Power Rankings - Round 5

1. South Sydney Rabbitohs (equal)
The Bunnies are either really lucky, or almost got ripped off, depending on who you talk to. The Rabbitohs came from behind and stole the win thanks to a penalty goal in the final minute, but a win is a win.

2. Newcastle Knights (equal)
Either a bubble popped, or a ball was dropped on Saturday. As yet, we're not sure which. One thing we do know is that on a dry track, the Knights would have probably put a score on the Dragons. The Knights' extremely potent backline got bogged down by the conditions, and they paid the price.

3. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (up 1)
Led the Rabbitohs by a fair margin last start, before taking their foot off the throat and letting them back in. Bulldogs fans are all pointing and screaming (and throwing bottles) at the referees, but they should be focusing on how their team let the Rabbitohs back into the game. How they'll go in the next few weeks minus half their forward pack remains to be seen.

4. Sydney Roosters (down 1)
The Roosters would have expected to win that one. For most teams, dropping an early game against the mob running last would be a nightmare come the end of the season. It's unlikely to bite the Roosters on the bum, but they won't want to drop too many more like it.

5. Wests Tigers (up 1)
Or should we say, Pat Richards. Twice this year already Richards has dragged his team to victory. Wingers are renowned for their spectacular events on the field, and Richards is no different. Is it weird that we want to consider him part of the spine? He's every bit as important as Tedesco, Brooks, Moses and Farah.

6. Penrith Panthers (down 1)
Jamie Soward cannot come back fast enough for the Panthers. Api Koroisau was nobody's first choice in the halves, but he can't be blamed for the Panthers dropping their third game in a row. Get it together boys.

7. Brisbane Broncos (up 1)
Perhaps we spoke too early about Wayne Bennett being past it. The Broncos have won 4 from 5, and are sitting pretty near the top of the table. Anthony Milford had his best game in a while, and Ben Hunt was his usual creative self.

8. Melbourne Storm (up 1)
The Storm finally look to be hitting their straps, and easily accounted for the Warriors this weekend. The loss of Billy Slater for a month could be tough, although to be fair, he's been a shadow of himself so far this season.

9. Parramatta Eels (down 2)
The Eels got blown off the park thanks to a 10 minute period of brilliance from the Tigers. The Eels didn't exactly switch off at the 70 minute mark, so much as that the Tigers stepped it up and the Eels couldn't stick with them.

10. St. George Illawarra Dragons (up 1)
Well, didn't these boys turn up to play! The Dragons defence was immense against the Knights, and although the conditions definitely helped their cause, the Dragons deserve a lot of credit. The Knights halves were all at sea, and the Dragons (slightly too) quick line speed was almost certainly the cause.

11. Warriors (down 1)
The Warriors still seem to struggle with playing for the full 80, and it will likely hurt them at the end of the season. For a team who will probably run middle of the pack, they need to be putting sides away early in the season to ensure they're there at the pointy end.

12. Canberra Raiders (up 1)
A clinical performance from the Raiders this week, who seem to be hot and cold so far in 2015. If they could find some consistency they'd be a lot happier, but it just seems to elude them so far. Blake Austin was a beast in attack and defence, and single-handedly took the game away from the hapless Sea Eagles.

13. North Queensland Cowboys (up 1)
The Cowboys put 30 points on the Penrith Panthers, mainly off the back of Johnathan Thurston's performance. But we knew they could attack. What they also managed to do was keep the Panthers to only 10 points. Perhaps we're past the days of the Cowboys winning 60-54...

14. Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (up 2)
They tried Barba, and it failed. They tried Graham, and it really failed. Now they've tried Jack Bird, and guess what. It worked. And boy did it work. Bird managed a man-of-the-match performance with two tries, and also set up another. The Dragons will be absolutely kicking themselves for letting him leave.

15. Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles (down 3)
What a stinker. Sitting on a 1-4 record so far in 2015, and with not a lot of hope on the horizon, times really are bleak for the boys from the northern beaches. Losing against Canberra in Canberra can be forgiven, but losing to Canberra away from Canberra is much worse. Not entirely sure how they'll turn it around from here.

16. Gold Coast Titans (down 1)
A little bit unlucky this week to be on the bottom of the rankings, considering the two sides below them last week both managed wins against more favoured opposition. The Titans weren't disgraced, but were soundly accounted for by the Broncos.