Pool 3 is where reputation shows up early and gets interrogated.
This isn’t about mystery teams or breakout kids. It’s about names, programs, and organisations that have already been here. Some have won it. Some have gone close. Some keep turning up convinced this will be the year it finally clicks.
The problem is that only two of them get to prove it on Sunday.
Southern Sharks, Legacy, Te Ao Mārama and the Arthur Beetson Foundation arrive with very different paths behind them, but the same problem in front of them. Pool 3 doesn’t reward memory. It demands execution.
That’s the Premier League.
Southern Sharks: No Longer the Benchmark, Still the Standard
For two years, the Southern Sharks were the measuring stick. Back-to-back champions. A blueprint everyone chased. Calm, controlled, ruthless when the weekend tightened.
2025 changed that.
No Jeremy Latimore on the field. A rough Saturday. A desperate calculator session to scrape into the finals. And then an early Sunday exit at the hands of RLPA. For the first time, the Sharks were spectators when the goggles came out.
They return with questions instead of certainty.
The Sharks are still dangerous because their system is real. They understand tempo, recovery, and how to play the long game across two days. If Latimore’s influence returns on the field, even in flashes, it lifts them immediately.
But Pool 3 won’t let them drift through Saturday anymore. The aura is gone. The margin is thinner. The Sharks now have to prove they’re still the team others fear, not just the one they remember.
Legacy: Confidence With a Clock Ticking
Legacy don’t lack belief. Or talent. Or star power.
They’ve had the all-star list. They’ve owned the hill. They’ve been backed by a gym culture that travels and makes noise. What they haven’t done yet is lift the trophy that matters.
In 2025, Legacy found themselves in the Plate after a brutal Saturday. They responded like a professional outfit should, winning the Plate Final with control and composure. It was impressive. It also reinforced the same problem.
They’re good enough to win games late. They haven’t been consistent enough early.
Legacy are dangerous because their ceiling is still as high as anyone’s. Alex Glenn’s leadership. Norman’s control. Milford, Hoffman, Blair. If they string it together, they can beat anyone in this pool.
But Pool 3 won’t forgive another slow start. Confidence is only useful if it arrives on time.
Te Ao Mārama: Built for the Grind, Now Under the Microscope
Te Ao Mārama arrive with fresh credibility.
Brisbane showed exactly what they are. Young. Fit. Relentless. A team that doesn’t chase hype and doesn’t carry passengers. They ran all weekend, corrected on the fly, and finished holding silverware.
That matters.
They are dangerous because their style translates. Recovery. Discipline. Legs. They don’t need stars to function and they don’t panic when momentum swings.
The question now is whether Brisbane was the beginning or the exception.
Pool 3 is a different test. More experience. More traps. More teams that know how to drag you into games you don’t want to play. Te Ao Mārama won’t surprise anyone this time.
They’ll have to earn it again.
Arthur Beetson Foundation: Access Versus Arrival
The Arthur Beetson Foundation are back because they were next in line when Matakesi pulled out.
They’ve been around this before without playing Sunday finals. Close enough to know what it costs.
ABF are dangerous because their access to players is elite. Their contact list runs deep. Former professionals. Elite pathways. Players who understand high performance.
What they haven’t turned that into yet is cohesion.
Pool 3 will expose that quickly. If Ian Lacey gets the right eighteen, ABF can compete with anyone here. If not, the weekend will pass them by again.
This return isn’t about opportunity. It’s about conversion.
The Reality of Pool 3
Pool 3 is unforgiving.
It’s champions without crowns. Programs still searching for their clean weekend. A Brisbane winner trying to prove it wasn’t a one-off.
Two of these teams will be done by Saturday night.
Not because they aren’t good enough.
Because the Premier League doesn’t care who you were.
Only who you are when it starts.
Teams. Stories. Opinion. 