Four rounds in the books now and the likes of the Storm, Rabbitohs and Manly continue to impress while the Roosters put their hand up demanding some attention. Meanwhile the Dragons and Warriors picked up their first wins creating one giant mess in the bottom half of the ladder with 8 teams sitting on 2 points. Another very entertaining round, as they always are, and here's how I rank them.
#1 Storm - 8 points (prev #1)
No surprises here as the Melbourne attacking juggernaut marched on to another victory. Cruising 20-6 at half time, the Storm let the Broncos back into the game early in the second half but responded as they almost always do to seal a 6 point victory. The Storm completed 77% of their sets and made 7 errors but missed a few more tackles than they would have liked with 25. The fire power of the Storm is proving too much for anyone to handle, they have the most points in the NRL, most tries, most try assists with Cronk continuing to pull the strings tied for the lead in both try assists and line break assists with 5 of each.
#2 Rabbitohs - 8 points (prev #2)
No surprises here either as the Rabbitohs joined the Storm in remaining undefeated through the first 4 rounds. Tasked with taking on a Bulldogs team with a returning Ben Barba and Frank Pritchard, the Rabbitohs ground out another strong win with an 84% completion rate and once again racking up some huge metres with 1670. Greg Inglis continues to stomp on anyone that gets in his path reeling off 198 metres, he sits second in the NRL with 532 metres through 4 games, leads the NRL with 25 tackle busts and tied for the lead in line breaks with 5.
#3 Sea Eagles - 6 points (prev #3)
Coming up against a Tigers outfit that was gaining in confidence, the Sea Eagles were a brick wall leaving the Tigers scoreless in a 26-0 victory. Manly were on the back foot early as the Tigers looked threatening, but they soaked up what the Tigers had to offer and then threw it all back at them. Slippery conditions proved tough for Manly to deal with completing just 62% and making 16 errors, but they stampeded their way to 1600 metres. The clean sheet sees Manly ranked the best defensive team in the competition allowing just 30 points through 4 games, they also sit 4th in points scored. Hooker Matt Ballin leads the NRL in tackles with 127.
#4 Titans - 6 points (prev #4)
I was quick to jump on the Titans bandwagon but they continue to justify it with another strong victory, this time 28-10 over Penrith. Nate Myles put on an immense performance with 135 metres and 44 tackles, but the Titans forward pack as a whole are a giant handful. Myles was joined by Bailey, Taylor, Bird and James in eclipsing 100 metres, the Titans have no shortage of blokes willing to put their hands up. The combination of Sezer and Kelly continues to blossom, Sezer the controlled, calculated navigator while Kelly provides the off the cuff spark, they are playing as well as any halves combination.
#5 Knights - 6 points (prev #5)
The Knights continued to show they are serious top 8 contenders this year cruising to a 28-12 victory over Canberra. The Knights played well in the first half but went to the break down 10-12, but in the second half, completing 21 of 23 sets, the Knights ran in 3 unanswered tries. Newcastle sit second in the NRL in points with 104 and second in hit ups with 665, while also being one of the better teams defensively ranked 5th. Akuila Uate continued his emphatic start to the year notching his 6th try,good for 2nd in the comp, he's also tied for the lead in line breaks. Jarrod Mullen has been getting through a mountain of kicking with the most kicks in play in the comp along with tying Cooper Cronk for the most assists.
#6 Roosters - 6 points (prev #8)
Completely squashed the Eels with a 50 point 9 try battering. 9 Roosters eclipsed 100 metres including all 5 of the backs, Sonny Bill was a colossus, seemingly offloading the ball every time he ran with it, while future superstar Roger Tuivasa-Sheck grabbed a hat trick. It was almost a training run for the Roosters who completed 86%, made 1580 metres and only 4 errors. Perhaps more impressive than the attacking explosion the Chooks unleashed was the fact they have now blanked opponents in back to back games. The Roosters will come into round 5 having not conceded a single point for the past 165 minutes they've been on the field.
#7 Sharks - 4 points (prev #6)
In a game where they were 9.5 point favourites, the Sharks gave the Dragons their first win of the season. Despite being in front of a home crowd the Sharks could only put up 2 tries which proved insufficient. Were dealt a huge blow with Origin half Todd Carney leaving the game through injury. The Sharks once again were under 70% with their completions and let themselves down with 20 missed tackles and 13 errors. Issues of finishing their sets and ball control are becoming a familiar trend. They are still one of the better defensive outfits sitting 4th with only 53 points conceded.
#8 Bulldogs - 2 points (prev #11)
Yes, they lost again, but they managed to compete with the Rabbitohs and go down by only 5. The Bulldogs have just one win to go with three losses, but consider that this Bulldogs team has clearly been depleted and then consider their opponents. They lost to the Cowboys before they fell out of form, they lost to Melbourne by just 4 points in Melbourne, and they lost to the Rabbitohs by 5. Those three teams would have been pencilled in by many as top 4 teams and two of them are yet to lose a game. With the bottom 8 currently comprised of teams all sitting on 1 win, the Bulldogs can at least lay claim to showing they are capable of competing with those top teams.
