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 … Continue reading Pool 3: History, Access, and One Big Question →

FTA arrive at the Premier League with momentum and very little baggage. That’s dangerous. They were tipped to get through Sydney, and by Sunday afternoon they’d done enough to punch a Gold Coast ticket and announce themselves as more than just a well-branded outfit with good energy on the hill. They were drilled. Calm. And … Continue reading FTA: Unknown, Until They Weren’t →

RLPA don’t sneak up on anyone anymore. That’s the trade-off when you get it right. In 2024, they arrived thick with nostalgia and muscle. Big names. Big bodies. Very little margin. Winless, bruised, and reminded why backing up footy is crueler than it looks from the bar. In 2025, they came back leaner, sharper, and … Continue reading RLPA: No Longer the Surprise →

United SC have worn the tag before. Favourites. Short odds. The team everyone circles in pen before a ball is kicked. And twice now, they’ve fallen short. A quarterfinal exit in 2024. A semifinal loss in 2025. Both times to the eventual champions. Both times after looking like the most complete side in the field … Continue reading United SC: The Team Everyone Expects. Again. →

The North Coast Marlins don’t arrive with mystery signings or headline names. They arrive prepared. That’s been their edge since the beginning. Coach Francis Bennett has been in this thing from year one, when he entered two sides and decided the Nines wasn’t something you dabble in. It’s something you commit to. Since then, he’s … Continue reading North Coast Marlins: Built the Hard Way →

Pool Two isn’t about potential.It’s about return trips. United SC and RLPA both left the Gold Coast one game short of the grand final with squads strong enough to win it all. The North Coast Marlins showed they could punch above their weight, then walked away empty-handed. And FTA arrive fresh off a Sydney Qualifier … Continue reading Pool Two: Unfinished Business →

Indigenous Mana arrive with the one advantage no other team in Pool One can manufacture. They are unknown. They came through the Brisbane Qualifier playing like a team that didn’t care who was in front of them. They ran hard, hit harder, and looked capable of keeping that pace well beyond Sunday. Youth, fitness, and … Continue reading Indigenous Mana: No Homework, No Fear →

The theory says teams get better once Nines experience is banked. Reborn can’t say that’s been true yet. A semi-final exit was followed by a quarterfinal loss last year, despite a roster that looked stronger on paper. They still fly under the radar. Few teams talk about Reborn as their biggest threat coming into the … Continue reading Reborn: Third Time’s the Charm? →

The Salty Pigs have been there when the shadows get long on Sunday afternoon. They’ve felt what the weekend asks when it tightens. In their first year, they arrived as a spectacle, bright pink kits, a surfing pig swilling a beer, before being bundled out in the quarterfinals. A year later, the novelty was gone. … Continue reading No Time to Settle →