With three weeks in the books for season 2025, there is some certainty forming around who is heading towards the finals at season’s end, and a few teams who need a major turnaround to be any chance.
Gold Coast’s impressive win over Newcastle means we are now down to four teams without a victory for 2025, although the Dragons had the bye on the weekend so they did not get their chance to avoid the hat-trick of defeats which the Dolphins, Cowboys and Eels have now piled up.
Parramatta’s regression is not unexpected, although the absence of Mitchell Moses has exacerbated their woes in the opening three rounds and they did put up a good fight against the Bulldogs on Sunday.
There are no such excuses for the Cowboys and Dolphins, who were expected to be in the playoff equation, but based on their three middling defeats thus far, all signs point to them finishing among the also-rans.
Here’s how the teams stack up after Round 3.
1. Storm (Last week 1): Being without a player of the calibre of Dally M Medal winner Jahrome Hughes for the next month with a broken hand would be a major blow to pretty much every team in the NRL.
But the Storm are spoiled for choice as they have Tyran Wishart and Jonah Pezet at the ready. And with Nick Meaney also set for an extended time with a facial fracture, Melbourne’s next man up mentality will be put to the test and as usual they will pass with flying colours.
2. Bulldogs (2): They were not at their best in outlasting Parramatta on Sunday, but that was to be expected with Matt Burton and Viliame Kikau sidelined with knee injuries.
With three straight wins to start the season, all they need to do is keep their heads above water over the next four or five weeks while the star duo is sidelined to remain in the top four stratosphere – this Saturday’s trip to Shark Park will be a major indicator on how they will fare during this tricky stretch.
3. Sharks (4): They have skipped ahead of Penrith for the moment, given the premiers’ injury woes and Cronulla’s eye-catching victories over the past two weeks in beating the Cowboys and Rabbitohs in emphatic style.
But alas it was indeed only North Queensland and Souths so the recurring theme of belting the lesser lights but struggling against the top teams will continue to linger given their first-up loss to the Panthers.
Braydon Trindall. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
4. Panthers (3): Nathan Cleary’s absence this week with a concussion on top of the loss to the Storm results in the premiers plummeting – well, it’s a plummet by their standards – to fourth in the rankings.
They nearly snatched a win out of the fire in Melbourne but lacked the strike power when it counted. Blaize Talagi’s first game as a Panther showed he is well on the way to becoming a key part of their wins factory.
5. Sea Eagles (7): For the first 20 minutes at Brookvale on Sunday the Raiders managed to resist the maroon and white onslaught but as soon as Corey Horsburgh was sent to the sin bin, the floodgates opened with four tries in a relentless attacking blitz.
Reuben Garrick has gone from a decent winger to one of the best centres in the NRL and if first-choice options like Tom Trbojevic and Bradman Best are unavailable come Origin time, he would not look out of place in a NSW jersey.
6. Broncos (8): They did enough to put away North Queensland but they are still not quite firing on all cylinders.
That is mainly due to Reece Walsh being a shadow of his usual self in the opening three rounds but with Payne Haas powering through the middle and Adam Reynolds making the most of the time and space that their star prop creates, Brisbane are on an upward trajectory.
Payne Haas pushes away Scott Drinkwater. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
7. Tigers (11): Speaking of teams that are rising rapidly, Wests are fast becoming one of the most entertaining teams to watch but also one with a fair chunk of substance.
The way they remained composed despite being down by 12 at Redcliffe on Saturday night proves that they are a much more mature team this year even though three of their key creative players in Lachie Galvin, Jahream Bula and Tallyn Da Silva are still on their P-plates.
8. Knights (5): After two rousing wins it looked like Newcastle had solved their offensive conundrum after struggling to put points on the board last year but they were stymied by the Titans.
They did have a few key forwards out in Kai Pearce-Paul, Leo Thompson and Dylan Lucas out as they lost the battle up front and their outside backs were never in a position to counter-punch against the Titans.
9. Raiders (6): They weren’t actually that bad in losing to Manly but due to a combination of the home side clicking into top gear and Canberra’s players being worn down after already sustaining an early heavy barrage, the Green Machine were blown off 4 Pines Park when Corey Horsburgh was sin-binned.
They get Joseph Tapine back this week from suspension which will help shore up the middle and even though they have a reputation for taking most games down to the wire under Ricky Stuart, they also have shown a tendency in recent years to have a big scoreline put on them at relatively regular intervals.
10. Warriors (12): This is another team that is starting to get its act together – they were dreadful in Round 1 against Canberra but have tallied up back-to-back triumphs over Manly and the Roosters to show that they can be finals contenders again.
The absence of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to a hamstring injury is a body blow but with James Fisher-Harris and Mitchell Barnett bruising their way up the centre of the field, these Warriors can match it with any team.
11. Roosters (10): It’s still very hard to get an accurate gauge on exactly where Trent Robinson’s team stands in the NRL pecking order after being belted by the Broncos, upsetting the Panthers and a narrow loss to the Warriors.
They have been ripped apart with injuries in the opening rounds and for the first hour in Auckland look like they could keep their noses in front. But they are going through some growing pains with players like Robert Toia, Siua Wong and Blake Steep learning on the run and they will produce the odd rookie error which will soon disappear from their game as they get experience under their belt.
12. Rabbitohs (9): Another team will struggle against the top teams unless they can get everyone on the park.
The Sharks chewed them up and spat them out on Saturday and Wayne Bennett would love to have the services of just one more reliable operator doing the dirty work in and around the ruck like a Cameron Murray or Euan Aitken.
13. Titans (16): They didn’t throw too much at the Bulldogs in their opening match of the year but perhaps that was a by-product of having a three-week gap from the pre-season to game one due to a first-up bye.
It was almost like a different team that ran out onto Cbus Super Stadium on Saturday to nullify the Knights with Tino Fa’asuamaleaui at his destructive best. If they can maintain something close to this kind of form, they will finish nowhere near the bottom of the ladder this year.
(Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
14. Dragons (14): Had the bye. Added David Klemmer. Lost Mikaele Ravalawa. A slight overall upgrade with that roster spot given they have plenty of outside backs and not many middle forwards.
15. Dolphins (13): A 12-point lead is no guarantee of victory these days especially when there’s plenty of time on the clock like there with the Tigers on the weekend.
But it’s a major concern that of the four unanswered tries they then conceded, three were the result of Tigers slicing through marshmallow-like defence close to their line.
Kristian Woolf needs to crack the whip at the selection table or start feeding some of his forwards raw meat to get them up for this Friday’s Battle of Brisbane against the Broncos otherwise it will be an 0-4 start to the year.
16. Cowboys (15): They fired up for the Queensland derby against Brisbane but struggled to convert their field position and heavy possession advantage in the opening 20 minutes into points and paid the price.
Once Payne Haas started carving through the middle of the ruck it was deja vu in a bad way for the Cowboys with Brisbane’s behemoth dominating like Jason Taumalolo in his prime.
17. Eels (17): There was plenty to like about the guts and grit they displayed at CommBank Stadium against Canterbury.
Jason Ryles needs to identify the players he can rely upon when Mitchell Moses is back in the team and helping Parramatta put points on the board. And he also has to figure out who they keep around next year and who else gets told it’s time for them to step aside for younger players as he works his way through what will undoubtedly be a lengthy rebuild.
