Soward: Concerns for heavyweights as top eight shuffles

Some teams in the bottom half enjoyed good wins last weekend, but I need to see more consistency before moving them up the Power Rankings.

There was big movement inside our top eight, however, with my concerns growing about a couple of powerhouses.

1. Sydney Roosters (Last week: 2)

There were a few slight queries around whether the Roosters were truly flying or whether they had benefited from a soft draw after the layoff. They extinguished any doubts with a great win over the Eels. They have so much depth and everyone knows their job.

2. Parramatta Eels (1)

I don't think the scoreboard reflected how tough the game was against the Roosters. There were so many lessons for the Eels to take out of it, especially around what to do after getting to a lead. A defeat like that can do the world of good.

3. Manly Sea Eagles (5)

The gutsy win over Canberra amid a slew of injuries was the best in the club's recent history. I've been trending Manly up for a while, but with Tom Trbojevic and Dylan Walker out, it's going to be hard to continue their run.

4. Newcastle Knights (6)

Their forwards are running hard, Mitchell Pearce is dominating, Kalyn Ponga is weaving his magic and everyone else is filling their role. If Newcastle can capitalise on a few more chances, they'll put teams away quite quickly.

I still think they're a few pieces away, but I've got to give a rap to Kurt Mann, who I've been pretty hard on.

5. Penrith Panthers (7)

Nathan Cleary is growing into a leader who is happy barking orders for the full 80 minutes. It was nice to see Penrith execute at the right time against Melbourne. The challenge for this young side is backing it up against the Rabbitohs.

6. Canberra Raiders (3)

I'm most worried about Canberra at the moment with their attack. They've lost some direction since they beat the Storm in round three playing ad-lib footy. They haven't been able to do that with teams defending them resolutely.

7. Melbourne Storm (4)

Apart from pre-season stuff, I think it's the lowest I've ever had the Storm. They're skinny on outside backs right now and they missed Josh Addo-Carr against Penrith.

Cam Munster is in fantastic form, but there are a few uncharacteristic errors in Melbourne's game. They should beat the Warriors easily but I'm still worried.

8. Wests Tigers (8)

They should have beaten the Cowboys and they did. I'm in a bit of a holding pattern with the Tigers until they show consistency.

9. South Sydney Rabbitohs (9)

After a couple of easy wins, South Sydney's test is against Penrith on Thursday night. I expect fireworks. I didn't reward the Rabbitohs for victories over the Titans and Warriors but I think they can get the choccies over the Panthers.

10. Cronulla Sharks (10)

I think Matt Moylan needs to be in the halves with Chad Townsend. Shaun Johnson played OK on Sunday but I feel Moylan was more of a threat in the first half.

Wade Graham looks like he enjoys having Moylan around the ball with him. Cronulla weren't convincing against the Dogs but they had to scrap to get the win.

11. St George Illawarra (13)

The Dragons are past an easy part of their draw with the Roosters lying in wait. I saw a few signs that they can compete against the premiers, but there's still no fluency to their attack. They're trying to play over the advantage line but there's no real structure if that doesn't work.

12. Warriors (12)

It would've been easy to put the Warriors down the ladder with the drama they're dealing with, but I gave them some leeway. The old adage is that when you change a coach, you get a response the next week. I'm not expecting them to beat Melbourne this round but I'm anticipating a better effort.

13. Canterbury Bulldogs (14)

Canterbury tried so hard again but they just lack some polish. I probably could have had them a bit higher. It's nice to see them competing.

14. Brisbane Broncos (11)

Brisbane are playing uninspired. There's no talk between the halves, no direction, and the forwards aren't being told what to do so they're running roughshod over Brodie Croft and Anthony Milford. Poor.

15. North Queensland Cowboys (15)

They could have been last if they didn't fight back in the second half against the Tigers. Paul Green is under a lot of pressure and so are the players. They can score points but they just leak so many. Not looking good at the moment.

16. Titans (16)

Justin Holbrook will be really disappointed, not necessarily in their competing but some of their play. They had plenty of early ball against the Dragons but they didn't come away with points while leaking some soft tries at the other end.

 

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