Round 5 Power Rankings are in…midway through Round 6. My apologies! The ratings were done on Tuesday but I only managed to scrape the time together to fix it all up this weekend.

Slain Dragons – All Rankers: St George took a hammering in the rankings this week. They were ranked highest at 14th and lowest at 16th after getting put through the cleaners by the Cowboys. The bottom four of the power rankings has been almost exclusively occupied by the Knights, Roosters, Warriors and Sea Eagles up until now so it is certainly noteworthy that the awful form of the Dragons proved compelling enough to warrant a spot there in this week’s rankings.

Unfazed Eels – Forty20/DK Eel: While Sixties, Miatch and Chris all dropped the Eels to fifth spot on their rankings following the loss to Penrith, Forty20 and DK Eel only had them slipping one position down to third. Canberra and Cronulla were the teams to prosper from the last minute slip up by the Eels.

Prowling Panthers – sixtiesboy: The ranker that put the most stock in the upset victory by Penrith in Round 5 was sixtiesboy who slotted the boys from Penrith in at seventh in his rankings. That is a jump of four places from his Round 4 rankings. The Eels have proven they can mix it with the heavyweight in the competition so the 20-18 victory for Griffin’s men is a fair scalp!

See how the crew at TCT individually ranked the results from Round 3 as well as some of the maths behind the rankings!

