Round 6 - My Mountain of Rankings

I feel like games used to be a little easier to predict back in the day. What kind of team let's a 16 point lead get chased down? I'll tell you who, the bloody Roosters. I feel like lately my power rankings have been changing as frequently as the Tigers halves combination. Let's hope it's a bit better this week (on both counts).

#1 - King of the Hill - Melbourne Storm Damn these Storm blokes know how to whip out a bit of footy magic when it needs to be there. I always kind of felt they'd come back but damn they did it in style. Their defence was on song and they simply outlasted the Tigers in a game that a lot of other sides would have lost. That's what happens when you're as well drilled and disciplined as the Storm though. Expectations for Round 6: Well this is the match every footy fan has been waiting for. One of these teams will be on top of the ladder come Sunday morning, provided there isn't a draw (which would be hilarious). I think the entire world is looking forward to seeing how Souths shape up against the Storm, it'll be an awesome game.

#2 South Sydney Rabbitohs So I'll admit i thought these Burgess blokes were frauds at the start of the season. I never really liked the hype they were getting, but George Burgess is an absolute wrecking ball. Despite never really clicking in attack they found a way to win with their defence, nabbing two awesome tries off turnovers which really turned the game around for them. Expectations for Round 6: There is a lot of pressure on Souths this weekend. They've been getting a lot of hype but they really need to bring their A game against the Storm (likewise for the Storm though). This game could really go any way but I feel (and hope) that the Storm are too well drilled for the Rabbitohs to beat just yet.

#3 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Manly are still a bunch of cool dudes. Managed to take care of the Doggies and do their thing which is always nice. Brett Stewart had a coming out party of sorts (Is it just me or was it his best game of the season by a LONG way?) which will no doubt begin the onslaught of State of Origin talks. The big thing Manly has going for themselves is their ridiculous defence, having conceded only five tries in their first five games. That is freaking amazing. Expectations for Round 6: I have no idea what's going on in Cronulla right now so I guess Manly are just going to give it to them while a packed Brookvale Oval watches on.

#4 Brisbane Broncos Every time I move these guys down a few spots they always play lights out and find their way back up the board. It's truly amazing. They did deserve it this week though when they took it to the Titans (and we all know I have a man-crush on the Titans). Their second half was just breathtaking and it made me appreciate the Broncos just a little bit more. Expectations for Round 6: Despite their dominance over the Titans in recent history the Cowboys are a completely different story. The Cowboys will be on a high after shutting out the Panthers last weekend and they'll be looking to keep that form going against the Broncos. However the Broncos are on a little roll of their own after hauling in four tries in forty minutes to overpower the Titans last weekend. Who can keep the roll going?

#5 Sydney Roosters We've seen what the Roosters can do when they're good and it's freakishly scary. We've also seen what they can do when they're bad, which is something to the tune of leaking 24 points to the Raiders rubbish attack. If these guys can get consistent and find that brutal defence which disappeared in the last 40mins against Canberra they may be able to give the Storm and Bunnies a run for their money. Expectations for Round 6: I fully expect these guys to bounce back and give the Doggies a bit of a spanking. There has been a lot of attention to the Dogs firing up for Sonny's first game against his old club, but how many of those players were there when he left? Do they even care?

#6 Gold Coast Titans So I guess the Titans still have that whole inferiority complex thing going on in their head. Having Sezer out would have been tough but I still thought they might find a way to win. The Titans need to take care of themselves because if they get struck by injuries they may not have the depth to cover it. As I've said before though, I like what they've got going on. If they can stay injury free and be consistent they'll go far. Expectations for Round 6: The Titans have a nice long break before their game against Parramatta and they desperately need a win to keep up with that top half of the competition table, namely Manly and the Roosters. Because once you start swimming with those teams near the bottom of the top eight it's hard to get back up for air. I'm expecting the Titans to take out their anger on the Eels though, and win by a fair margin.

#7 North Queensland Cowboys So the Cowboys are back, for now. Pretty much just stripped Penrith of their manhood last week it was very embarrassing to watch. Though they definitely took the gas off the pedal at one point and the game sort of just plodded along from there. When they take on better teams they won't have that kind of luxury where they can just ‘sit back and relax' waiting for fulltime to arrive. Expectations for Round 6: The Cowboys aren't affected by the ‘Broncos inferiority complex” like the Titans are so they'll be approaching this game like they would any other. It's a big game though, between two sides that are on a roll and looking to keep it going. I have a feeling this game will be won in the halves though, and we all know who has the advantage there.

#8 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Alright, I'm finally off the Doggies love train. They just don't get me going anymore so I've cast them aside and I'm not looking back, you know unless they give me reason to. They've had a pretty tough schedule and a lot of injuries so you can't entirely blame them, but you know what? I still will. Expectations for Round 6: I don't know if it's just the papers pumping it up but for some reason I'm getting the vibe that the Bulldogs are trying to egg the Chooks on for their Friday night game. I'm not entirely sure that's something I'd want to be doing if I were the Doggies. The Roosters may just lay the smack into you which is never a good thing.

