NRL Power Rankings: Roosters flex Premiership muscles, Rabbitohs' struggles continue

The Anzac Round brought with it great battles on the footy field as both Australia and New Zealand, remember that NRL, commemorated the special day and remembered our fallen heroes.

The SENZ League team of play-by-play caller Sam Hewat, plus experts Blake Ayshford and Anthony Gelling, have done the math following Round 8.

Here's how they saw each matchup:

Titans def. Warriors 27-24
Fresh off their shock defeat to the Dragons last Friday, the One NZ Warriors had the chance to redeem themselves on perhaps the most momentous of occasions – an Anzac Day game at home against a team with no wins through the first seven rounds.

From the start, it looked like the Warriors would put on a historic performance, but as has been a symptom of their season so far, their fast start was quickly undone by 60 minutes of very poor play, allowing the Titans to run in 27 unanswered points.

By the time the comeback started, it was too little too late and the Warriors suffered back-to-back defeats to teams outside the top eight. They need to turn things around, and extremely quickly.

Blake Ayshford: Titans (1) Warriors (0)
Anthony Gelling: Titans (2) Warriors (1)
Sam Hewat: Titans (2) Warriors (0)

Roosters def. Dragons 60-18
Anzac Day clashes between the Roosters and Dragons are typically a tight affair with just one point separating them in 2023, and two points in 2022. Unfortunately, for the Dragons, history would not repeat itself as the Roosters finally flexed their Premiership muscles with a huge win at home.

Young Sam Walker stamped his mark with a man-of-the-match performance, plus a 10-try effort from the Roosters, meanwhile the Dragons were left reeling from Moses Suli leaving the field in the first 30 seconds thanks to a head knock, meaning Kyle Flanagan was an easy target on the vacated left edge.

Big improvements for the Roosters, but can they hold onto it against the better teams in the comp?

Blake Ayshford: Roosters (3) Dragons (0)
Anthony Gelling: Roosters (3) Dragons (0)
Sam Hewat: Roosters (3) Dragons (0)

Storm def. Rabbitohs 54-20
The Melbourne Storm and an Anzac Day riot, name a more iconic duo! At least this time, it wasn’t the Warriors.

The struggling South Sydney Rabbitohs were completely played off the park. Yes, they were better than a 54-20 scoreline suggests, but at times the lack of effort on defense and execution on attack was reminiscent of a wooden spoon side.

For Melbourne, it’s hard going past this team as a serious Premiership contender. There are still massive questions about the toughness of the forward pack when compared with Penrith, Brisbane, or even the Warriors, but where they lack in front-row stardom, they more than make up for it with Grant, Hughes, Munster, Papenhuyzen, and Coates - who together have created one of the most potent backlines in the NRL.

Blake Ayshford: Storm (3) Rabbitohs (0)
Anthony Gelling: Storm (3) Rabbitohs (0)
Sam Hewat: Storm (3) Rabbitohs (0)

Sea Eagles def. Eels 32-18
Many thought the Sea Eagles would rack up a cricket score against Eels who dished up one of the worst single-half performances against the Dolphins last week, however Clint Gutherson and Dylan Brown had other ideas.

The Eels held a 14-6 halftime lead but could have been 20-6 had they hit the conversions from their three first-half tries. Had that been the case, Manly would have been up against it clawing back a 14-point deficit against a confidence team like Paramatta.

As it happened, Manly turned the screws in the second half and the Eels could only manage one more try in the 66th minute to Maika Sivo (to finish his hat-trick), but two sin bins across the 80 minutes provided the Sea Eagles with ample opportunities to get Reuben Garrick, Tom Trbojevic, and co. into easy space.

Blake Ayshford: Sea Eagles (1) Eels (0)
Anthony Gelling: Sea Eagles (2) Eels (0)
Sam Hewat: Sea Eagles (2) Eels (0)

Broncos def. Tigers 34-10
The Broncos were up 34-0 with 10 minutes to go in Campbelltown, and perhaps would have held onto the donut if not for injuries to Reece Walsh and Adam Reynolds, but the Tigers scored two quick tries to get on the scoreboard.

