A major question that has been lingering in my mind, is who will replace Taukeiaho? He's 34 years old next year, and father time waits for no one.
We have two starting forward spots opening up in the coming years. The first replacing TKO, likely in 2027, and the second, replacing Jake Trbojevic, likely in 2028.
Those are two great leaders, and no doubt the club is wanting to find suitable "alpha" prop replacements, with similar aura. E.g. a Payne Haas. Even if we can't find someone this off-season, it's likely that another "alpha" will emerge in 2026, and hit the market, like Terrell May did last year.
The Bears will be competing with us, but they'll only be out for one "alpha", with the rest of their pack being more balanced.
The importance of this off-season's recruitment may also explain the Laurie Daley signing, as a drawcard for any NSW-eligible players.
The second spot, opened by Jake's looming retirement, is more interesting to me.
The most logical move would be to promote Navale or Hetherington into the starting side. This would open up a bench spot for one of the young props, e.g. Bryan and Laiafi. Fairly straightforward.
However, I don't think the club will go down this route. I think in the modern game, the 13 needs to be a quality ball-player/playmaker with some X-factor. More in the Yeo, Kurt Mann or Carrigan mould.
For this reason, I think Haumole would be a suitable replacement. Firstly, he will likely be the club captain once Tom retires, and thus, he would have a commanding position within the team from lock. He is also developing some great ball-playing ability, and is athletic enough for long stints in the middle. Haumole has also had experience at lock before in the NYC.
This would open a backrow spot for Hart (who is right-sided), Innocent, or Laiafi, who has also spent time at second row.
Of course this is all long term, but those are the options I can see. I like the idea of Burbo as a middle, but I don't know if he possesses the ball-playing skill of Olakau'atu.
