Manly champion Kieran Foran’s move to Parramatta was the highest-profile roster move of 2016, installed as halfback and captain as the Eels moved on from Chris Sandow’s rocky four-season stint in the No.7.
“You’re always aware of the history of a proud club like Parramatta,” Foran said in a Big League feature.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time playing alongside Corey Norman so far … It would be great to form a partnership at the scrumbase there for the next eight years or so, to be here with him long-term.”
But the marquee recruit’s club debut was ultimately put on ice – he was a late withdrawal from the Thursday night season opener against 2015 grand finalist Brisbane thanks to a hamstring strain. The Eels went down 17-4 to the Broncos with Norman also sideline for the second half.
Foran returned for Round 2 and led the blue-and-golds to five wins in his first six games. But he was granted indefinite leave in April due to mental health struggles, before making a brief comeback and suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. By the end of July, Foran – earlier described by Peter Sterling as the “most important signing” in the club’s history – had been released by Parramatta.
Elsewhere in Round 1, Sydney Roosters premiership winner James Maloney and returning local junior Chad Townsend teamed up as Cronulla’s halves for the first time in a 20-14 loss to defending premier North Queensland.
After two seasons in Auckland, Townsend had effectively swapped places with veteran Jeff Robson, who was recruited from the Sharks to provide a steady foil to mercurial Warriors playmaker Shaun Johnson.
“Jeff’s a good director. He’s very calm and composed, and that’s going to allow Shaun to play his natural game,” Warriors coach Andrew McFadden praised to Big League in the lead-up to Round 1.
The Warriors endured a demoralising 34-26 opening-round loss to Wests Tigers at Campbelltown after trailing 28-6 at halftime. The Robson experiment was abandoned after seven games and he was released to Parramatta mid-season to fill the gap left by Foran – who ironically would join the Warriors in 2017.
Jackson Hastings was the natural successor to Maloney at the Roosters, but he was pitched into a Round 1 halves combination with 19-year-old debutant Jayden Nikorima following Mitchell Pearce’s lengthy ban for a off-field indiscretion during the pre-season. The 2013-15 minor premiers went down to Souths 42-10 and went on to lose their next five games, while Hastings and Nikorima both dropped out of the top-grade picture midyear.
Incumbent NSW halfback Trent Hodkinson, a two-time grand finalist with Canterbury, joined reigning wooden spooner Newcastle and took over as captain. The Knights crashed 30-12 to a Gold Coast side sparked by a new halves pairing of ex-Broncos one-gamer Ash Taylor, who would be crowned Dally M Rookie of the Year, and Newcastle discard Tyrone Roberts.
Taylor and Roberts were filling the gap left by the Titans’ injured 2015 rookie star Kane Elgey and Aidan Sezer, who scored two tries on club debut in Canberra’s rousing 30-12 defeat of Penrith. Sezer and Blake Ausin steered the Raiders to their first preliminary final win.