Fans and pundits alike were getting a real sense of a 'full-strength' Brisbane side with Reynolds and Payne Haas back in the mix (albeit without Ezra Mam).

Brisbane are once again charging towards the top of the NRL ladder and will hope the Origin period doesn’t disrupt too many moving pieces as they look to make a second-consecutive Grand Final.

Blake Ayshford: Broncos (2) Tigers (0)
Anthony Gelling: Broncos (2) Tigers (0)
Sam Hewat: Broncos (3) Tigers (0)

Panthers def. Cowboys 26-20
Penrith were given a real shake up in Townsville on Saturday night, just sneaking past the Cowboys despite a valiant comeback from the home team. =

The Panthers were up 18-4 at halftime and added another six points shortly after, but three tries in twelve minutes for the Cowboys set up a grand-stand finish.

Nathan Cleary, back from a hamstring injury, iced a penalty goal in the 70th minute to give the Panthers a six-point buffer, but there were certainly kinks in the Penrith armour that were exposed by the Cowboys, particularly on the edges.

However, until those close calls turn into loses for Penrith, they deserve to be Premiership favourites and atop the power rankings.

Blake Ayshford: Panthers (1) Cowboys (0)
Anthony Gelling: Panthers (2) Cowboys (1)
Sam Hewat: Panthers (1) Cowboys (0)

Knights def. Dolphins 18-14
We said last week that a Knights team without Kalyn Ponga can essentially have a line drawn through them, but boy were we proven wrong on Sunday afternoon. The Dolphins are appearing to repeat their 2023 season with results flipping from week-to-week.

Back at Suncorp, following the big win over Paramatta, many thought they would make easy work of a Knights side struggling for both form, and a consistent starting 17.

But young David Armstrong proved a perfect replacement for Ponga at the back, and the Newcastle forward pack did a great job of limiting field position for the Dolphins, and their strike weapons out wide.

The Knights attack is definitely missing a big piece - but the defense was solid, and despite many expecting them to slide heavily down the NRL ladder, which they may still do so, they certainly won’t be falling at pace.

Blake Ayshford: Knights (1) Dolphins (0)
Anthony Gelling: Knights (1) Dolphins (0)
Sam Hewat: Knights (1) Dolphins (0)

Sharks def. Raiders 40-0
There is no doubt about it, the Sharks schedule to start 2024 has not been the most difficult, but you cannot deny this team’s Premiership potential, and the fact they are putting teams to the sword is a testament to the idea that maybe 2024 is the year they break their hoodoo and match it with the top teams in the comp.

The attack is ruthless, their defense relentless, and Nicho Hynes is making another play for a Dally M. Perhaps the most pleasing for coach Craig Fitzgibbon is the fact his team kept Canberra to zero.

Albeit a young and inexperienced Raiders team, particularly in the halves, they were still every bit as hungry, playing at home (where they were undefeated so far in 2024) and eager to get back to winning ways.

The Sharks are a serious top four contender, and shouldn’t suffer as much as other teams through the Origin period.

Blake Ayshford: Sharks (3) Raiders (0)
Anthony Gelling: Sharks (3) Raiders (0)
Sam Hewat: Sharks (3) Raiders (0)

SENZ League Rankings after Round 8:

1. Panthers (1st previous week)
2. Broncos (2)
3. Sharks (3)
4. Storm (5)
5. Sea Eagles (4)
6. Roosters (10)
7. Warriors (6)
8. Bulldogs (8)
9. Raiders (9)
10. Dolphins (7)
11. Cowboys (11)
12. Eels (12)
13. Dragons (13)
14. Knights (15)
15. Tigers (14)
16. Titans (17)
17. Rabbitohs (16)

HOW IT WORKS

Each week, our NRL experts award points to each team for their performance over the weekend while also taking into account difficulty of opposition, playing at home/away, injuries etc. Points are generally awarded in the following manner:

0 points: Poor performance in a losing effort. 1 point: Good performance in a losing effort, or disappointing effort in winning effort. 2 points: Good performance in a winning effort. 3 points: Strong and dominant performance in a winning effort. 4 points: Exceptional performance in a winning effort.

At the end of each round, the points are tallied and teams are adjusted up and down accordingly. For teams on a bye, they will receive one point from each expert.