Round 6 of the 2015 NRL season is completed and the updated Power Rankings are in! Who has been the most surprising and who has been the most disappointing so far?
1. Broncos (Last week: 3)
Top of the table, and more importantly top of our rankings, the Broncos are flying high on the back of five straight victories. This Friday Nightโs was arguably their best of the season, a golden point win over the Roosters. Ben Hunt had an absolute ripper of a game, including the match winning try. His name is now firmly in the Origin selection talk. Sam Thaidayโs man of the match performance shows just how positive his reaction to his early season benching has been. With Justin Hodges back this weekend, things are looking great in Bris Vegas as they travel to play fellow high flyers the Dragons.
2. Rabbitohs (1)
As was the fear, the Rabbits are really going to miss Adam Reynolds. They werenโt without hope on Monday Night, but without their superstar number seven they looked lost at times. Glenn Stewartโs move to five-eighth was a strange one and did not work. Dylan Walker returns this Monday Night and could play in the halves as they play the Sharks. George Burgess had a brilliant game, as did his brother Tom, but they need more support in terms of metres. Chris Grevsmuhl aside, the Bunnies pack was battered on Monday Night. They face a tougher than expected task as they play the Sharks away, albeit with a seven day turnaround.
3. Knights (3)
The Knights have come back to Earth in the last two weeks following a big loss to the Sharks on Friday Night, following their loss to the Dragons. Their big men were thumped around the park in the Shire, with no forward registering 100 metres. I still believe that Mullen is playing injured as he has not looked like himself in the past few weeks. Their best players on Friday Night were their outside backs, although itโs tough for them to find space behind a well beaten forward pack. The Knights are still in a better position than most would have expected right now, and face an opportunity to return to winning ways when they host the Eels this weekend.
4. Dragons (8)
Iโm not too proud to admit that I had the Dragons finishing in the bottom few this season. Although that still may eventuate, the Red V are playing some brilliant football right now on the back of a committed and tough defensive set up. Theyโre proving incredibly difficult to break down and managed to keep the Dogs to a single try, after keeping the Knights scoreless the week prior. Their attack found some fluidity against the Dogs as Benji and Widdop pulled all the strings. Peter Mata-utia had an outstanding game after coming in very late for the injured Jason Nigtingale. Jack de Belin was a monster off the bench. Josh Dugan is back in Origin contention after yet another positive performance.
5. Storm (7)
The Storm looked good, if not spectacular against the Raiders, and won without one of their big three in Billy Slater. Job done! Cameron Munster looked at home in the Storm number one jersey. Jesse Bromwich made 259 metres and completed 33 tackles in a man of the match performance. He was assisted by big metres from Tohu Harris, Tim Glasby and Dale Finucane. Koroibete had another blinder and Iโd really love to see him and James Roberts in a foot race. The only downer for the Storm was again the form of their superstar halfback Cooper Cronk who has not looked comfortable over the past few weeks. The Storm will become even more dangerous when he hits form. Scary thought.
6. Dogs (9)
The understrength Dogs were out played by the Dragons in a big way. Their big men made plenty of metres, with Tolman topping 200. Their outside backs looked dangerous at times, with Morris especially threatening the line on more than one occasion. Unfortunately for Dogs fans their halves are horribly out of form. The former Origin halves look like shadows of their old selves and Mbye looks like he might be struggling with playing multiple positions. The Dogs need their halves to fire and quick. They really missed their captain James Graham in terms of direction.
7. Roosters (6)
The Roosters fought back from their loss to the Sharks with a spirited performance against the red hot Broncos, but ultimately fell short. Theyโre another team with badly misfiring star halves. Pearce registered two try assists but James Maloneyโs only stat of interest were his eight missed tackles. He is painting a huge target on himself for opposition runners. SKD is putting forward a good case for re-signing. Cordner had a much busier game than against the Sharks. Napa is announcing himself as a real star of the future with his metres and defence. Future Warrior RTS is on an absolute tear and made another 288 metres on the back of 300+ last weekend.
8. Panthers (9)
Despite a massive injury toll, the Panthers are back in the winnerโs circle after a solid victory over the Sea Eagles. Josh Mansour was back to his destructive best on the wing, scoring two tries and running for 130 metres. Young Koroisau played quite well in the halves and will be a very important part of the side while Soward and Wallace recover. Segeyaro had a rare quiet day in attack but made a mountain of tackles. Tyrone Peachey was his dynamic best off the bench, chipping in with a line break and a try assist to add to his 100+ metres in under 60 minutes. Unfortunately they have lost Idris to injury for the season.
