Will the NRL South remain the most one-sided conference in recent memory, or will a new champion break the Storm’s stranglehold?

Eight years is a long time in life; in the NRL it is an eternity. Time and again, despite the challenger, the Melbourne Storm have reigned supreme in the NRL South, and as a new season begins the question remains the same: will this be the year when a new conference champion is crowned?

The Storm, grand finalists in the last three seasons, are a resilient team who find consistency in the face of player turnover, mainly due to the long-standing dominance of Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk. Smith is the only one of those three who will be donning the Melbourne jersey in 2019, with Slater retiring after last year’s grand final defeat at the hands of Cronk’s Roosters. This may see the Storm as vulnerable as they have been in the last 10 years – but never write them off.

The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks enter this season after having their coach deregistered, losing Valentine Holmes to chase a career in the NFL, being fined for breaching the salary cap and signing Shaun Johnson, arguably one of the most exciting players in the game. Their squad is still strong across the park and they exhibit the kind of attitude which makes them hard to beat. Can they rise above the tumultuous off-season to claim their first NRL South Conference title since 2002?

The St George Illawarra Dragons’ spine is strengthened with the signing of Corey Norman. Captain Gareth Widdop shifts to fullback to accommodate Norman at five-eighth, which will offer the Dragons added attacking variety. They are more than capsble of winning the NRL South Conference if they can unlock the ability to consistently perform across the season.

The Canberra Raiders defied the odds by being one of 2018’s most damaging attacking teams (111 line breaks, 93 tries) despite finishing 10th. They’ve lost props Junior Paulo and Shannon Boyd and appear to be moving towards a more mobile forward pack in their quest to win their first NRL South Conference title since 2003. If they can retain their potency with ball in hand while improving their defence, you can expect big things from the Green Machine in 2019.

Predicted conference champions: Storm

Predicted surprise performers: Raiders