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Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs

While the #KiwiNRL contingent up in Brisbane has a heavy influence on how the Broncos perform as a team, you could make a strong case that there aren't too many more influential players than Otahuhu's Sam Kasiano. That could perhaps explain why the Bulldogs have struggled to move up the gears in recent seasons as I'm sure many would hope that their halves, or hooker would have a greater influence than Kasiano, nonetheless, it's thanks to the freakish ability of the Samoan international.

You don't really want to rely on Kasiano to create the bulk of your attack like the Bulldogs did in 2016 because the NRL is all about speed and with the reduced interchange, Kasiano simply couldn't be on the field for more than 40 minutes. Everyone's been whipped up into some hype as Kasiano appears to have slimmed down, obviously because coach Des Hasler wants more minutes out of him, we'll have to wait and see if that ensures that Kasiano isn't a defence liability in the middle near the end of his shifts.

In Kasiano and Manurewa's finest, Greg Eastwood, the Doggies have two of the most skillful forwards in the NRL. Expect Kasiano to chase more minutes and possibly start, while the role of Eastwood will be one of the more low key stories to keep an eye on.

Eastwood started last season at lock, before blossoming on the edge where his footwork and hands saw him cause all sorts of problems.

Hopefully that means that Eastwood will nestle into an edge spot, which could give us a funky #KiwiNRL presence as Eastwood will be on one edge with Raymond Faitala-Mariner on the other, or giving Eastwood a spell.

Also playing out of Otahuhu, Faitala-Mariner is clearly a favourite of Hasler's and it was RFM who kept Tony Williams out of the Bulldogs team for much of last season. He'll likely get a consistent spot on the Bulldogs' bench and with that consistency, Faitala-Mariner could really start to emerge as a dynamic NRL edge forward.

Porirua's Renouf To'omaga will also want to keep his name fresh in Hasler's mind with strong performances in reserve grade. If there are a few injuries/during Origin, To'omaga it's highly likely To'omaga will get a chance.

Chase Stanley will do well to stay health; even if he's fit, Stanley will need to oust a Morris twin and youngster Kerrod Holland to break into the Bulldogs starting side.

Same goes for the likes of Brad Abbey and Reimis Smith. Smith scored a double on debut last season, which ended up being his only appearance of the season and it came in weird circumstances. Sam Perrett retired, yet the Doggies signed Brenko Lee (Raiders) and Richard Kennar (Strom) which bolstered their outside back depths so don't expect to see much of Smith this year.

Abbey appears to be a Hasler project (like Faitala-Mariner), it's just hard to see how Abbey could get a run with Will Hopoate and a Morris twin ahead of him. Origin could gift him that chance, but Abbey will be a #ReserveGradeKiwi to keep close tabs on.

There's also Francis Tualau, who was signed from Melbourne Storm. The Mangere East junior will be hoping to get on to the Bulldogs bench as a middle forward, although plenty of depth in the middle will make life tricky for Tualau; he's a Dog until the end of 2019 so there's no rush.

Sam Kasiano has to roll through more minutes for the Bulldogs to make waves.

Greg Eastwood is a Bulldogs OG and needs to be given an edge spot every week.

Raymond Faitala-Mariner will be hoping to settle in behind Eastwood and Josh Jackson.

Renouf To'omaga is slightly behind Faitala-Mariner.

Chase Stanley has to stay healthy.

The Brad Abbey project continues.

Reimis Smith is only 19yrs and low down on the depth chart.

Francis Tualau could be one to watch, if he can work his way on to the bench.