Here's our Power Rankings after Round 2 of the 2015 NRL season. Who has been the most surprising and who has been the most disappointing so far?
Stop the presses, the reigning premiers won another game of footy. Sunday afternoon’s belter of a game went the way of South Sydney, who just continue to win. Adam Reynolds is a dead certainty for Origin selection if he continues to control games the way he is. His kicking game is second to none. Even a possible concussion could not stop him from throwing JWH aside and setting up a match-winning try. Glenn Stewart has taken no time to find his feet in new colours. Johnston and Walker continue to show why they are the future. Just quietly, that try Greg Inglis set up. Great footy!
Jamie Soward’s injury aside, the Panthers enjoyed a near flawless visit to Bathurst. Holding any side to zero at this level of competition is massive, and piling on 40 points doesn’t hurt either. Matt Moylan had an absolute screamer of a game. There is nothing this kid cannot do. Jamal Idris found the try line three times and looked dangerous every time he touched the ball. The Panthers big men quietly went about their business without much fanfare, but they belted the Titans pack around on Saturday.
The Knights now sit two from two despite playing two of the more fancied sides this season. Kade Snowden had his best game in Knights colours, reminding us all of his Origin selection in the past. Kurt Gidley looked good on his return, while Gagai shone bright. The Knights backline are lethal, and if their forwards can muscle up as they did in the first two weeks there might be a fair few experts left with egg on their face. Mullen is edging closer to full form also.
The Tigers produced a brilliant 40 minutes of football on Monday Night. James Tedesco reminded everyone that he is right in the Origin frame with a brilliant game. Pat Richards continues to pile on the points, thanks in turn to the aforementioned Tedesco. Aaron Woods was an absolute monster with well over 200 metres and a mountain of tackles. If the Tigers can keep their young halves, fullback and front rower fit, they can give the finals a serious shake this season. Farah was solid yet again.
A loss to heated rivals the Bunnies in a brilliant Sunday afternoon clash will not worry too many fans. The Roosters played extremely well, but you still feel they have plenty of improvement left in them. RTS looks more at home at fullback and will be far more threatening in the weeks to come. Daniel Tupou continues to threaten out wide, while Ferguson looked better this week also. There will be lessons taken out of Sunday’s game, but it’s nothing more than a blip for the Roosters.
After a disappointing result in round one, the Dogs bounced back with authority, beating the Eels comfortably. Brett Morris, if he stays fit, is $1.01 to be the recruitment decision of the year. He is now a very real chance of representing NSW at fullback. The Dogs forward pack rolled on with relative ease at times during the Friday Night clash, which is a worry for any opposition defence. Josh Reynolds absence may not be as harshly felt as first thought.
If not for a refereeing decision or two, the Storm could be two from two. Blake Green had a blinder of a game, which went a long way to off-setting Cooper Cronk’s second quiet game in the row. Will Chambers is putting his name forward for an Origin jersey by playing well yet again. The Storm fought back despite not receiving the rub of the green in front of a vocal Brookvale crowd. Not the worst way to lose a game. Should bounce back against the Sharks.
This week’s big sliders, the Eels suffered a horrible Friday Night, not only with the result, but with a host of injuries. Try scoring ace Semi Radradra faces time on the sidelines, while Beau Champion may be gone for the season. To be honest I would think that the Eels would have taken one win given the quality of their opposition, but injuries may cause them to stutter before they really get going. Corey Norman had a great game in the six.
The Warriors continued their on-off record of form. They outplayed the Raiders, without destroying them. Shaun Johnson had a much more influential game, and the Warriors looked far better with Tomkins back in the side. Neither player set the world on fire, but showed signs of what is to come. Young Kata has surely sewn his centre position up. Simon Mannering made a thousand tackles, while Ryan Hoffman threated out wide. Manu scored yet another try against the Green Machine.
The Raiders were disappointing in their loss to the Warriors, but are one from two after two games, which is about where they would have expected to be. There weren’t a lot of highlights against the Warriors, but they were also far from embarrassed. Blake Austin is settling in relatively well and will be better for the time in the halves. Jack Wighton suffered an injury which is a huge loss. Crocker and Waqa both had solid games. Waqa looks like a good buy.
A massive improvement from their awful start to their 2015 season, but the Eagles were lucky to get away with a win at home. Cherry Evans showed he is focused purely on the Eagles after a brilliant performance. Mateo played well in the halves, softening the blow of Foran’s injury. Brett Stewart continues to score tries and set a new record for the club. Manly’s forwards stood up against a fancied Storm pack on Saturday evening and proved they will be no push overs this season. Huge improvement, but last week’s loss still weighs heavily on rankings.
A scrappy win over a well underperforming Sharks side won’t have Broncos fans rushing out to book hotels for Grand Final weekend, but they were massively improved from their opener. Sam Thaiday responded the way champions should, by showing his coach what he is capable of with a solid performance after being benched. Ben Hunt took steps toward re-finding his 2014 form. Broncos fans can expect much more from their charges this season, but they’re now on the board.
Another game, another source of frustration for Sharks fans. They drew a blank, other than a penalty goal, against the Broncos, and are now winless despite two home games. It looks as though the Ben Barba at five-eighth experiment may be over with boom rookie Jack Bird to be thrust into the halves. The Sharks much hyped backline recruits have failed to shine, with Beale barely threatening. Even youngster Valentine Holmes was completely MIA on Friday Night as the ball simply failed to find him. The less said about the form of former Origin prop Andrew Fifita, the better.
As brave as the Titans were in round one, they were absolutely played off the park by the Panthers in Bathurst. Unfortunately you got the feeling that the Panthers could score almost every time they wanted to. Matt Moylan and Jamal Idris tore the Titans apart out wide while the Titans big men went backwards. They get Bird and Taylor back this weekend after their club imposes suspension, and not a game too soon. Josh Hoffman has been barely spotted for the Titans but will move to his preferred fullback positon this weekend.
Alarm bells are already ringing for the Red V after a second straight horrible performance. Simply put, they have offered very little in attack. Benji has tried hard but his errors contributed to more points for the Tigers than his good work did for the Dragons on Monday Night. Widdop and Nightingale had rare off games and will be looking to hit back. The Dragons forwards have been bossed around, as was the worry pre-season. Their match with the Raiders this weekend already shapes as crucial for their season.
After a narrow loss to the Knights, the Cowboys sit 0 from 2, with two losses in front of their own crowd. That is not a position anyone expected the premiership heavyweights to be in. Thurston was roughed up and nullified on Saturday night, a tactic other teams are likely to employ now that it has achieved success. The Cowboys forward pack are racking up the stats but are not dominating. Taumalolo has not hit his stride just yet, and both Hannant and Tamou were comprehensively outplayed by Kade Snowden. A worrying start.