9. Tigers (5)
The Tigers did not disgrace themselves in New Zealand, but are a victim of teams around them winning rankings wise. At one stage it looked as though the Tigers were going to overrun the red hot Warriors, but it was not to be. Aaron Woods continued to be an absolute giant in the front row and his partner in crime Keith Galloway has provided brilliant support. Pat Richards was quiet but still able to score a try and run for over a hundred metres. Unfortunately Luke Brooks was kept quiet, although Moses was good in patches. The Tigers second row and bench need to provide more if the Tigers are to play finals footy.
10. Cowboys (12)
Never write off a champion. The Cowboys, after three rounds, were dead and buried and Jonathan Thurstonโs days as an elite play maker were over. Fast forward three weeks and the Cowboys are amongst the form teams of the competition on the back of three straight man of the match efforts from their superstar halfback. Scarily for opponents of the Cowboys, Taumalolo, Scott and Tamou have all rediscovered top form and are dominating anyone and everyone in their way. The space being created for Thurston and co. is allowing them to run riot. The Cowboys are in red hot form and will be confident of beating the Warriors in Townsville this weekend and making it four straight wins.
11. Warriors (13)
The Warriors helped celebrate Manu Vatuveiโs 200th game with a confidence boosting win over the Tigers. Manu himself scored two of the Warriors six tries. Incredibly 10 of the 13 starters for the Warriors run for over 100 metres, with Johnson running for 98 himself. The Warriors big men did the job on the Tigers forward pack. Ryan Hoffman was the main man, while Ben Matulino was destructive in both attack and defence. Chad Townsend continued his excellent form, making him the target of a multi club tug of war for his serviced for next season and beyond. As always with the Warriors, itโs a question of consistency. They travel to North Queensland for a tough assignment this weekend.
12. Sharks (14)
After going almost an entire year without a home win, the streak has been broken by a gritty and no nonsense win over the Knights. Michael Ennis was at his best in a brilliant man of the match effort. Youngsters Jack Bird and Valentine Holmes were again the catalysts in attack. Bird started and scored a brilliant try, while Holmes almost recreated Pat Richardsโ brilliant efforts from the week before in setting up Luke Lewis. Ben Barba looked far more comfortable back at fullback and scored a clever try thanks to brilliant positioning. Andrew Fifita had by far his best game of the season, but will unfortunately miss at least the next two weeks thanks to a horrible tackle.
13. Raiders (10)
The Raiders were brave in defeat at home to the Storm on Sunday afternoon. Paul Vaughan had a brilliant game off the bench and followed up the good work laid by 200 gamer Dane Tilse. An injury to Josh Hodgson really upset the Raiders in the second half as they were unable to run over the top of a solid yet unspectacular Storm. Shaun Fensom looks as though he will escape serious injury despite looking as though he would be out of action for an extended period when he went off injured. The Raiders were far from terrible, but were just a step behind their opponents. Jack Wighton and Sisa Waqa look dangerous in attack but need to be more involved.
14. Titans (15)
The Titans recorded their second win of the season with a 38-16 thumping of the Eels. James Roberts could be the fastest man in the game and seems to be a ball magnet right now. Will Zillman had his best game in recent memory and sent a reminder of just what he is capable of. The Titans big man laid a solid platform for their speedsters, with Bird and Taylor the standouts. The key to the Titans season will be putting wins back to back, and they will have a good chance this weekend when they host the undermanned Panthers. Aiden Sezer has signed a deal with the Raiders, but remains key to the Titans point scoring chances this season.
15. Eels (11)
Itโs hardly time to panic at Parramatta, but it seems like an eternity ago that the Eels ended the Rabbitโs unbeaten run. They were poor and easily outplayed by the Titans, despite playing in front of a loud Pirtek home crowd. Danny Wicks aside, the Eels forwards were monstered. Chris Sandow had an off day, although his partner Corey Norman was solid. Surely itโs time to re-evaluate having a hooker on the bench when Nathan Peats is an 80 minute number nine. The Eels backs were run ragged by James Roberts and Will Zillman. The Eels now worringly have put in two incredibly flat performances following their huge win over the Rabbits.
16. Sea Eagles (16)
Times are tough at Brookvale, as the Sea Eagles were put to the sword by a Panthers side missing their first choice halves. Manly themselves are down on troops, and have also lost exciting youngster Tom Trbojevic to injury. Jamie Lyon has been named to return and Sea Eagles fans will be hoping he can provide some much needed spark. Itโs obvious that Manly lack the dominance in the forwards theyโve had over the past years, but off field problems seem to be their biggest hurdle right now. Geoff Toovey is in the media far too often defending himself when he could be working on a way to save the Sea Eagleโs season.