#9 Tigers - 4 points (prev #7)
Just when the Tigers looked to be getting their tails up, they ran into a Manly side backing up from a loss who were quick to put their foot down. The Tigers had a lot of ball and a lot of opportunity early that they couldn't capitalize on and so often if you can't take your chances when they are available, especially against the likes of Manly, then you're going to pay for it. The Tigers may have two wins, but they've come against the Panthers and the Eels. The two top eight teams they've played this season they've lost combined 68-10. They've leaked the 4th most points and have the second highest missed tackle count. I'm no NRL coach but if you are compelled to give Farah a "rest" then probably best to find a better time to do so.
#10 Broncos - 2 points (prev #12)
The latest victim to be consumed by the Storm, the Broncos did themselves proud in a 6 point losing effort. The Broncos showed a lot of character to fight back from a 20-6 half time deficit with the first three strikes of the second half but Melbourne had too many points in them. They will be pleased with an 81% completion rate and crossing over for 5 tries in what became a very impressive attacking display, but they were only able to make 1131 metres. Captain Sam Thaiday had one of his best games in a long time, really trying to put the team on his back with 133 metres and 44 tackles.The Broncos will need to build on this attacking effort as they sit 5th worst in points scored.
#11 Cowboys - 2 points (prev #10)
Followed up on their dreadful loss to Newcastle by giving the Warriors their first win of the season. Things really aren't going well for this lot right now who were predicted to be amongst the elite of the competition. The Cowboys lead 12-6 at the half and looked to be back on track, but really fell to pieces in the second. They only lost the game by 2 points, but their second half effort included 19 missed tackles, 8 errors and a measly 53% completion rate. They've missed the third most tackles in the comp and their studded backline has failed to fire tied for the third least points so far. You'd be foolish to write them off with that roster, but they need to get back on track quickly.
#12 Dragons - 2 points (prev #15)
They do know where the try line is! they may still be the third worst attacking team in the competition, but the Dragons will take a lot of confidence after scoring 4 tries on the road against a much fancied Sharks team. 4 tries may not seem like a lot to most, but for a Dragons unit that has failed to put up points for so long, maybe this can give them the spark they need. The halves combo of Fien and Soward has copped a lot of criticism and they responded by being the first two blokes to cross the line. Against a big imposing Sharks team, the Dragons roared their way to 1687 metres. Still a lot of work to do, but a big statement game out of the Dragons.
#13 Panthers - 2 points (prev #13)
What separates Penrith from the other 1 win teams is that they have shown an ability to score points, they sit 5th overall in the NRL in that category and tied for the best in line breaks. What pulls the Panthers back in line with these lower ranked teams is their defence which has leaked the third most points and this comes in large part on the back of poor tackling, in a clear first place for missed tackles with 127. It was this problem that let the Panthers down in their loss to the Titans as they missed 36 tackles. They didn't put up many points but they made good metres with 1597 this against a huge Titans pack and while the 28-10 score line wasn't too embarrassing, especially considering the Titans scored on the 80 minute mark, the Panthers can't continue to miss that many tackles.
#14 Eels - 2 points (prev #9)
Absolutely stomped by the Roosters in one of the worst performances in Eels history. Barely made 1000 metres with just 1009, missed an embarrassing 40 tackles along with 12 errors, describing the Eels as a speed bump would be generous as the Chooks walked all over them all night. Eels management will spend the week trying to locate Jarryd Hayne and Chris Sandow who were mysteriously absent from the Eels implosion. That's three losses in a row now for the Eels after their big round 1 win over the Warriors and while some of these bottom half teams look to be taking a step forward, if only a small one, the Eels took one gigantic step back.
#15 Warriors - 2 points (prev #16)
The Warriors finally got to waltz into the winners circle with a 2 point victory over the Cowboys. Early signs were worrying as the Cowboys looked in the mood and likely to run away with it, but the Warriors struck very late in the first half and got their tails wagging in the second. The return of Nathan Friend was huge for the Auckland side, his distribution out of dummy half giving the Warriors halves much better ball to work with and Shaun Johnson seemed to have a lot less weight on his shoulders, playing with much more freedom and in the end it was his x factor that took the game over. The Warriors overcame injuries to Nielsen, Hurrell, Locke and Henry, to the point where they played the last 7 minutes with just 12 men on the field as Henry left with concussion and they were out of substitutes.
#16 Raiders - 2 points (prev #14)
Back to the bottom for the Green Machine with a league worst point differential of -61. They've been scored on the most and they've scored the second fewest points and now have lost one of their best attacking weapons in Ferguson to injury. Despite their troubles, Shaun Fensom continues to make people question whether he is human, making 18 hit ups for 117 metres along with 57 tackles against the Knights along with 3 offloads. The Raiders return home this week to welcome a Roosters team that ran straight over the Eels and they'll need to really get their act together if they don't want to suffer the same fate.
@WellsNorthShore
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