We have something new for the 2025 NRL season. With last season's final table acting as a starting order, each week we will move teams up, down or nowhere at all, depending on their performances on the weekend.
This week the Bulldogs have lost their spot at the top of the board, with the magnificent Green Machine on the rise. The Storm and Cowboys both found ladders, while the Dragons and Panthers stepped on some nasty snakes.
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.
Raiders - ladder up 1
Canberra hosted the Dolphins and continued their recent good form, winning the early exchanges before scoring the first try in the corner. With the Dolphins down a man, thanks to another sin binning, the home team looked to build on their advantage, but found themselves under pressure following a mistake from the kick-off. The Dolphins went on to dominate the first half, taking a 28-10 lead to the break. Whatever Ricky Stuart said in the sheds worked a treat as the Green Machine clicked into gear in the second half, scoring five unanswered tries to run away with the competition points and find themselves atop the snakes and ladders board.
2.
Storm - ladder up 2
Melbourne welcomed the Rabbitohs in front of a big Anzac Day crowd and started the game in typically methodical style. They broke through in the 12th minute, through a play down the right-hand side, which finished in a try to Ryan Papenhuyzen. The Bunnies levelled things up shortly after following an error by Stefano Utoikamanu. Souths scored again to take a 10-6 lead, but crucially the Storm crossed just before halftime to take the score to 10-10. With greater ball control and a tightening of their defence, the Storm regained the lead in the second half and were never headed.
3.
Bulldogs - ladder down 2
The unbeaten Bulldogs could not have started their clash with the Broncos any worse. Dropping the ball cold trying to spread it during the opening set on their own 20 metre line, they soon conceded a simple try with an inside runner embarrassing Reed Mahoney. After taking a bomb on the full in-goal, the Broncos then marched downfield before Payne Haas put Adam Reynolds over for another soft try, as the rain tumbled down. They weren't finished, as Josh Curren and Sitili Tupouniua spent 10 minutes each in the sin bin and Matt Burton went off for a HIA, the Broncos scored another four first half tries to lead 34-0 at the break. The Bulldogs fought back in the second half, but were never in the game, having a third player sent to the sin bin to kill off any real hope.
4.
Cowboys - ladder up 2
North Queensland hosted the Gold Coast and Jake Clifford started the scoring with a try through a soft Titans' middle. The Titans managed to turn the momentum scoring the next three tries, including one from a blatantly forward short ball. Clifford was sent to the sin bin for a professional foul and the Cowboys struck next through a try to Jeremiah Nanai. With half an hour remaining in the game, the Cowboys levelled the scores at 18-18. It was all Cowboys from there on as they opened the Titans up, running in a further six tries including a penalty try thrown in to give Robert Derby his hat trick.
5.
Sharks - snake down 2
Cronulla visited a packed Leichhardt Oval and were frustrated early by the orange jerseys which swarmed in defence stifling their attack, even though they had plenty of ball. They tried out wide, they tried up the middle, but were unable to break through until some brilliant ad-lib football right on halftime. Into the second half they worked their way back into the game, without being able to take control. At 18-18, with the clock winding down, Nicho Hynes hit the upright with a drop goal attempt from near halfway. The game went to golden point where Tom Hazelton was penalised for a strip in front of the posts, giving the game to the Tigers.
6.
Broncos - ladder up 1
Brisbane Broncos took on the undefeated Bulldogs on a rainy Thursday night and soon showed that tales of their impenetrable defence were mere myths. Within 20 minutes they had crossed for four converted tries, carving the shell-shocked visitors up in the soggy conditions. Adam Reynolds was putting on a wet weather kicking clinic, setting up two tries with kicks to his winger and a 40/20. Into the second half the Broncos took their foot off the gas to an extent and the Bulldogs scored three tries of their own, but the home team were always in control, completely outplaying the pumped up visitors.
7.
Warriors - ladder up 1
New Zealand welcomed the struggling Knights to Christchurch and opened the scoring after eight minutes with Adam Pompey crossing out wide. It took a further 20 minutes for them to trouble the scorers again, with Jackson Ford scoring after the Knights failed to deal with a bomb. It wasn't until the 50th minute of the game that the Knights cracked the Warriors defence. The Warriors were never in danger of losing, but may have been disappointed with letting the Knights score two tries.
8.
