After two weeks of action, Round 1 is finally in the books.
Traditionally the opening round of the season is tough for tipsters but I honestly can't remember a round turned upside down as much as Round One, 2024.
With upsets comes a Power Rankings sheet I honestly did not see coming.
For those new to power rankings, they're worked out via a variety of factors. Wins, margins, strength of opposition, expectation, performance and much more.
They're more than just who is sitting where on the table, or who is the best team on paper.
Remember these will jump in the early rounds and are purely for fun and discussion purpouses.
With that said, below are our Week 1 Power Rankings:
1. St George Illawarra Dragons
Well then. No team looked as good in Round 1, in terms of pure performance vs expectation that those wearing the famous Red V.
The Shane Flanagan era started in the best possible way, a marvellous 28-4 win over the Titans. Zac Lomax enjoyed a brilliant start to life on the wing while Kyle Flanagan made his mark on club debut.
The wooden spoon favourites sent shockwaves through the NRL community with this performance. Yes it is only Round One but they couldn't have done anything more.
If the Dragons weren't the team of the round, the Cowboys were. They were breathtaking in hammering the Dolphins to the tune of 43 points to 18.
Zac Laybutt and Valentine Holmes lit up Suncorp stadium but all the strings were pulled by the recently re-signed Tom Dearden.
The Cowboys won almost every direct content in this game. What a performance! Heilum Luki will never score an easier try.
The Storm recorded a 22nd straight Round One victory with their victory over Penrith on Friday Night. Equally impressive was the fact they kept the Panthers to nil.
I cannot remember a defensive effort as sound as this one. Remis Smith's 49th minute try was enough to bank two premier points.
With Cam Munster and big NAS to return in the coming weeks, the Storm look ... well, like the Storm! Here we go again.
The Roosters sat back and enjoyed this weekend's footy knowing they banked two points in Vegas. They thoroughly outplayed last year's Grand Finalists in the Broncos.
We saw the return of the best of James Tedesco and Joey Manu, while Terrell May continues to rise in the middle. The Roosters will welcome prized recruit Dom Young this weekend also.
It will be interesting to see how they play coming off what equates to a bye. Brookvale is a tough trip but one this side are very capable of handling.
The Raiders walked into hostile territory on Thursday night and bullied their way to two precious competition points.
Youngster Ethan Strange more than held his own, especially in defence, while new recruit Zac Hosking had a wow of a game. Up front the Raiders dominated their Newcastle counterparts in a big way.
Canberra played perfect Round One footy. They tucked the ball under their arm, did the hard stuff up the middle and took their chances. 28-12 is a scoreline they deserved. It was one they earned.
Manly opened the Vegas extravaganza with a brilliant win over the Bunnies. Extra promising was the fact they were able to fight back after not having it all their own way.
All the Sea Eagles big guns shone under the bright lights. Turbo and DCE ran the show and Jason Saab's injury aside, it was a perfect trip.
They host the other winners from Vegas in the Roosters in a Sunday afternoon blockbuster. I love when Manly are playing well, they're so much fun to watch.
The Sharks are notoriously bad starters. They found themselves 12-0 down on the back of a mountain defensive workload. Last year, I have no doubt the Sharks lose that game by 20+.
In 2024 though it was not to be as the Sharks overcame a massive and hostile crowd and almost no ball to overturn the early deficit and win 16-12.
The Sharks put in their best defensive effort in many seasons. In attack Sifa Talakai and Ronaldo Mulitalo dominated that left edge. Good signs against a very good opposition.
The Eels deserve to be higher here based on their performance. They sit eighth through no fault of their own and due to the fact that their opposition was so bad.
The Carty Party was well and truly raging on Saturday evening as Bryce Cartwright put in one of the performances of the weekend.
If I'm being honest, the Eels did away with the Bulldogs with absolute ease. Their big names didn't even really fire. Good signs for the blue and gold.
9. Wests Tigers
Well this absolutely fell into our laps now didn't it?
The Tigers kick off their 2024 campaign this weekend with a difficult trip to the nation's capital.
With the extra week to prepare, nothing less than a stellar performance will do for the newly invigorated Tigers.
The Warriors will be left wondering how they let victory slip through their fingers on Friday night.
Leading 12-0 and having enjoyed a majority of the ball, the Warriors let the Sharks back into the game via a string of stupid penalties.
It seemed as though they were just waiting for the Sharks line to break. It never did. Not their greatest night at the office but hardly cause for concern.
11. Brisbane Broncos
Brisbane fans would have expected better in Vegas but the loss certainly wouldn't have set off any alarm bells. A second straight loss though might be different.
They had far too many misfires from their main stars in Round One. It's not often you see two bad games from elite players so expect a bounce back.
An early injury to Brendan Piakura really ruined their rotation in Round One. I expect them to be much, much better this Thursday night against the Bunnies.
12. Penrith Panthers
I fully expected Penrith to end the Storm's ridiculous streak of Round One wins. Boy did they try. They threw absolutely everything at the Storm but couldn't break them down.
Taylan May slotted into the centre position with incredible ease. They'll miss Stephen Crichton but May showed the new era is just as dangerous.
Zero need for any concern here. On any other night they put 20 points on here. I'd hate to be playing the Panthers next weekend.
The Bunnies would have been the least enthused fanbase following the Vegas trip. They had all the momentum and lost it, allowing Manly to romp home.
Jai Arrow's injury is just another downer on what has been a sombre start to the season. What a way to turn it all around though than by beating Brisbane at home on Thursday?
Latrell Mitchell, Cody Walker, Damian Cook, Cam Murray. There are way too many stars here to start the season winless from two. They'll be much better this time around.
The Knights will be filthy with their below-par start to the season. They looked a side a million miles from the Newcastle side we saw barnstorm into the Finals in 2023.
For the record, I wouldn't be worried, at all, by the opening result, but that doesn't mean it's ok. Canberra came into enemy territory with a rookie half and easily banked two points.
On a positive note, I loved what I saw from Kai Pearce-Paul. He's a monster in the second row and his offload will be deadly. Watch this space.
15. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
This was not the performance Bulldogs fans wanted to see after an offseason full of hope.
It took the Dogs far, far too long to exploit their all-star left side while Matt Burton was reduced to a kicking option.
I'm not sure what went wrong but you can ignore Cameron Ciraldo's comments re being "happy" with things he saw. No one in blue and white was happy on Saturday evening.
16. The Dolphins
The Dolphins entered 2024 on the back of a pretty successful inaugural season. They signed three major names and opened the season in front of a huge home crowd.
So of course they fell to an embarrassing loss to "local rivals" the Cowboys. Jack Bostock's highlight reel try aside, they were awful in the Sunday afternoon sun.
Jake Averillo, Euan Aitken and Jarrod Wallace should be rushed into that side this weekend quick haste. The only positive if surely they cannot be any worse moving forward.
I think it's safe to say that the Des Hasler era started in unconvincing fashion. Truthfully the Titans were absolutely dire and deserving of being played off the park.
They suffered a late out via Kieran Foran's omission but there can be no excuse for the performance they put in against rank outsiders the Dragons.
Tino Fa'asuamaleaui played a lone hand up front while AJ Brimson played himself to literal exhaustion. Everyone else would have had to find a corner and hope Hasler didn't single them out.
