Predicting the premiers, final standings and the players to watch in 2025

Coaches have given their views on players to watch and the teams to beat, and almost every one of them said they expect the 2025 edition of the PMP to be the best yet.

It's hard to argue with that given almost every club looks like it has improved over the off-season.

That could make bold predictions for 2025 tricky, but sport journalists Nick Guthrie and Dominic Unwin are going to give it a go anyway.

Here is how we're predicting 2025 to play out.

Guthrie: 1 Dubbo CYMS, 2 Mudgee, 3 Forbes, 4 St Pat's, 5 Orange CYMS, 6 Macquarie, 7 Wellington, 8 Parkes, 9 Nyngan, 10 Hawks, 11 Panthers, 12 Lithgow.

The minor premiers won't go unbeaten in what looks a strong comp. Dubbo CYMS' consistency will lead them to top spot while Mudgee and Forbes may take some time before they discover their best footy. That could cost them a spot or two. The rest if very open. I think teams from four-to-eight could finish in any order. If Blake Ferguson fires for Wellington they could be right up there. I wouldn't be surprised to see Nyngan or Hawks play finals footy either.

Unwin: 1 Forbes, 2 St Pat's, 3 Dubbo CYMS, 4 Mudgee, 5 Orange CYMS, 6 Macquarie, 7 Nyngan, 8 Hawks, 9 Parkes, 10 Wellington, 11 Panthers, 12 Lithgow

The Magpies will be expecting top four at a minimum after their off-season recruiting spree and they will finish atop the pile. St Pat's too have put together a handy roster and will improve on their fourth-placed finish in 2024. Hard to go past Dubbo and Mudgee rounding out the top four. Hawks will be much better than 2024 and Nyngan have gone about assembling a decent roster. Parkes and Panthers could really battle.

Guthrie: I do think this will be an extremely competitive competition and just about every team could play finals in 2025, I think one of either Dubbo CYMS, Mudgee or Forbes win the title. Given their history and the fact it almost happens every second year, I'll tip another CYMS-Forbes grand final. From there, it's a coin toss. We'll go for the Magpies as long as the new Porter-Greenhalgh halves combination works out.

Unwin: The Fishies will have a fire in their belly after letting the preliminary final slip and it's hard to argue against them returning to the grand final. I'll agree with my colleague in tipping a Dubbo-Forbes decider with CYMS making the most of an Apex Oval advantage.

Guthrie: If Mudgee hero Clay Priest eases back his commitments this season then someone else may rise. Priest will likely be close to the best any time he's on the field though. Chad Porter, Jake Betts, Jack Smith and Jack Buchanan will all be around the mark again. I think Dubbo CYMS will improve this year so expect big things from Alex Bonham, Jeremy Thurston and Bayden Searle, but Blake Ferguson is my tip for the most outstanding player of 2025. He's got the obvious quality and, from all reports, he's fit and hugely motivated throughout Wellington pre-season.

Unwin: Jack Buchanan played every minute last season and was one of the best so if his fellow forwards can help ease the burden and give him a break he will go close to replicating his 2023 Group 11 player of the year form.

Priest, Thurston, Betts and Porter all deserve to be in the conversation, but I'll go for an outside-the-box one in Matt Boss. The Hawks stalwart proved invaluable as a ball-playing lock in 2023 but took a year off and has been named at dummy-half against Workies first up.

Guthrie: Given I expect Dubbo CYMS to be a lot better, Bayden Searle will go close here. He's a quality halfback who's played at a high level and he should make a real difference for the Fishies.

Pone Tongia at St Pat's, Tom Toohey at Orange Hawks, Mudgee's Cody Lawson and Forbes recruits like Chad Porter, Mitch Andrews and Harry Leadbitter should all be successful signings, but I think Josh Merritt could prove to be the most influential of the bunch.

Merritt almost guarantees finals footy and back home at Macquarie, expect him to be the one to lead them to better results.

Unwin: Porter, hands down.

The biggest coup in PMP history and one of the biggest in Group 11. Led a Parkes side who looked shaky in pre-season to a grand final and has a load of new toys at Spooner Oval.

Shades of Cooper Cronk to the Roosters, the missing piece in Forbes' premiership puzzle.

Guthrie: I would have said 18-year-old Hawks hooker Billy Morgan but he will miss an early chunk of the season due to injury, which is a real shame.

Looking at players 23 or under, new signings Zac Williams (Dubbo CYMS) and Trae Fitzpatrick (Panthers) should be handy while Will Black (Nyngan), Kaidyn Whittaker (Lithgow) and Kelly Constable (Mudgee) are others to keep an eye on.

I'll go for two though. Cody Lawson is back at Mudgee after most recently playing in the Queensland Cup and the former Western Rams junior should slot into that side perfectly, while Tommy Phillips will be tasked with being the leader of the forward pack at Parkes. It's a big ask for a youngster, but expect a big season from the prop.

Unwin: Haydn Edwards has pace to burn and will benefit from his first full season in first grade. Another Panther to watch is Trae Ftzpatrick, the youngster who cut his teeth in the halves for Yass Magpies in the Canberra Raiders Cup last season.

Oli Maunder made his debut for Orange CYMS in the dreaded 2023 season but has earned a spot in first grade in round one. A talented back who can play centre or wing.