued to start the year.

He produced his best work with Nathan Cleary out last season where he took over the goal-kicking duties and also enhanced his role in attack in the absence of his star halfback.

It is viable to suggest that with Jarome Luai departing that he could produce extra attacking numbers even with Cleary on deck, but not for me for now.

The tough draw doesn’t help.

Buy rating: 3/10

Nathan Cleary I HFB I $811,500

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Cleary played just 10 games last Supercoach season due to injury.

He averaged 83 points per game, down on his 89 per game from 2023.

He’ll again be extremely hard to leave out and is the safest halfback in the game, so it is relatively tough making a case against him.

I don’t think it’s as straight forward as people think, with a brutal opening draw against the Sharks in Vegas, Roosters and Storm in Melbourne.

He may not be at full fitness after initially being in doubt for the Vegas opener, although he’s since been confirmed to start.

I’ll likely start him, but I’m not entirely sold with the emergence of Tom Duffy a bottom dollar.

If I was to gamble and go against him, I’d have a plan to get him into my side by round 5 latest.

Buy rating: 8/10

Isaah Yeo I 2RF I $727,100

Yeo is extremely solid and was arguably the most under the radar player of Supercoach last season with a 74 point average.

His exceptional year does mean that he starts highly priced, and I just can’t make a case to start him over premium 2RFs such as David Fifita or Angus Crichton.

Despite his incredible consistency, evidenced by a low score of 49 last season – his only score under 55 – he lacks the ceiling of other gun 2RFs.

He had two tonnes last season, scoring 102 and 122 in round 25 and 26.

I don’t see value in him to begin the year, or the ceiling, so while he won’t let you down I don’t see merit in the round 1 buy.

Buy rating: 3/10

Brian To’o I CTW I $688,00

To’o intrigues me to begin the season despite not initially being a part of my plans.

As is the case with most years it’s all about which edge he starts on.

While I probably won’t start with him, the prospect of him playing on the right edge outside Nathan Cleary who will be extremely dominant (even more so than normal) without Jarome Luai, suggests he could see improvement.

He already rates among the best base stat CTWs in the game with 35 per game.

Add in the likely prospect for more tries on the right edge and he could be undervalued.

We’ve seen him average 84 points back in 2021, and 70+ the past two seasons.

If he ends up on the left edge I have zero interest.

We should be able to find this out before round 1, so watch this space.

Buy rating: 6/10 (on right), 4/10 (on left)

Mid-rangers:

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Isaiah Papali’i I 2RF I $585,500

I love the look of I.Pap shifting from the wooden spooners to the premiers.

The fact he managed to average 60 points per game at the Tigers is a credit to his output.

Look back to his Eels era in 2021-22 and he averaged 78 and 79 points in those seasons.

He’s not locked into a starting role at the Panthers, he may yet come off the bench in the middle rotation which would put a line through him.

This is the major concern heading into round 1.

However, I think he plays 80 minutes on the edge with Scott Sorensen shifting to that middle role from the bench.

The other major factor will be his edge, if he’s on his more preferred right edge outside Nathan Cleary he’ll be an absolute must-have in my eyes.

If they keep Liam Martin on the right and play Papali’i on the left he’s a bit less appealing outside a rookie half.

Nonetheless, I’d still be keen on him on the left but it’s far less enticing.

Buy rating: 7/10

Blaize Talagi I CTW-5/8 I $562,600

There is serious potential for Blaize Talagi to explode in the halves at the Panthers after averaging 57 points in 77 minutes at the lowly Eels last across numerous positions.

However, there’s a number of red flags waving across his Supercoach profile.

Firstly, his success last season has him awkwardly priced at $562k.

He’ll very much be a foil to Cleary and may not see a stack of quality attacking ball.

Secondly, his job security is poor. While he’s destined for a huge future, his defence isn’t where it needs to be, and Ivan Cleary won’t keep him in the team if he’s setting up two tries but letting another in each game.

Thirdly, following on from the above point, we don’t even know if he’ll start round 1 with pressure from Jack Cole, Daine Laurie and Brad Schneider.

He’s not been named to play in any trials which doesn’t help his cause.

While he could very well be the go-to 5/8 early on, I’m happy to wait and watch.

Buy rating: 4/10

Lindsay Smith I FRF I $524,100

Smith has received plenty of attention to begin the season as he moves into the starting role of James Fisher-Harris.

He’s a quality footballer that’s on the up and will likely have an uptick in scoring, but when digging deeper into his stats I do question how much improvement there is in his scoring.

He averaged 54 points in 51 minutes last season, so I don’t see him playing too many more minutes in 2025.

He may be one for down the track, but I don’t see enough to warrant starting him over the likes of Terrell May or Tino Fa’asuamaleaui.

Buy rating: 4/10

Casey McLean I CTW I $443,000

McLean is likely to win a starting spot after averaging 50 points per game across his seven games last season.

He had an impressive 31 in base per game last season and should find his way towards plenty of attacking stats in 2025.

