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 most of the teams at the top had victories and either rise or remain steady, except of course for the Sharks who stepped a huge snake in the form of the Warriors and tumbled down the board.
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 - steady
Canberra endured another sluggish start on a frosty Sunday afternoon at GIO Stadium. After conceding the first two tries, they struck back through Ethan Strange to trail 12-6 at halftime. Another Strange try after the break levelled the scores and it was all Green Machine from that point on. Josh Papalii, celebrating a club record for number of games played, picked up a double and even converted the second try with perfectly struck kick from a tricky angle. It was enough to warm the hearts of the largely frozen Raiders fans who braved the sub-zero wind chill to cheer on their red-hot heroes.
2.
Bulldogs - steady
Eighteen days after being thrashed by the Dolphins and with the most publicised signing in recent history sitting on the bench, the Bulldogs hosted the Eels with no one knowing what to expect. They had plenty of opportunities to score in the first half, with lots of set restarts, but their first try came from a Matt Burton intercept from an Eels scrum inside his own half. The teams exchanged tries to go to the break locked at 12-12, with Lachlan Galvin still wrapped up in his bench jacket. The Bulldogs took a 14-12 lead before Galvin ran on in the 57th minute replacing Reed Mahoney and pushing Toby Sexton into dummy half. Galvin started the next try, but man-of-the-match Burton sent Connor Tracey through to set up the try for Viliame Kikau. Kurt Mann sent Harry Hayes over for the next before the crowd's loudest roar came as Galvin crashed over to seal the victory.
3.
Warriors - ladder up 1
The Warriors crossed the ditch to take on Cronulla at Shark Park in what was set to be a real test of their promising season. In an evenly matched first half they battled the Sharks for superiority in the forwards, going into the break narrow 12-10 leaders. In the second half, however, they really put their foot down to play all over the Sharks, running in five more tries to completely dominate.
4.
Storm - ladder up 1
It didn't take long for the Storm to assert their dominance over the Cowboys, with a fired up Nelson Asofa-Solomona causing havoc, before Eliesa Katoa sliced through a gap left by Tom Dearden to score. Halfback Jahrome Hughes was in everything as usual and crossed for a double in the first half to lead the Storm to a 18-4 lead at the break. Melbourne crossed for three more tries in the second half to secure a comfortable victory.
5.
Dolphins - ladder up 1
The Dolphins hosted the Dragons on the back of a bye, following a big confidence-boosting win over the Bulldogs the week before. And didn't they run on that confidence, tearing the Dragons apart all over the field, with halfback Isaah Katoa leading the way. Crossing for five tries in the first half, they went on to double that tally as the outside backs ran wild. The 'Phins clocked up their half century with 20 minutes still remaining on the clock, before coasting home to an emphatic victory.
6.
Sharks - snake down 3
The Sharks had a point to prove at home against the Warriors, they wanted to show the NRL that they are genuine premiership contenders, despite some slip-ups so far this season. They matched the visitors during the first half, holding them to a 12-10 lead, but after the break they completely fell away, allowing the Warriors to run rampant. It was a disappointing performance in front of their home crowd and in the face of their critics.
7.
Panthers - ladder up 5
Penrith played the Tigers at CommBank Stadium and withstood an early onslaught before scoring the first try of the game through Thomas Jenkins in the corner. They conceded the next two tries before levelling it up at 10-10 before the break. The Tigers were winning a greater share of the whistle but the Panthers were hanging on. They edged ahead with a penalty in front and when presented with another took a tap to eventually put Jenkins over in the corner, extending their lead to 18-10. The Tigers scored with 9 minutes remaining to ensure a thrilling finish. The Panthers' defence was desperate and Dylan Edwards in particular was brilliant in preventing several Tigers' opportunities.
8.
Cowboys - snake down 1
The Cowboys flew down to Melbourne and were pretty much blown off the park by the Storm who played the game at a fast pace, scattering the visitors' defence. The Cowboys managed just one first half try to Jaxson Paulo to go into the break down 18-4. They improved after the break and crossed for two more tries, but also conceded three, in what was a disappointing effort for the inconsistent club.
