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After four full rounds of the NRL season, it is time to evaluate the teams. Who are the premiership favourite(s)? Who are legitimate contenders? And which teams should be looking towards the 2027 season.
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Top contender
Panthers
The Panthers stand alone at the top of the premiership ladder and in the minds of many as the team to beat this season. This time last year they were fumbling to integrate some youngsters into their well-proven system, after losing some key players including Jarome Luai. This season those same players, including Thomas Jenkins, Casey McLean and Blaize Talagi, look like seasoned NRL stars and the results speak for themselves. Can anyone match their defensive intensity and attacking precision?
Serious threats, once they get their act together
Storm
Broncos
Warriors
In any other season you would expect Melbourne Storm to rate a mention in the contenders tier, but they have looked decidedly vulnerable in losing their last two games. Still, with one of the best coaches in the league and a star-studded spine, they can’t be far away from clicking into their devastating best form. Once they do, they will prove to be a match for the best of them.
The reigning premiers Brisbane have been slow out of the blocks this season, suffering from the dreaded World Club Championship hangover, as well as being the team that everyone is desperate to beat. In the last couple of weeks, they have shown signs that they are heading back towards their best form. They will be there for the big games come season’s end and at their very best will threaten again.
The Warriors are an interesting prospect. Off to a flying start, they have been excelling behind the halfback play of Tanah Boyd. Last week against the Tigers they brought last year’s star half Luke Metcalf back from his ACL rehabilitation. It seemed to rattle them and they lost a virtually unlosable game. If they can integrate Metcalf back into the team alongside Boyd and get the best out of both of them, and return to their free flowing, high-impact play, they could seriously threaten.
Plenty of improvement left in these
Roosters
Rabbitohs
Sharks
Bulldogs
Raiders
The Roosters look like a team trying to integrate a veteran star half into their systems. It is going to take time for them to get the best out of the Daly Cherry-Evans – Sam Walker combination, but there have been some promising signs. The Rabbitohs are having halfback issues of their own, but when they click they are very hard to beat.
Speaking of trouble in the halves, the Bulldogs are a complete enigma — to their fans and coaching staff alike. They really have to sort out some key positional questions and find some forward domination behind which they can build some attacking spark. If they ever manage to pull all the pieces together, they could easily climb the ladder and find themselves in the next tier of these ratings.
The Sharks are a team that always look likely to win, but seem to stumble at the most unlikely of hurdles. They will get better as they warm to the season, but key injuries could completely derail them at any time. The Raiders meanwhile are rediscovering themselves without the steadying hand and boot of Jamal Fogarty. With their lethal backline talent, they too have enormous upside once they get their act together.
Season pretenders
Tigers
Knights
Dolphins
Eels
Sea Eagles
These are the teams that are going to break the hearts of their fans. Showing plenty of potential, but just falling short when everything is on the line.
The Tigers were hoping to finally break into the Top 8 this season and things looked promising, until Jarome Luai was injured. To confound everyone, they beat the Warriors without him, but it is hard to see them maintaining a run at this point in time.
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Similarly, the Dolphins had high hopes of playing finals for the first time ever, but inconsistency continues to haunt them. They look strong on paper and on their day are a formidable opponent, but putting together a full 80 minutes is proving difficult.
The Knights have flown out of the blocks early, even winning games without several of their star players. It promises to be their best season for a long time, but it is hard to see them continuing to threaten the top teams.
The Eels are set to let their fans down once again, after a mixed start to the season. They are also a threat when everything falls into place, but struggle when presented with adversity.
The Sea Eagles are only in this tier based on the potential uplift of a coach axing. Kieran Foran is a very popular former player and it will be interesting to see whether the players rally behind him, or continue in the feckless fashion with which they started the season.
Pack up the witches hats, start planning for 2027
Cowboys
Dragons
Titans
The Cowboys surprised everyone with an upset victory over the Storm last week, which might make fans a bit shirty about their appearance in this tier. Despite that gutsy performance, their form for the rest of the month has been ordinary and they don’t yet deserve to be considered for the higher tiers.
Speaking of ordinary, the Dragons have yet to break their duck for the season and look keen to live up to their wooden spoon favouritism. They have been competitive in games but can’t quite manage a full 80 minutes.
The Titans did break through for their first victory last week against the Dragons, but beating the worst team in the competition still only makes you the second worst team in the competition. They look set for another long and painful season.
