Penrith can still win the title without Yeo. Could your team survive loss of its best player?

August 10, 2026 — 3:30pm

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The chance of Isaah Yeo’s pectoral injury ending his season has raised the question of whether Penrith can win the NRL premiership without him. Yeo is line-ball with Nathan Cleary as the Panthers’ indispensable player. What single player’s absence would cancel out the other contenders’ title hopes?

Cronulla have won games without Nicho Hynes or Braydon Trindall, but I doubt they could reach the grand final without Blayke Brailey, their quicksilver version of Harry Grant. Newcastle can survive without Dylan Brown but not, obviously, without Kalyn Ponga. The destructive new star Francis Manuleleua is also critical to the Knights’ chances.

The Dolphins slumped while Isaiya Katoa was injured and are now roaring back with their recovered playmaker. The Warriors and Roosters, the most likely grand finalists if Penrith miss out, are the least reliant on one player.

Still, I can’t see the Roosters winning if they lost Naufahu Whyte. (See how Sam Walker or James Tedesco perform without Whyte’s go-forward.) Victor Radley, who straightens their attack at first receiver, is probably their other indispensable player.

The Wahs have no single linchpin. James Fisher-Harris is still the best prop in the game, but they have such a good pack they could make up for his absence. Maybe Wayde Egan, whose vision at........

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