9.
Sea Eagles - snake down 1
The fifth minute of the game proved costly for the Sea Eagles, with Lehi Hopoate finishing some brilliant lead up work by failing to ground a bouncing ball and knocking himself out in the process. The exciting young fullback was ruled a category 1, meaning he would miss the rest of the game and the next. Still the Sea Eagles stuck to their plans and ran in three tries to go to the break 16-0 up. Into the second half the Knights spread the ball and found ways through and around the Sea Eagles defence. The painfully inconsistent Manly conceded five tries while adding just the one, losing in golden-point extra time.
10.
Dragons - snake down 1
The Dragons travelled to Brisbane to take on the Dolphins and were totally out-classed from the get go. They were denied an early try by the bunker which dumbfounded players and fans alike, and from that point on spent most of the night watching Jamayne Isaako converting tries. Down 50-2 they scored their first and only try of the night through some slick ball movement which sent Valentine Holmes over in the corner.
11.
Roosters - steady - bye
12.
Rabbitohs - snake down 2
Souths travelled down to Canberra where the wind carried all the chill of the ski season's opening weekend. They started brilliantly racing to a 12-0 lead on the back of tries to Keaon Koloamatangi and Alex Johnston, but that is where their scoring froze. Their 12-6 halftime lead disappeared under an avalanche of Raiders tries, as the Bunnies struggled to maintain possession and fell away in defensive intensity.
13.
Broncos - ladder up 2
The Broncos ran onto Suncorp Stadium to face the Titans looking more like the All Blacks in a black strip to raise awareness of mental health. They started like the New Zealand rugby juggernauts as well, running in five first-half tries to lead 28-0. With Payne Haas leading the way in the forwards, the backs carved up out wide. They conceded three second half tries, but managed to cross for three more of their own as they coasted to collect the two competition points in Adam Reynolds' 300th game.
14.
Tigers - snake down 1
The Tigers hosted the Panthers at CommBank Stadium in front of a healthy crowd and enjoyed the better of the early exchanges, but were unable to crack the Panthers' defensive wall. After conceding the first try they levelled the scores thanks to a deft grubber kick from Jarome Luai. The Tigers scored next before going to the break level at 10-10. Into the second half the Panthers skipped to an eight-point lead before the Tigers scored in the corner with nine minutes remaining to be down 18-14. Despite a frantic finish with several exciting near misses, the Tigers were unable to run the Panthers down.
15.
Eels - snake down 1
Parramatta visited Homebush on a rainy afternoon hoping to topple the Bulldogs. They matched the home team throughout the first half, defending with fierce determination and repelling the Bulldogs for much of the 40 minutes. They went to halftime locked at 12-12, following a runaway Mitchell Moses try and another through the middle of a scattered Bulldogs defence. After the break the steam ran out of the Eels as the Bulldogs camped deep inside their territory and wore their defensive resilience down. The ultimate salt in the would came with a Lachlan Galvin try to wrap up the scoring.
16.
Knights - ladder up 1
Newcastle hosted the Sea Eagles desperate for the two competition points. Already missing several key forwards, their cause was not helped by a category 1 concussion to Tyson Frizell early in the game. They continued their attacking woes failing to score a point in the first half while conceding 16 to Manly. They started the second half with more urgency, cracking the Manly defence by spreading the ball early, often and wide. They somehow managed to lock the scores at 22-22 just before fulltime, before Kalyn Ponga scored the golden point winning try from a bomb.
17.
Titans - snake down 1
Gold Coast needed to make a statement against the Broncos on Saturday night and could not have started much worse, conceding a try in the first minute of the game. They allowed four more in the first half to trail 28-0 at the break. They looked completely overpowered by the ominous looking Broncos, sporting an all black strip. In the second half they managed to score three tries, but continued to leak points at the other end of the ground.