The one thing that critics can never say about rugby league is that it’s a dull sport on or off the field.
Although anyone who had to sit through Newcastle’s attempts at attack against Cronulla on Sunday might argue otherwise.
But then the footy gods repaid the fans with a humdinger on Easter Monday with the Eels outlasting the tempestuous Tigers.
Season 2025 has thrown up plenty of surprises, not the least the dramatic rise of Canterbury to be unbeaten after seven rounds as well as Penrith’s dramatic drop to be 15th on the ladder with a 2-5 record.
Even the Storm, who looked like they were going to be an ultra consistent force, have dropped a couple of matches in recent weeks. And their heavy defeat to the Dolphins on Friday night has shown that they are vulnerable, particularly with Harry Grant out injured.
Canberra keep on keeping on, the Warriors are reborn and the Dragons are again looking like a team that can threaten for the playoffs this season after nearly defying the odds last year.
Manly have joined the Roosters, Knights and Titans as this season’s big disappointments with the Sea Eagles now losing three straight heading into a clash with the premiers when they will have as many as five of their regular first-graders out of action.
Even with Tom Trbojevic coming back this week, it looks like a tough road ahead for Anthony Seibold’s troops.
Here’s how the teams stack up after Round 7.
1. Bulldogs (Last week 2): It’s the hallmark of a premiership contender when they can obliterate an opponent by 32 points without ever getting out of third gear.
Canterbury held a team scoreless for the second week in a row, which was surprisingly a first in their club history when they demolished the Rabbitohs on Good Friday and with very few players likely to figure in the representative schedule come Origin time, they are perfectly placed to win the minor premiership for the first time since 2012.
2. Storm (1): They looked fine for the first 20 minutes against the Dolphins, but the absence of Harry Grant at dummy half had a flow-on effect for the rest of their spine and the Dolphins were able to shut down their attacking raids with speed off the line.
Of greater concern for Craig Bellamy is the fact that they conceded 42 points, including seven straight tries before a late consolation effort. With Grant out for a month and Origin matches just around the corner, the Storm are not looking like the top two certainties that they were just a few weeks ago.
3. Sharks (3): Another team that did not hit top gear on the weekend, but the result never looked in doubt against the Knights in Newcastle.
Will Kennedy is surprisingly still off contract next year so surely there is a nudge-nudge, wink-wink deal to keep him at the club because the talented fullback was again crucial in their 20-point triumph.
Even if it means moving on a couple of fringe first-graders, the Sharks need to make sure they keep him at the club beyond this season.
Will Kennedy. (Photo by Scott Gardiner/Getty Images)
4. Raiders (4): For a team that prides itself on there being little variation between their best performances and their worst, Canberra put in a very average first 25 minutes on the Gold Coast before taking advantage of Tino Fa’asuamaleaui going off.
Their ability to create havoc on the left edge through Hudson Young was the difference. And with Angus Crichton and Liam Martin below their brilliant best this season, Young could be a surprise starter for NSW in the Origin arena.
5. Panthers (7): They ended their losing streak at five in a row to revive their hopes of winning five premierships in a row. And although they won 40-12 over the Roosters, they were still a step off the pace, especially in the first half before the floodgates opened from the depleted Roosters in the second term.
Blaize Talagi is finding his feet at five-eighth and the more game time he gets alongside Nathan Cleary, the quicker Penrith will be back to their best.
6. Warriors (11): They get a huge bump up the rankings this week after their upset win over Brisbane.
They were missing their star-studded, hyphenated quartet of James Fisher-Harris, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, as well as suspended centre Rocco Berry but they were the superior side of the majority of the match, and it would have been a travesty if the Broncos had stolen the competition points from them after forcing extra time.
In the end, Brisbane surrendered the golden point period by kicking out on the full but there was no surrender from the Warriors who are showing the spirit that was lacking last year when they finished among the also-rans
Luke Metcalf celebrates after kicking the winning goal in extra time. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
7. Broncos (5): They finished among the also-rans last year, and if they duplicate the effort they showed in Auckland last weekend, they could be missing the playoffs again.
