Benji Marshall might be locked up until 2030, but the Tigers need to end the longest finals drought in the NRL sooner rather than later.
Meanwhile, Cameron Ciraldo has painted a target on the Bulldogs’ back after letting Reed Mahoney leave the club and needs to keep his team in the top four.
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And Shane Flanagan has invested in youth, but if the Dragons’ favouritism for the wooden spoon proves correct, the blowtorch will be on his rebuild.
Read on for the NRL coaching pressure gauge 17-1 and pass mark for every coach heading into 2026.
17. MICHAEL MAGUIRE (Broncos)
Record: Won 18, Lost 9, Drawn 0 (66.67%)
Analysis: By right the coach of the defending premiers should be the least under pressure heading into the new season, but Michael Maguire still has some challenges ahead of him to go back-to-back. Payne Haas shocked the NRL world by deciding to join the Rabbitohs on a three-year deal from 2027, meaning he is in his final year with the club. Haas is the best forward in the game and near on impossible to replace, while he is such a big part of setting the platform for Reece Walsh to work his magic out wide. The Broncos also have ageing playmakers in Adam Reynolds and Ben Hunt, whose bodies are no guarantee to hold up. Reynolds will retire at the end of the season, with Hunt keen to play on in 2027 and Manly recruit Kobe Hetherington will also be very tough to replace on the bench. Maguire doesn’t seem like the type of coach to relax, but he is heading into next season the most relaxed of all the 17 NRL coaches.
16. IVAN CLEARY (Panthers)
Record: Won 178, Lost 101, Drawn 2 (63.35%)
Analysis: This is the first time since 2021 that Ivan Cleary has gone into a season without the Panthers being defending premiers, so it will be a bit different to what he has been used to over the last four years. However, on the back of four straight titles at the Panthers from 2021 to 2024, he has the Penrith head coaching job as long as he wants it. The challenge will be getting his players up to climb the NRL mountain again, after they were knocked out by eventual champions the Broncos, despite leading 14-0 at half-time in the 2025 preliminary final. There hasn’t been any huge changes to their roster from last season, with the exception of the return of Jack Cogger as bench utility, so if Cleary wants to get back to winning the title, he will have to do it with largely the same squad as last year. It will be interesting what changes Cleary makes to his approach after their slow start last year, as he aims to get back in the top four after finishing seventh last season.
15. CRAIG BELLAMY (Storm)
Record: Won 421, Lost 181, Drawn 2 (69.70%)
Analysis: As one of the greatest coaches in the history of the game, Craig Bellamy will be the Storm coach for as long as he wants the job, but given his insatiable desire to win, back-to-back grand final defeats will be hurting the master coach. Bellamy has coached in a record 11 grand finals, but has only three premierships to show for it, after being stripped of the 2007 and 2009 titles due to the Storm salary cap scandal. Bellamy has only won two of his last six grand finals since 2016 and he needs to ask himself some tough questions about his approach to the final game of the season. Bellamy is undoubtedly the greatest regular season coach in history, but the finals series is a new competition every year and Bellamy needs to tweak his formula to ensure he has his team firing for the most important games of the year, if he wants to win another title or two before he hangs up the coach’s whistle for good. The Storm have lost Ryan Papenhuyzen, Jonah Pezet and Nelson Asofa-Solomona, so it will be a big ask to get back to a third straight decider, let alone win it all in 2026, but back against Belly-ache at your peril.
14. RICKY STUART (Raiders)
Record: Won 158, Lost 138, Drawn 1 (53.20%)
Analysis: After guiding the Raiders to a stunning minor premiership in 2025, Ricky Stuart is one of the least under pressure coaches in the NRL, but one key departure will mean the Green Machine are almost starting from scratch next season. Veteran playmaker Jamal Fogarty has left the club and taken 118 games of NRL experience with him, while his replacement in the No.7 hot seat, Ethan Sanders, has played just six first grade matches. Stuart has backed Sanders to get first crack at the chief playmaker role ahead of Daine Laurie and Coby Black, but how quickly he adapts to the week to week grind of being an NRL playmaker could make or break the Raiders’ season. Arguably the Raiders are ahead of schedule, after Stuart invested in a young core to take the club to their next premiership, but the loss of Fogarty brings them back to the pack considerably. Stuart will also be haunted by his side’s straight sets exit in the finals and it will be a tall order for them to improve on last year, when they become the hunted as opposed to the hunters.
13. JASON RYLES (Eels)
Record: Won 10, Lost 14, Drawn 0 (41.67%)
Analysis: It was a rocky start for Jason Ryles’ Eels rebuild, but he well and truly convinced the doubters that he is the man to take the club forward into a hopefully bright future. The Eels finished 11th last season, but they were actually one of the form teams at the back end of the year on the back of starring displays from Mitchell Moses and Isaiah Iongi and a new workhorse style based on improved fitness to thank for their late season surge. Perhaps the best thing about signing Ryles is his connection to former Storm players, with Josh Addo-Carr and Jonah Pezet joining the club amid their strong relationships with the rookie NRL coach. The only issue for Ryles is that apart from veteran Jack de Belin and Pezet, his squad is mostly the same as last year, so the challenge will be to inspire improvement in the players he has on his books to get back into the finals.
12. CRAIG FITZGIBBON (Sharks)
Record: Won 66, Lost 39, Drawn 0 (62.86%)
Analysis: Craig Fitzgibbon has been one of the most consistent coaches in the NRL in his first four seasons at the Sharks, but after back-to-back preliminary finals exits he needs to work out how to get his side over the hump. Fitzgibbon also finished second in his first year in charge, so he has the formula right to get the Sharks to the big games in September after four straight finals appearances, but reaching a first grand final since 2016 has proven elusive. Cronulla have lost Daniel Atkinson to the Dragons, but haven’t bought a single player for the 2026 season, so the pressure will be on Fitzgibbon to take his current roster to greater heights. Much will depend on Nicho Hynes and Braidon Trindall standing up in the halves because the Sharks have the forward pack led by skipper Blayke Brailey and Addin Fonua-Blake to go all the way. If Fitzgibbon again falls short in 2026, doubts might start to build whether he is the man to take the Sharks back to the promised land and with 15 players coming off-contract this season, it feels like a last dance for this side.
