Part 1 zoned in on two teams near the bottom of the NRL ladder. Teams with plenty of room to slide North and get better so it wasn't too hard to pick them because well the only way is up. Part 2 is a bit trickier, there's many teams that could improve nek year and to be honest if this season was anything to go by, honestly, any team could become a contender.

However, I've come to the glorious conclusion that the Manly Sea Eagles, Newcastle Knights and Melbourne Storm are set up nicely for 2015. This doesn't mean that they're going to come out and take the NRL by storm and dominate with ease. Nah, don't be daft, I'm simply angling towards teams who have a nice foundation laid down with a nice mix of super talent and grit, youth and experience and stability. 

Stability? Manly? Manly are far from the brick wall they once were. But nek year they could be a much different proposition than they are this season. I've made no secret of the fact that I reckon they should let Brett Stewart and Anthony Watmough venture to 'greener' pastures. They've already let Glenn Stewart go, why stop there? The only reason I'm completely happy seeing these two Manly stalwarts depart Brooky is because they have suitable replacements ... something that Manly have a great track record of - Trent Hodkinson's departure and Daly Cherry-Evans rookie year is a prime example. Either Peta Hiku or Clint Gutherson can be the fullback with the other slotting in on the wing. Sure they're no Snake, but you can't have it all and at some point Snakey Snake man has to be replaced. 

Anthony Watmough is a lot more replaceable than Stewart. He's just a workhorse who gives 100% every hit up (which is something many NRL players don't do, there's a reason Paul Gallen, Sam Burgess etc are great). Whether we see a young buck come up or we see the likes of Jesse Sene-Lefao, Dunamis Lui, Justin Horo, Tom Symonds, Jamie Burher etc take their opportunity for more game time with open arms, things at Manly will be ok.

However, this comes with a back catch hence I wanted to get it out of the way - if Kieran Foran leaves, damn ... if the drama somehow continues (maybe Watmough doesn't leave and continues to stir the pot), damn.

The Newcastle Knights. A very unique situation that doesn't require much explaining, but they have a good mix. They've got halves who have played a fair amount of footy together in Jarrod Mullen and Tyrone Roberts, they've got a tough group of forwards despite Willie Mason's departure - expect Korbin Sims to step up and they have guys coming through who can replace. Jake Mamo, this kid is good and should at the very least provide some competition for the fullback spot. You've got the Mata'utia bros, Dane Gagai and Joey Leilua who are all still young but have gained NRL experience. 

It's been a tough year for Newcastle and much like how Manly might benefit from cleaning the shit stains off the carpet, I reckon Newcastle will benefit greatly from 2014 being over. It's easy to move on, but the Knights are in the perfect position to keep moving forwards, they won't sit back and sulk at how things have panned out. They've got the talent, the systems and the community back so things should be ok.

The Storm, another slightly weird one. Let's make it clear, the big 3 are still live in full effect. They ain't going no where but this season was intriguing in the sense that to me, it looked like they were trying to figure it all out. They've had a fair amount of roster turn over with many players leaving (and struggling) which meant that many young guys and some battlers had to gain NRL experience. 

The likes of Cameron Munster, Ben Hampton and Kurt Mann all got NRL experience despite not setting the world alight. With Ben Roberts unlikely to feature nek year, they'll have to blood someone in the 6 jersey which will be interesting, but the team looks a lot more solid at the mo than it was at the start of the year. 

I love how their forwards have transitioned from young guys to NRL first graders. Jesse Bromwich is now the man, Kevin Proctor looks as comfortable as ever and the likes of Mitch Garbutt, Tim Glasby, Kenny Bromwich and Slade Griffin will keep on keeping on. As the big 3 age like fine wine, I reckon the Storm could sneakily be assembling their best squad in a few years. They have the big 3, but instead of relying heavily on battlers, they're building a nice roster of youngins who have various levels of NRL experience, but share in the fact that they're super talented and have come through the Storm way.

There's no science to all of this, it's all just gut feels so feel free to lay in to me when the Knights, Storm and Manly are competing for the wooden spoon. They might not sit pretty at the top of the ladder for the season, but they're in a good space for nek year and have the balance and foundation to have a goodun'.