#9 Newcastle Knights I don't know how this mob managed to lose to the Dragons. How bad is your defence that you let them score three tries against you? Either way you look at it the Knights have been pretty damn average when they've been playing away from the Castle, so they somehow need to get that sorted out. Lucky for them they'll be hosting Penrith this week, the very same side who got castrated by the Cowboys last weekend. Expectations for Round 6: Wayne Bennett needs to get these blokes playing consistent footy, away from home they are a mess of the highest order. This week though the Panthers will be looking for revenge so the Knights will need to step up their game and be ready for an angry Panthers outfit. I do expect the Knights to have a bit of run though; they'll be at home so the Panthers probably won't be too much trouble. The Knights really need to win this game to keep up with the sides in the top six. A slip up could mean they're swimming with the fishes.

#10 Penrith Panthers Penrith were bullied last week, they got wedgied to the extreme and then got their pants pulled down, and it was a painful experience for all those watching (bar Cowboys fans). They need to sort out their halves and set them in stone because playing with a new bloke in their every week has got to be killing their outside backs. Expectations for Round 6: Heading to Newy is never an easy task. The Knights play very well there so Penrith need to bring their A game and their halves need to execute to perfection and play with a little bit of creativity. The Panthers really need to win though to get themselves off the bottom of the table.

#11 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks This team is heading down a dark and dangerous road. After an amazingly promising start to the season they have just fallen off the pace completely and they're looking like a pile of potatoes out there on the field (I feel like that's a bit generous too). The Sharks missed Toddy's creativity in attack and they just had no spark in attack. Expectations for Round 6: I don't know if it's all the ASADA controversy or the Sharks are just plain bad, but these guys don't even look like winning any of their games with the way they've been playing. They've got to go to Brooky this weekend as well which is probably the hardest place to win at in the world (unless you're Manly). So yeah, good luck Sharkies, you'll need it.

#12 Canberra Raiders Props to these blokes for taking down the Roosters, just shows that sides really can't underestimate the Raiders when they're playing on their home turf. Now if only they could show that gusto when they're playing away from home... Still unsure how what to make of the Raiders, I don't think they'll be scoring 24 points in a half of football anytime soon though. Expectations for Round 6: At home taking on the Warriors is pretty much the only scenario I could think of where the Raiders might be able to grab a win this week, so aren't they lucky. Warriors have been going alright lately though so don't write them off completely.

#13 St. George Illawarra Dragons These guys are on their way up. I can feel it in my toes. Back to back wins might not sound too glamorous but these guys have really stuck in and gave it to the Knights and the Sharks and they are looking like a better team. I still don't know if I trust them to score more than 20 points in a game but with their defence playing lights out they may not need to. Expectations for Round 6: When the Saints play the Tigers it's always a big match with a tight finish. Though I have the feeling that if the Dragons can get on top early they'll be able to hold on for the win due to their awesome defence and the Tigers lack of Benji. Though if the Tigers manage to run in a try or two...

#14 New Zealand Warriors Two bloody points, I was nearly jumping for joy when these guys came so close to running the Bunnies off their little pedestal. These guys are sticking in games and not only does that impress the heck out of me it actually makes me think they'll start winning games regularly if they keep turning up and putting their best foot forward week in and week out. Of course the other teams must also be horribly off their game but I prefer not to think about that part. Expectations for Round 6: The Raiders are pretty bad, but the game is in Canberra when they only suck 50% of the time. So that puts a neat little spin on things. I expect the Warriors will put up a fight on the weekend.

#15 Parramatta Eels Quite the bounce back this weekend from the pride of Parramatta in a game of footy which could have gone either way. After the woeful performance against the Roosters the Eels defence looked about fifty million times better and it showed on the scoreboard. It's amazing how much easier games are to win when you don't let the opposition score 20-odd points in each half of footy. Expectations for Round 6: The trip up to the Gold Coast isn't going to be an easy one for Ricky Stuart's boys. The Titans (aside from their last forty minutes) have been playing pretty awesome footy, and they'll be relying on the Eels to play them back into the form. It's up to the Eels to play well enough to stop them.

#16 - Why do you even turn up? - Wests Tigers These guys started off pretty damn hot against the Storm, but I guess they just couldn't keep up and they ran out of puff. The absolute last thing they needed in the world was for Benji to be out injured and look what has happened. Their halves combo this week is going to look very different to the one that started the season and that is the last thing you want as a coach. The injury pile is starting to mount up and it looks like it will be a long season for the Tigers. Expectations for Round 6: For the Tigers to have any hope of winning whatsoever they'll need to get on the board early and get out to an 8 or 12 point lead in the first twenty minutes. If they let the Dragons get ahead early the Dragons will just defend for years and years and the Tigers attack won't get anywhere.