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 we had seven teams take a bye weekend off, so there are a lot of teams that remained static. Still there was some movement at the top of the board, as the Bulldogs stepped on a Dolphins flavoured snake.
The results won't match the 2025 NRL competition ladder, but will give an alternative indication of how well each team is travelling.
Last year's finishing order: 1. Storm, 2. Panthers, 3. Roosters, 4. Sharks, 5. Cowboys, 6. Bulldogs, 7. Sea Eagles, 8. Knights, 9. Raiders, 10. Dolphins, 11. Dragons, 12. Broncos, 13. Warriors, 14. Titans, 15. Eels, 16. Rabbitohs, 17. Tigers
1.
Raiders - ladder up 3
Canberra crossed the ditch to challenge the Warriors for second position on the competition ladder. The quality of play was befitting these two much-improved sides, as they probed for weaknesses early like two heavyweight contenders. The Raiders looked certain to break the record for set restarts conceded and on the back of a mountain of ball the Warriors skipped to a 8-0 lead. Reduced to 12 men, the Raiders were next to score, cutting through the middle of the defence for a try. As the rain tumbled the players went to the break at 8-8. With plenty of set restarts going their way in the second half the Raiders scored the only try and managed to hold on to their 16-10 lead.
2.
Bulldogs - snake down 1
The Bulldogs hosted the Dolphins in conditions much more suited to the marine mammals. The visitors scored first thanks to some brilliant finishing from Jamayne Isaako in the corner, before the Bulldogs levelled the scores at 8-8 after a spilt bomb on the Dolphins try line. In the shadows off halftime Reed Mahony knocked on from the base of a scrum while cosplaying as a halfback, before throwing a shocker from dummy-half not long after. In the ensuing possession the Dolphins crossed again to go to the break 14-8 up. Down 20-8 after another Dolphins try, the Bulldogs struck back with Jake Turpin going over from five metres out, only for the first forward pass call in three months to incorrectly rule against it. It was game over from there as the Bulldogs all but stopped tackling and the Dolphins ran up an embarrassing total.
3.
Sharks - snake down 1
Cronulla travelled to Gosford full of confidence ahead of their clash with the Roosters, but after just 10 minutes were down 12-0 with Mawene Hiroti flat footed as Daniel Tupou flew over him to score two tries. The Sharks looked disorganised, had trouble completing their sets and they failed to shut down the Roosters who ran through, around and over their defence. It was a game they turned up expecting to win, which in itself may have been half the problem. Just when their campaign looked to be on track, they suffered this unexpected derailment.
4.
Warriors - snake down 1
Winter and the Raiders arrived in Auckland for a Top 4 battle set to be a cracker. After a steady start, the Warriors were given a mountain of tackle restarts and finally took a penalty shot in front for the early lead, before scoring the first try to Roger Tuivasa-Sheck in the corner. It looked like it was going to be all Warriors as the Raiders were reduced to 12 players, but somehow the scores were locked up at 8-8 at the break, with the help of a penalty for players being in front of a goal line drop out. The referee turned the flood of tackle restarts in favour of the Raiders in the second half and they were able to score the only try to take the points.
5.
Storm - steady - bye
6.
Dolphins - ladder up 4
The Dolphins took on the ladder-leading Bulldogs in atrocious conditions as the rain pelted down throughout the night at Accor Stadium. They managed to score first and build a 14-8 halftime lead. More importantly they were able to break the back of the Bulldogs recently fabled second-half fightbacks, tackling hard and often, rattling the Bulldogs and enjoying the spoils of the many subsequent handling errors. They scored five second-half tries, with three in the final seven minutes, handling the ball as though it was a sunny afternoon.
7.
Cowboys - steady - bye
8.
Rabbitohs - steady - bye
9.
Sea Eagles - snake down 3
Manly trekked to Parramatta where the surface was unbelievably good considering the recent deluge. Matching each other early, the Sea Eagles took advantage of a couple of penalties to have Tolutau Koula's slick handling put Lehi Hopoate over in the corner. The game saw plenty of open footy, but worryingly little defence. Whoever had the ball seemed likely to score, with Manly's defence particularly porous. Hopoate crossed for another first half try, but it was all Parramatta from that point onwards. Jake Arthur and Luke Brooks combined were unable to fill the boots of the missing Daly Cherry-Evans.
10.
Roosters - ladder up 3
The Roosters hosted the Sharks in Gosford and were expected by most to finish a gallant second behind their much-improved opposition. They hit the ground running and played to a weakness, regular centre Mawene Hiroti playing on the wing for the Sharks, marking the towering aerial specialist, Daniel Tupou. Twice they kicked to him to take a 12-0 lead within 10 minutes. The Sharks scored next but were never really in the game after that, the Roosters running in seven tries to three to embarrass the Sharks and leave punters once again scratching their heads.
11.
Dragons - steady - bye
12.
Tigers - steady - bye
13.
Eels - ladder up 2
In an entertaining game, both sides seemed determined to play open footy in improving conditions. After conceding the first try, the Eels made multiple breaks up the middle, with a lack of support proving costly each time. They finally cracked the Manly defence with a kick following a kick and an amazing effort to ground the ball by winger Jordan Samrani. Their second try came from a Dylan Walker break which found support for Joash Papalii to score on debut. They went on to score a further three tries while restricting the Sea Eagles to just two first-half efforts.
14.
Broncos - steady - bye
15.
Panthers - snake down 6
Penrith have struggled enough this year with their five best players on the field, but with the burden of Origin depletion they faced a daunting task against the Knights in Bathurst. The young Panthers were unable to exhibit anything near the required defensive resolve in the first half, with the Knights cutting through to score four tries. After the break, they improved, keeping Newcastle to one field goal while crossing for their only try of the match. The loss doesn't help their cause this year, but there wasn't really much they could do about it under the circumstances.
16.
Titans - steady - bye
17.
Knights - steady
Newcastle journeyed over the mountains to meet the depleted Panthers in Bathurst. Missing star fullback Kalyn Ponga didn't seem to bother them as Fletcher Sharp pulled on the No.1 jersey and put in a brilliant performance, particularly with his last line of defence. Second rower Dylan Lucas was just about unstoppable, carving through the Penrith defence for three tries and almost scoring a fourth. The Knights completed most of their scoring before halftime, running in 24 points, before coasting home after the break adding just a field goal to the total while conceding a solitary try. They remain anchored to the bottom of the board however as there were no open spaces available above them.