Tigers - ladder up 2
At a Leichhardt Oval packed with Tigers fans, Lachlan Galvin set about proving his commitment to the cause, at least for now. He was at his busy best and set up the first try of the match, sticking his head through the Sharks' line before popping a clever pass to Samuela Fainu. The next try came through simple chain passing and a powerful Starford To'a fend to put Sunia Turuva over. Unfortunately the Tigers couldn't stop the Sharks from scoring just before the break. The Tigers scored first in the second half before fading, allowing the Sharks to level the scores at 18-18 and take the game into golden point extra time. Awarded a penalty for a strip, right in front, Adam Doueihi stepped up and collected two well-deserved competition points.
9.
Dragons - snake down 4
It was obvious from the first set that the Dragons were going to be up against it yet again on Anzac Day. The Roosters rolled easily through the middle of their defence and used that platform to dominate the rest of the first half. While the Dragons were gallant up against a huge imbalance of possession and territory, five-eighth Sandon Smith's try for the Chooks shortly before halftime was a dagger blow. And things didn't improve for the Dragons after the break. Shane Flanagan's side need more starch in defence if they're to be a true finals contender. The pressure is growing on halfback Lachlan Ilias, too.
10.
Dolphins - snake down 1
The Dolphins took on the red-hot Raiders in Canberra and were caught in an arm-wrestle early, before another high contact sin binning saw five-eighth Kodi Nikorima leave the field. The home side marched down field to score the first try in the corner following some Sebastian Kris magic. Isaiya Katoa stepped up in Nikorima's absence and led the Dolphins attack brilliantly, setting up a try to Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow after 25 minutes. On Nikorima's return he put Herbie Farnworth through for the Dolphins second try and a 12-4 lead. The Dolphins dominated the rest of the half to lead 28-10 at the break. Unfortunately they left their best in the sheds and were blown away in the second half, conceding five tries in a very disappointing effort.
11.
Sea Eagles - ladder up 3
The Sea Eagles headed west with Tom Trbojevic returning to take on the struggling Panthers. Manly were prepared to throw the ball around, while the Panthers played a more conservative game. The visitors were rewarded with an early try on the back of a run of possession. Their second came from a clever tap on from Tommy Turbo to put Tommy Talau over in the corner. The Panthers stormed back after the break, but some desperation in defence from the Sea Eagles helped them hold on to a 14-10, before a penalty goal, a try from a bomb and another from a beautifully executed play saw them skip away to a 26-10 victory.
12.
Rabbitohs - snake down 1
The Bunnies hopped down to Melbourne where they have historically had an awful time. After struggling early Jack Wighton crossed in the 16th minute for the first of his two tries for the night. Souths hit the lead nine minutes out from the break, but would have been disappointed with allowing the Storm to level the scores at 10-10 right on halftime. In the second half the Storm asserted their authority scoring the next two tries before Wighton completed his double late in the game. The Bunnies competed well all night, but the Storm seemingly always had the result under control.
13.
Eels - bye - steady
14.
Panthers - snake down 2
Penrith hosted the Sea Eagles at CommBank Stadium with both sides struggling and out of the Top 8. The Panthers' defence has been far from its best this year and the Sea Eagles were able to split them early for the first try. The Panthers were making handling errors early, something that was also not part of their dynasty. The Sea Eagles crossed again out wide and with a man in the bin and trailing 12-0 the Panthers trudged off for oranges. After the break the Panthers fired up and scored two tries to get to 14-10 down. The Panthers of old would have bulldozed their way to victory from there, but uncharacteristic errors and a determined Manly defence strangled their fightback. The Panthers let in a further two tries to find themselves last on the NRL ladder after eight rounds.
15.
Roosters - ladder up 1
It's hard to get a read on the Roosters this season. One week, they're brilliant. The next, just plain awful. But they certainly came to Allianz Stadium ready to play on Friday afternoon. With their forwards laying a wonderful platform from the outset, they rammed home their dominance of field position with four first-half tries. Sandon Smith had his best game for the team, scoring 22 of the Roosters' 46 points, and was rewarded with Ashton-Collier Spirit of ANZAC Medal as a result. The key now for Trent Robinson is to get his side playing like this every week.
16.
Knights - snake down 1
Newcastle continued the curse of being unable to score points as they struggled with luck against the Warriors in New Zealand. The bounce of the ball and poor handling saw them miss several chances, while the Warriors built a 16-0 halftime lead. The Knights were the first to score after the break, but then conceded the next two tries. Once again they were their own worse enemy, particularly with the ball.
17.
Titans - steady
Gold Coast headed north to tackle the Cowboys hoping to record just their third win of the season. They struggled with their completions early and conceded a soft try, before striking back to score the next three tries through some paper-thin Cowboys' defence. The Titans held a 18-12 lead into the second half, before the Cowboys worked them out, running them ragged out wide to bring up the dreaded half century.