1 (+2)		Fortress Townsville remains unbreached in 2016 as the Cowboys systematically dissected a St George outfit that is looking increasingly ordinary. Lachlan Coote is driving his market value up with each passing week and Round 5 was no exception as he steered the reigning premiers to a comprehensive 36-0. I had reservations about their hunger levels coming into 2016 given the relatively advanced age of their squad after their breakthrough premiership but they are looking ominous. Parramatta’s return fixture up in Townsville will be an absolute cracker in a couple of weeks.
2 (-1)		The plucky Gold Coast Titans pushed the Broncos for the majority of the match but Wayne Bennett’s men finished too strongly in the QLD derby. James Roberts again flashed his potential after a slow start to the season and as he continues to find his feet the Brisvegas juggernaut will roll on stronger than ever. They are narrowly unseated at the top of the power rankings due to a 3/2 split in voting between themselves and the Cowboys – due to the nature of the victories each club enjoyed in Round 5. While Anthony Milford has carried the bulk of the play-making responsibility in the opening month of footy, his partner in the halves Ben Hunt is finally warming to the task again and any team looking to beat the Broncos will have to bring their ‘A’ game as a result.
3 (+5)		The Raiders launched themselves up the power rankings this week following a masterful demolition job of the Bulldogs at their sacred Belmore home. The 22-8 victory was far more compelling on tape than the scoreline suggests and the return of their first choice halves had plenty to do with it. Aidan Sezer in particular was clinical in pinning the Bulldogs on the back-foot and English import Josh Hodgson was electric up the middle – continuing a thoroughly brilliant individual start to the season. They now face the Eels and Sharks in the next two weeks which will test them after a breezy opening to the season. If they win out they will cement their position at the top of the table.
4 (+2)		It was an old fashioned shootout in the the West on Saturday which saw the Sharks prevail over the Wests-Tigers 34-26. The drama was thick and heavy throughout this game as concerns over ‘The Bunker’ were given life due to inconsistent applications of the obstruction rule. The Sharks were on the rough end of these calls but remained composed enough to see off the Tigers in the high scoring affair. Leaking 26 points will be a concern to coach Flanagan but the Tigers are one of the more enterprising attacking teams in the competition. Conversely, he will likely be pleased with the fact that the attacking opportunities for his own charges came from across the park.
5 (-3)		Round 5 brought a small fall from grace for the Eels in the power rankings. A last minute heart-breaker against Penrith is obviously the headline reason for the fall here but it was more so the manner it which the Eels lost. The team looked fatigued after a brutal opening to the 2016 campaign. The defence, while still willing, was missing the grit and pure aggression that had been the calling card of the squad in the first month of footy and as a result the Panthers scored some soft tries and became the first team to crack 20 points against the Eels in 2016. The attack was a hot mess with passes consistently hitting the ground and decoy/option runners constantly finding themselves in the wrong position. This all culminated in the final 10 minuntes of play when the Eels have only two of the final seven sets in possession. The loss will serve as a stinging reminder of how easily you can lose your way if you are just a fraction off your game and while Penrith are certainly a respectable outfit, the Eels could have easily put that game to bed if they kept true to their structures. Does anyone really think Brad Arthur will let them perform at such a poor level for two weeks in a row?
6 (-1)		They won which is a positive for their stake in the power rankings…but it was a torrid effort over the lowly Newcastle Knights – not sure a boon in the eyes of the five TCT rankers! The 18-14 victory was ugly and arguably undeserved with the Storm getting their traditional hand-up in the ruck in the final stanza of play. Regardless, the Storm found a way to notch up the win when Richie Kennar crossed out wide in the 73rd minute. Easily their least convincing effort of the year but much like the Eels, who are just above them, they have the runs of the board to hold their spot in the Top 8 of the power rankings.
7 (-3)		There is little positive to take out of the 22-8 loss to Canberra for the Bulldogs save for perhaps the fact that Des Hasler is unlikely to let them put in a similar effort in Round 6. The Eels showed the rest of the NRL the way to beat the Dogs in Round 3 and the forward pack of the Raiders followed suit by pounding their opposites into submission. Hasler will be keen to string some wins together in the upcoming rounds before he begins the search for a fullback that is willing to play on Sundays through Rounds 10-12.
8 (+4)		One of the big movers this week. The Panthers downed their arch-rivals the Eels in an entertaining, if slightly low quality, encounter. Matt Moylan made a triumphant return to the NRL and was solid at the back for the Panthers while Bryce Cartwright was a dominant focal point in attack. ‘The Bunker’ made a profound intervention late in the game to gift the Panthers possession in a controversial over turn of a knock-on call but Anthony Griffin’s men did themselves little harm by refusing to be put away by the Eels. It is hard to tell if they are currently playing at their peak in the role of gritty spoilers or if they still have a solid amount of growth in them.
9 (=)		It looked like the Rabbitohs were going to run up a cricket score on Manly when they were positioned at 16-0 after 16 minutes. As it were, they would go on to to channel the Dragons in failing to score another point for the rest of the game and barely hold on to beat the Sea Eagles 16-12. Cameron McInnes was the difference between the two teams in the Round 5 fixture, scoring an exceedingly useful double. Sam Burgess was a much needed inclusion but they desperately need Adam Reynolds back.
10 (=)		It could have been so much worse for the Tigers. While they were competitive in the 34-26 loss to the Sharks the game started in near disastrous circumstances when James Tedesco was taken off for what looked to be a very serious head injury. Fortunately ‘Teddy’ made a swift recovery (perhaps miraculous in the context of the concussion rules) and very nearly carried the Tigers to victory. Mitchell Moses was a solid contributor for the joint-venture club but alarm bells must be ringing now in regards to Luke Brooks who has been nothing short of terrible to date in 2016. Still, the Tigers are still holding a relatively healthy place on the ladder and remain in contention for a Top 8 berth down the track.
11 (-3)		Probably the unluckiest sliders of the week. The Titans ended up going down to their ‘big brother’ club the Broncos but they certainly acquitted themselves well. Ashley Taylor continued his strong start to the year and gives fans of the club something to genuinely look forward to for when he eventually partners up with 2015 sensation Kane Elgey. Journeyman forward Zeb Taia wound back the clock for a night as he scored a nifty double but it proved to be too little as the Titans mounted a late comeback. Definitely one of the most interesting neutral teams to be following in 2016!
12 (+1)		The Warriors made it two in a row as they strung together wins over fellow cellar dwellers in the Knights and the Roosters. The golden point victory over the Roosters would have been particularly sweet for ex-Rooster Roger Tuivasa-Sheck who iced the game with a fantastic try brought about by the prodigiously talented Tui Lolohea. They still look wildly inconsistent but at the very least they are getting points on the board in attack.
13 (+1)		Did the Warriors find their mojo? The Cumberland Throw remain unconvinced. After heading into the sheds at half time locked at 12-all with the Newcastle Knights, the Warriors flicked a switch in the second stanza and ran away 40-18 victors. Ben Matulino led the way for the Warriors while Roger Tuivasa-Sheck continues to make positive steps back towards his best form but they will need to show they can slug it out with a half-way decent team before can come into serious consideration for climbing the power rankings.
14 (+1)		Deserved to climb the rankings slightly after taking the Storm to the limit. Easily their most committed effort of the season but they will need to find a way to bottle the attitude on display in Round 5 in order to compete consistently. Round 6 is shaping up as a winnable fixture though as they play host to the Wests-Tigers.
15 (-4)		The Dragons are in free fall in the power rankings. Switching Josh Dugan back to fullback might be getting more out of their marquee man but the men in red and white have deeply rooted issues in their attack. They have scored 40pts in five rounds of footy and while the statistic itself is bad it is even worse on tape where they look woefully bereft of any inspiration or spark. The partnership between Marshall and Widdop is flat lining and coach McGregor needs to find the fix as soon as possible.
16 (=)		0-5. The number speaks for itself and for that reason the Roosters remain anchored to the bottom of the power rankings. There were signs of life against the Warriors as they took the game to extra time but their former custodian Tuivasa-Sheck cut the heart out of the team when he streaked away to steal the win. 30pts gets you into the Top 8 in most years which means you can budget for 11 losses throughout the season. After the horror start they have undergone the Roosters can only afford 6 more losses throughout 2016. That is some handicap!

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