Reece Walsh is out for a month with a knee injury, Ben Hunt is struggling for form and their forward pack is way too reliant on Patrick Carrigan and Payne Haas.
The Broncos are yet to play any of the true title contenders in the opening seven rounds, and it will take an alarming form reversal for them to have any hope against the Bulldogs this Thursday.
8. Cowboys (9): They had the bye, and got a leg-up with the Tigers going down.
And have got the Titans coming to town this Saturday, so they are likely to cement a spot in the top eight.
9. Dolphins (12): Slowly but surely, Krisian Woole is putting his imprint on this team, and the talk of the Wayne Bennett hoodoo has been put to bed following their three straight wins.
Isaiya Katoa sees the game like a veteran and you can tell by the way he analyses the play in his post-game comments that he is a league nuffie who will break down every tactic imaginable in his search for excellence.
10. Tigers (8): How they could have done with Lachie Galvin at CommBank Stadium on Monday.
They played angry and, at times, dumb football which meant that when the match was there to be won, they blew it.
11. Sea Eagles (6): That’s three straight losses for the Sea Eagles. And with five players likely to be missing when they take on Penrith this Saturday, there’s a fair chance they’ll be taking a four-game losing streak into their Magic Round bye.
The Sea Eagles have a tendency to be bustled into errors, and the Dragons did just that at Brookvale with the home side struggling to put a decent 10-minute stretch together at any point during the game.
Jaydn Su’A is tackled. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
12. Dragons (14): They have improved their record to 3-3 and are nestled on the lower reaches of the top eight.
Shane Flanagan has clearly got the entire squad bought in, and the decision to switch Tyrell Sloan to the wing could have blown up in his face but he has been a revelation on the right edge, and Clint Gutherson has been the ideal calming influence that St George Illawarra have lacked from the back.
13. Rabbitohs (10): Yes, they were outclassed by the Bulldogs on Good Friday. But they didn’t put up much of a fight.
After years of being told he has not been involved enough from fullback, Latrell Mitchell has now done the same two weeks in a row at five-eighth.
Wayne Bennett would be better off sticking with Jack Wighton, who won a Dally M Medal in that position, and at least gets involved in the play no matter what.
14. Roosters (13): They are running out of troops with Nat Butcher the latest regular first-grader to go down with injury.
Spencer Leniu had his worst game in a Roosters jersey, dropping the ball cold on a couple of occasions, and barely making a dent in the Penrith defensive line in a lacklustre performance against his old club.
15. Eels (17): They are a different team with Mitchell Moses in the line-up – he was brilliant in his first game back and with Jason Ryles jettisoning a host of under-performing veterans for young players with plenty of upside, Parra look like they could quickly move clear of wooden spoon territory.
Only the most ardent Eels fan would have known too much about Ryley Smith, Kitione Kautoga, Luca Moretti and Sam Tuivaiti before this season kicked off but they are getting the job done and giving Parra fans reason to be optimistic.
(Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
16. Knights (15): Poor old Andrew Johns. He’s ready to jump out of the commentary box and put on his old No.7 jersey whenever he watches Newcastle run around.
They don’t have any direction and if he could play in a dinner suit without being tackled, he would be a better option than their current halves.
The Knights have scored just 60 points in six outings. And they’re starting to move into wooden spoon territory and questions about the coach’s long-term future, based on recent form.
17. Titans (12): Speaking of coach’s long-term future, Des Hasler shouldn’t be getting too cosy on the Gold Coast, a club with a long history of abandoning coaches mid-contract.
They’ve got a trip north to face the in-form Cowboys then a date with the Bulldogs in Magic Round. And with Jayden Campbell and David Fifita joining Keano Kini and Alofiana Khan-Pereira on the sidelines, all signs point to more losses to come for the Titans.
