This was published 6 years ago
NRL Power Rankings: Roosters look the real deal as top eight seems set
By Matt Bungard
1. Melbourne Storm (Last Week: 2): Business as usual for the Storm with a thumping win over the Raiders keeping them on top of the ladder.
2. Sydney Roosters (3): Blew fellow contenders St George Illawarra off the park on Sunday afternoon and are looking the real deal.
Thanks for coming: Melbourne Storm are reminding NRL fans of their credentials of late.Credit: David Crosling
3. South Sydney Rabbitohs (2): Almost followed up last week's disaster with a second straight loss, but rallied back to grab an unconvincing win over the Eels.
4. Brisbane Broncos (6): Look much better with Jamayne Isaako at fullback and were particularly formidable in defence.
5. Cronulla Sharks (4): Lost a close one to the Broncos in a match-up we could certainly see again in the finals.
6. St George Illawarra Dragons (5): Another big loss to a fellow contender - they've lost their past four matches against top eight opponents by a combined 80 points.
7. Penrith Panthers (7): Did just enough to see off Manly as they once again left it extremely late.
8. New Zealand Warriors (8): Smashed by the Titans and are really battling to stay healthy - will limp into the eight, but then what?
9. Wests Tigers (9): Their finals charge all but ended after a horrible loss to the Bulldogs, just six days after beating Souths.
10. Canberra Raiders (10): Belted in Melbourne and that's their dreams of September probably done for as well.
11. Gold Coast Titans (12): Arguably the performance of the round with an extremely impressive win over the Warriors at home.
12. Newcastle Knights (11): Should have won up in Townsville but blew it late on, the theme of this round.
13. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (14): Pulled further away from the wooden spoon with a gritty performance against the Tigers.
14. Manly Sea Eagles (13): A season of heartbreak continues with what should have been an impressive win over Penrith turning into a nightmare late on.
15. North Queensland Cowboys (16): A brave comeback gives them a tiny bit of breathing room at the bottom.
16. Parramatta Eels (15): Looked to have the win against Souths sewn up, before collapsing in a heap for yet another crushing loss.