Soward: Premiers silence doubters; Warriors warm hearts

It was fantastic to have the footy back as the new six-again rule added to the intrigue of round three.

A few teams hit the ground running with the changes, but it seems others will need to tweak their tactics to keep up after more than two months waiting for the competition to restart.

1. Canberra Raiders (Last week: 1)

George Williams - what a superstar. He tore Melbourne apart by playing over the advantage line. The English connection he has with Josh Hodgson could carry Canberra to a premiership. They out-competed Melbourne - which isn't something you can say often - and they did it without John Bateman.

2. Parramatta Eels (3)

Parramatta were fantastic against the Broncos - they're a side you just love watching. I know Mitchell Moses gets a lot of the credit, but I thought Dylan Brown and Reed Mahoney were also terrific in the spine. The forwards did the job.

3. Sydney Roosters (5)

Everyone will be looking over their shoulder after watching the premiers' dominant performance against South Sydney. They monstered the opposing pack and the new rule suits them. After an 0-2 start, the win silenced the doubters.

4. Melbourne Storm (2)

A change to Melbourne's game plan in the second-half against the Raiders worked better as Cam Munster came into his own. Canberra are a tough side but there were some concerning signs for the Storm - they can't be so structured in attacking the line. You should be scoring more than one try when you make several line-breaks.

5. Manly Sea Eagles (6)

They may have only beaten the Bulldogs, but when you've got Turbo, Jurbo and DCE, Manly are must-watch footy each week. The new six-again rule suits the Sea Eagles. They were outstanding.

6. Brisbane Broncos (4)

Brisbane were perhaps a bit immature. The new six-again rule will require an adjustment period, but they made some really silly errors against a team that was big, powerful and strong.  

7. Newcastle Knights (7)

I could have had the Knights higher after their feel-good effort. Their resilience in defence as they weathered a heap of adversity to salvage a draw was special. They probably should have won. Coach Adam O'Brien has done a fantastic job.

8. Penrith Panthers (9)

Penrith threw away a 14-0 lead. It was a chance for young halves Matt Burton and Jarome Luai to stand up without Nathan Cleary, but their game management cost them. Burton will take some lessons from that. It could be a costly missed point come the end of the year.

9. Wests Tigers (12)

I didn't have the Tigers in my top eight to start the year, but with Harry Grant and Billy Walters sharing the hooking duties, they could be a real smokey and certainly cause some teams trouble. The Tigers have shown they can score plenty of points and I think they'll be a side that everyone enjoys watching.

10. Cronulla Sharks (8)

As good as the Tigers were, the Sharks threw the win away. They picked up an injury to one of their key playmakers in Chad Townsend, but Cronulla should have been resilient enough to hold their lead. Maybe the week preceding the game took its toll late in the piece.

11. North Queensland Cowboys (11)

A comfortable win over the Titans was a nice confidence booster for North Queensland's young halves in the absence of Michael Morgan. Reece Robson was outstanding off the bench at dummy-half. I think he can be their X-factor.

12. South Sydney Rabbitohs (10)

The Rabbitohs were dominated in the forwards by the Roosters. Latrell Mitchell was better at fullback which was a positive. But the team really missed the suspended Cody Walker - in particular his halves partner Adam Reynolds.

13. New Zealand Warriors (16)

The Warriors were the feel-good story of the weekend. Their completion rate of 46 of 48 sets was amazing. While scoring 18 points in the win over the Dragons was great, I'd like to see them do a bit more with that amount of ball. Hopefully they get that right.

14. Gold Coast Titans (15)

I know the Titans got walloped by North Queensland but I'm giving them a bit of a reprieve based on their effort. They're still learning what it takes to be first-graders week in, week out. 

15. Canterbury Bulldogs (14)

Canterbury try hard but they just don't change their attack. It's so scripted and predictable. I feel like I'm saying the same thing over and over again.

16. St George Illawarra Dragons (13)

The scoreless display against the Warriors was probably the worst I've seen the Dragons play for a long time - they didn't look like they wanted to be there. The whole organisation is really under the pump.

 

The views in this article do not necessarily express the opinions of the NRL, ARLC, NRL clubs or state associations.