Successfully qualifying for the NRL finals is an achievement and arguably more difficult than ever.

While there have been some very dusty win-loss records taken into the play-offs by teams in seventh and eighth place over the years, the majority of teams that make the final eight are in with at worst a rough shot should a little luck go their way.

In 2024, the Bulldogs in sixth returned to the finals after a long run on the outer, the Sharks were there again in fourth come the end of the home and away season.

The Cowboys and Sea Eagles played some decent footy on the way to fifth and seventh respectively, winning 15 and 13 matches.

While it may be easy to praise the head coaches who concocted the plans to get them there, all four will under immediate pressure in 2025, based on the different contexts and situations in which they find themselves.

Cameron Ciraldo was lured from Penrith as one of the most promising young coaches in the game. In just his second season at Canterbury, the work in progress finally began to work.

A close loss to the Sea Eagles in an elimination final ended what was becoming something of a fairytale, yet with a squad packed with bought in talent, Ciraldo left the blue and white fans with hopes of something even greater this season.

Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

Unfortunately, that puts plenty of pressure on the 40-year-old, with the supporter base well aware of what has been added to an already impressive roster. Sitili Tupouniua joins the likes of Stephen Crichton, Matt Burton, Reed Mahoney and Viliame Kikau, with a host of hard working players in a supporting cast that looked gelled and purposeful by season’s end in 2024.

Any step backwards would be a major disappointment for Canterbury. The magic touch of Phil Gould and his ability to build a winning roster is as plain as day. Ciraldo’s job will not be under pressure in 2025, yet his stress levels will elevate quickly if the Bulldogs’ momentum stalls or more concerningly, heads into reverse.

Craig Fitzgibbon has been at the helm of the Sharks for three seasons now and his quality as a coach has been on show via a team that has made the finals in each of them. His 66.66 win percentage will always have teams in the running for the top four and the Sharkies were there in two of those years.

Unfortunately, the league world knows that the men from the Sutherland Shire tend to flame out against the big teams, on the big days and when the stakes are most significant.

Halfback Nicho Hynes appears to take the brunt of the blame for such performances as the 37-10 loss to Melbourne in the opening week of the finals last season. However, if even just for the mental health of Cronulla fans, the coach must find the source of the problem and the means to eliminate it.

Nicho Hynes, like the Sharks, has struggled in big games. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

Consistently performing at a high level and being in the mix is one thing, yet Fitzgibbon will be under pressure to prove that he does have the nous to build a team capable of handling pressure and finding the answers when it matters.

The same could be said of Todd Payten at the Cowboys, off the back of a season where at times, they were simply breathtaking. A total of 657 points was bested only by the Panthers and a record of 15 wins and 9 losses was within a whisker of a top four finish.

It might seem a little odd to suggest Payten has plenty of expectation and pressure lurking, after guiding his squad to a preliminary final and a semi-final in two of the last three seasons, yet fans of the Cows might also be wondering how sustainable is the method he implements.

Having the attacking weapons capable of breaking games open, Payten cut his players loose in 2024. In doing so, many of them were derelict in defensive duty and the Cowboys allowed 568 points against, the worst of the top eight by far and miles off what the top four produced.

Todd Payten’s Cowboys can attack, but can they defend more effectively in 2025? (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)

Now a regular player in the finals, North Queensland could well approach the competition in the same manner and after losing to the Sharks and beating only the Knights in the finals, I’d suggest Payten must look elsewhere for premiership success and that places considerable pressure on him to produce it.

Anthony Seibold has seemingly been under immense pressure in every top job he has held in the NRL. Things ended curiously at South Sydney and Brisbane and after the departure of Des Hasler from the Sea Eagles at the end of the 2022 season, he would not have been everyone’s first choice for the role.

Yet, after a hit and miss 2023, last season’s finals visit and an appearance in the second week, has the Sea Eagles respected. Now Seibold, with a squad anchored in his big stars Tom Trbojevic, Daly Cherry-Evans, Haumole Olakau’atu, Luke Brooks and Jake Trbojevic, must find a way of proving that the vast investment in a small group can be managed and not be at the expense of overall team success.

A commonly held view that Manly has a few too many eggs in a limited number of baskets is of their own making and Seibold will need to find an answer more powerful than just the good health of the big names.

None of the coaches above will be sacked by Easter, in fact all will see out the season barring something astonishing. However, the pressure on them due to what has come before and where their respective clubs are at, is considerable.