We have something new for the 2025 NRL season. With last season's final ladder positions acting as a starting order, each week we will move teams up, down or nowhere at all, depending on their performances on the weekend.
For example, this weekend it was pretty clear that the Roosters had landed on a big snake, tumbling down the rankings, while the Broncos found a healthy ladder in the same game. The Panthers, were, the Panthers but didn't impress enough to climb above the Storm who were emphatic in their victory over the Eels.
The results won't match the 2025 NRL competition ladder, but will give an alternative indication of how well each team is traveling.
Last year's finishing order: 1. Storm, 2. Panthers, 3. Roosters, 4. Sharks, 5. Cowboys, 6. Bulldogs, 7. Sea Eagles, 8. Knight, 9. Raiders, 10. Dolphins, 11. Dragons, 12. Broncos, 13. Warriors, 14. Titans, 15. Eels, 16. Rabbitohs, 17. Tigers
1.
Storm - steady
Melbourne Storm play at a different pace to most other NRL teams, against the Eels they were playing a completely different game. With the Eels continuously back-pedalling, the Storm backs ran rampant on the back of a dominant pack. There was some rust which showed in a couple of blown tries and late defensive lapses, but once they fine tune their game, they will be very hard to stop. They are premiership favourites for a reason.
2.
Panthers - steady
The champions proved in Vegas that they remain serious premiership threats, despite much speculation over how they would cope following the loss of Jarome Luai and James Fisher-Harris. It seems the Clearys, Ivan and Nathan, have everything under control and are moving towards a ridiculous fifth successive title. Their victory over the Sharks was early evidence that you should never write off a champion.
3.
Sea Eagles - ladder up 4
The Sea Eagles at Brookvale are formidable, but the Cowboys promised to give them a real test in Round 1. That promise turned into a complete joke as Tom Trbojevic and the rest of the lads in maroon and white ran roughshod over the North Queenslanders. So dominant were the Sea Eagles that the Cowboys barely seemed to ever have the ball. Veteran half Daly Cherry-Evans conducted the orchestra as the Manly forwards rumbled through the Cowboys, before unleashing the silky backs.
4.
Bulldogs - ladder up 2
The Bulldogs picked up where they left off last season with a gutsy, somewhat unconvincing, victory over a team they were expected to beat. There was a point in the second half where they really should have buried the Dragons, but instead allowed them right back into the game. They will have to put in a more consistent 80-minute effort to beat the better teams.
5.
Sharks - snake down 1
This was a big opportunity for the Sharks to show the NRL that they are serious contenders in 2025, after falling a game short of the grand final last year. They had a more settled lineup, but where the Panthers had lost their premier front-row forward, the Sharks had signed one in Addin Fonua-Blake. It wasn't enough to tip the scales in their favour, with Nicho Hynes failing to match the brilliance of Nathan Cleary and the Sharks making too many errors with and without the ball.
6.
Raiders - ladder up 3
The Raiders entered the 2025 season with plenty of questions over their ability to make the finals, with some suggesting they were a better chance of taking out the wooden spoon. With very little offseason recruitment, coach Ricky Stuart has relied on the young talent the club has been nurturing through the grades. It all came together nicely for the opening game of the year in Las Vegas, with the Raiders outside backs setting the Allegiant Stadium surface alight. Sebastian Kris and Xavier Savage picked up doubles, while Matthew Timoko also crossed for a four-pointer. Good early signs for the Green Machine.
7.
Knights - ladder up 1
With Kalyn Ponga showing some moments of magic, the Knights finished over the top of the hapless Tigers in Campbelltown. However, coach Adam O'Brien nearly blew the top off his head in the first half as the Knights made error after error to let the Tigers take a 8-0 halftime lead. The shreds he tore off his players during the break worked wonders and they will be happy to come away with the points with plenty of improvement left in the tank.
8.
Broncos - ladder up 4
The Broncos were flustered by the fast-moving Roosters, but were applying their own hustle in the early exchanges. New signing Ben Hunt slotted into the five-eighth position nicely and helped set up Brisbane's first try, to get the ball rolling. Once they broke the back of the Roosters they showed all their class in running up a cricket score. Everyone predicted an improved performance from the Broncos this season, this opening victory well and truly confirmed that.
9.
Roosters - snake down 6
Most people expected a decline for the Roosters this season, but they jumped out of the gates early against the Broncos and were looking sharp. Then, just 12 minutes into the first half, Victor Radley knocked himself out on James Tedesco's shoulder and minutes later the Broncos were in for their first try. It was all downhill from there as the Roosters struggled to hold the Broncos up the middle. Their capitulation bordered on embarrassing and does not bode well for the rest of the season.
10.
Cowboys - snake down 5
After achieving so much last season, the Cowboys completely folded against Sea Eagles, barely firing a shot at Brookvale. Their only points came late in the game, when just about everyone had packed up, after Manly had built a 42-0 lead. As impressive as Manly were, the Cowboys offered as much resistance as butter to a hot knife.
11.
Dragons - snake down 2
The Dragons ran out their new lineup full of hope for a better year. With Damien Cook looking sluggish, Clint Gutherson ineffective as a final line of defence, and Valentine Holmes and Lachlan Illias having mixed performances, the Dragons look set for another long year, although their second half fightback saved them from a bigger slide here and did suggest there could be improvement in them.
12.
Dolphins - snake down 2
The Dolphins may have had other things on their minds, what with a cyclone bearing down on their homes, but their inability to finish a game they could have easily won would have disappointed fans. They dominated the early parts of the second half and looked like they could have run away with the points, but they just couldn't crack the tenacious Bunnies.
13.
Rabbitohs - ladder up 3
The Rabbitohs weren't expected to beat the Dolphins, but everyone knew they would put up one hell of a fight with Wayne Bennett in the coach's box. That's exactly what they did, as the Dolphins threw everything at them in attack and defence and they managed to match them, and ultimately finish on top. It was an impressive performance with much improvement remaining.
14.
Titans - bye - steady
15.
Warriors - snake down 2
Could the Warriors have been any more disappointing in their start to the 2025 season? Just when you think they may have recruited the vital ingredient to see their performances step up a notch, they slop together the insipid display we all saw from them in Las Vegas against the Raiders. Do they have enough improvement in them to turn things around? You'd certainly hope so.
16.
Tigers - ladder up 1
The Jarome Luai era started promisingly with the champion half leading the Tigers all over the park to go into the break 8-0 up against the Knights. The crowd at Campbelltown stood as one to applaud the new-age Tigers off the field. Unfortunately, they failed to win the second half, eventually going down 10-8 in a performance that looked promising, despite the costly fade. Despite the loss, they rise by one because they looked more promising than last season and because the Eels really deserve to be below them.
17.
Eels - snake down 2
Parramatta had an off season clean-out under new coach Jason Ryles and early indications are that they have a long painful rebuild season ahead of them. They had no answers for the lightening ruck speed, the big forwards and elusive backs of the Storm. Without Mitchell Moses they will have to find someone else to lead them around the park. Fullback Isaiah Iongi showed plenty of promise despite all the last line of defence pressure he was put under.