He’s a decent flyer to start the season with, I am happy to wait and buy early if he lights up. The price is enticing.

Buy rating: 5/10

Cheapies:

Jesse McLean I CTW I $234,900

I don’t think Jesse McLean will play round 1, but he should be one centre or winger injury away from a start in the best team in the NRL.

At near bottom dollar he’s a nice stash if we’re light on cheapies come round 1.

Buy rating: 4/10 (Highly subject to round 1 cheapies)

The Cronulla Sharks enter the 2025 season as genuine NRL title contenders.

The question mark around the Shire folk against premiership heavyweights in recent years has perhaps that they’ve been a middle forward short.

Enter Dally M prop of the year Addin Fonua-Blake.

He’s the key addition to an incredibly well balanced squad that boasts substantial depth.

The stable roster from a top four side from last season does make it hard to find round 1 value, however they are capable of improvement overall.

I’m confident they will have a huge number of Supercoach relevant players this season that are not listed below including – Briton Nikora, Jesse Ramien, Ronaldo Mulitalo and Kayal Iro – however I do think they are accurately priced to start the season and don’t present any major value to consider starting with.

They kick off the year in brutal fashion with Penrith in Vegas, from there it’s a mixture of soft and tough match-ups.

Let’s take a look at their NRL Supercoach prospects heading into round 1.

Cronulla Sharks

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1. Will Kennedy
2. Sam Stonestreet
3. Kayal Iro
4. Jesse Ramien
5. Ronaldo Mulitalo
6. Braydon Trindall
7. Nicho Hynes
8. Addin Fonua-Blake
9. Blayke Brailey
10. Oregon Kaufusi
11. Briton Nikora
12. Teig Wilton
13. Cameron McInnes
14. Daniel Atkinson
15. Tom Hazelton
16. Siosifa Talakai
17. Braden Hamlin-Uele

Unavailable: Toby Rudolf (shoulder, early stages), Sione Katoa (shoulder, late season)

Analysis: Cronulla boast an extremely settled roster heading into round 1, with star recruit Addin Fonua-Blake slotting into the front-row in place of the injured Toby Rudolf.

Will Kennedy faces stiff competition from Kade Dykes and Liam Ison for the fullback role, but is expected to start the season at the back.

Sione Katoa is out for most of the season, with Sam Stonestreet to start in his place on the wing.

Draw: Panthers (Vegas), Cowboys (A), Rabbitohs (H), Bulldogs (H), Raiders (A), Sea Eagles (Perth), Knights (A), Tigers (A)

First five round rating: 5/10

Guns:

Nicho Hynes I HFB I $735,500

Hynes is priced on a 75 point average from 2024, a serious ‘down’ year by his Supercoach standards.

The year prior he averaged 95, and 86 before that.

Penrith in Vegas in round 1 is as hard as it gets, but that’s followed by the Cowboys, Rabbitohs, Bulldogs and Raiders.

NRL Physio alerted us that he averaged 91 in his first eight games last season prior to sustaining a calf injury, which dropped to 56 points on return.

He looked good in the trial against Canberra, I’m keen.

Buy rating: 7/10

Addin Fonua-Blake I FRF I $706,500

I’m ready to be burnt by Addin Fonua-Blake again in 2025.

That is to start the season…

I think he’ll be top three averaging FRFs again this year, if not number one, but I don’t see any value in starting him from round 1.

He was the key middle forward for the Warriors last year, and while that won’t change at the Sharks I do think they have more depth.

Further, Craig Fitzgibbon has a preference to play a four forward bench which may cut into his 60 minute average from last season.

If Daniel Atkinson gets named as a bench utility which I think they should, it will help AFB’s case a bit.

He scored eight tries last season, and while he may match it it’ll take a huge effort to increase on this in 2025.

With no Origin to worry about he’ll be a major upgrade target, but not somebody I’ll start with.

Buy rating: 5/10

Mid-rangers:

Blayke Brailey I HOK I $519,200

I’ve seen plenty of love for Brailey to begin the season, and the regular appraisal has been ‘he’ll put AFB over for bulk tries’.

Perhaps he will, but it’s been mentioned as if he didn’t set any up last year.

In fact he set up 11 tries in 24 games which is a decent return for a hooker.

He averaged 79 minutes per game which suggests there’s no major room for improvement.

If he comes out and has two try-assists per game across the first month that’d be fantastic, but they’d still drop off so you’d be moving to Harry Grant asap IF all went well.

Despite hardly missing a minute he had 12 scores under 50 points last season.

I love Brailey as a footballer, and a solid Supercoach player who won’t let you down, but I don’t see any early season value in him.

Buy rating: 4/10

Cheapies:

Tuku Hau Tapuha I FRF I $235,900

Probably not one for round 1, but Tapuha looks an extremely promising talent in the front-row and is likely to become a FRF cheapie at some stage throughout the year. Monitor.

Buy rating: 3/10