TC’s Ratings (NRL)

In my opinion anyway, this season is shaping up as one of the most interesting ever. Whoever ends up winning this competition is going to have to work extremely hard. This is simply because there are so many premiership chances. There are teams like the Bulldogs who have flown out of the blocks and top the competition and there are also those such as Manly who have stumbled early but are slowly creeping their way back.

Lets take a look at how I currently rate the 16 teams.

1. Bulldogs
You can’t pick any team ahead of them at the moment. They officially lost to the Dragons, but really, they beat them. Perhaps swap this loss with the game they should have lost, but ended up winning (of course, the 14 man incident, losing them 2 points) against the Panthers. Their other loss, which is more concerning, was against the Titans – without Scott Prince. This shows there are weaknesses for the team and could easily encounter a rough patch soon, but they will be there come finals.

2. Dragons
Just beat the competition leaders, but should have lost. If not for their loss against the Cowboys, however, I would have rated them as number 1. Wayne Bennett has taken no time to get this team performing and come finals they will take a lot of stopping.

3. Panthers
Penrith have easily been the surprise of 2009. Sitting in 4th on the table when everybody expected them to challenge for the spoon. They have plenty of young players coming of age as well as a wealth of experience in players such as Luke Lewis and Civoniceva. They have what it takes to give the comp a shake. It is a real shame that they play the Dragons this week. Both sides will be without some of their big players and no indication of where both sides are at should be taken out of it.

4. Knights
The Knights have looked a well structured, well coached outfit. They just need to iron out their inconsistency. They will also be a big player come finals. The Knights are another team facing a big opponent this week, comp leaders Bulldogs. Another game ruined by Origin absentees.

5. Storm
As we go down, it gets harder for me to separate these teams. The Storm haven’t been the amazing force of recent years but they are still a very, very good side. Losing comfortably to the Dogs on the weekend was a big blow and Origin may also hurt them. But they will ‘Storm’ home in the latter stages of the season and are certainly an outside chance at the title.

6. Sea Eagles
Don’t forget the premiers. They are by no means out of it yet. After a horror start to the season, on and off the field, they are slowly creeping back up the table. They will probably rack up some good wins over the next month or so and shoot themselves into the 8. If Brett Stewart returns later in the season, they just may be able to find that Premiership winning form at the right time.