The NRL season is just a month away, and while plenty of focus tends to be on the teams at the top of the ladder, with success and glory awaiting, there is also the question of which teams will end up fighting for the wooden spoon.

Itโ€™s a โ€œprizeโ€ no team wants to be receiving at the end of the year, but one a team will ultimately end up with.

Itโ€™s also a spot on the ladder which is going to see different teams in the battle as the 2022 season comes to life.

The Canterbury Bulldogs were the team at the bottom of the ladder when it was all said and done at the end of 2021, but their mass recruitment drive will leave heads rolling if they end up in the same spot at the same time this year.

The Brisbane Broncos were last before that, but improved in 2021 and welcome grand final duo Adam Reynolds and Kurt Capewell for the 2022 season which has pundits wondering whether they will fight for the top eight, not whether they could finish at the bottom once again.

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 16: Adam Reynolds of the Rabbitohs passes during the round 23 NRL match between the Brisbane Broncos and the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Suncorp Stadium on August 16, 2018 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

2019 saw the Gold Coast Titans pick up the spoon, and after making the finals in 2021, they wonโ€™t be anywhere near it this time around.

Here are the five stragglers who are a chance of finishing at the bottom of the 2022 NRL table, and who would need something of a miracle to make the finals.

3. Newcastle Knights

A side where it is something of a struggle to find upside is the Newcastle Knights.

This is a team who have let Mitchell Pearce go without a stable or solid replacement, and while they made the finals in 2021, it could be a long year for the men from the Hunter.

They made that top eight despite having the competition's second-worst attacking record, and only did so based on grit and determination in defence.

That isn't going to be enough to get them back to the finals this year as other teams from the bottom eight - think the Cronulla Sharks and Canberra Raiders for starts - improve in a big way.

The Knights need big change in their attack, but whether Jake Clifford and whoever he is partnered up with - Phoenix Crossland, Simi Sasagi, Adam Clune or Kurt Mann - are enough to spark that is anyone's guess.

As always, Kalyn Ponga is the key man, but the strategy of "pass the ball to Ponga and see what happens" has to be thrown out the back window if the Knights are any chance of avoiding the bottom of the table.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 24: Mitchell Pearce of the Knights looks on after another Tigers try during the round 23 NRL match between the Wests Tigers and the Newcastle Knights at Campbelltown Stadium on August 24, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt Blyth/Getty Images)