The first three weeks have flown by with wall-to-wall rugby league but Thursday night fixtures are ending after this week so we'll be back to a more condensed schedule.
For those unfamiliar with the concept of power rankings, they're based on which team would beat another based on form, injuries and roster stength, irrespective of home-ground advantage.
For example, the Storm have maintained the No.1 ranking because, well quite frankly, have you seen them play? They weren't at their best but still did enough to again conquer their grand final combatants Canterbury. At the other end of the scale, the Warriors have retained 16th spot because they are simply the worst team in the NRL and if it were possible to relegate them, they would probably occupy bottom spot in the NSW Cup.
1. Storm (last week 1): They are keeping the chasing pack at arm's length (and leg's length in the case of Billy Slater). Their spin doctoring after Slater booted David Klemmer in the head was so good there was an outside chance the match reviewers were going to charge the Bulldogs forward with grade one dangerous conduct for attacking the Storm fullback's studs with his face.
2. Rabbitohs (2): A day of see-sawing high scoring in the Penrith heat will do them good. They won't be able to keep up the intensity desired by supercoach Maguire all year so a game of quasi-touch footy ending in two competition points is a nice way to ease the pressure valve every now and then.
3. Sharks (6): Whipping the Warriors doesn't necessarily mean a team is in form but the shape in attack displayed by Cronulla on Sunday was ominous. Peter Sterling made waves a couple of years ago when he declared Michael Gordon a potential NSW fullback when he was a Penrith winger. He's playing fullback regularly now as a Shark and wouldn't look out of place wearing the other sky-blue No.1 jersey this year.
4. Bulldogs (4): supercoach Hasler has this under-strength team competing with the top sides and with all troops on deck, the Dogs would have beaten Melbourne. Ben Barba's impending return will be a circus but natural footballers like him rarely appear rusty after spells on the sidelines so he could be the catalyst for Canterbury to quickly rise up the ladder.
5. Sea Eagles (3): After learning the hard way the Gold Coast is no longer a guaranteed two competition points, night out on the holiday strip and recovery session at Seaworld, the Sea Eagles have a short turnaround before taking on the Tigers at Brookvale on Thursday night. They can't get Glenn Stewart back quickly enough.
6. Roosters (8): OMG! SBW is back. Not just back playing, but back to his best. Phil Gould recently said he has long held the belief that Sonny Bill Williams is a million-dollar-per-season player. If he continues to dominate like he did against the Broncos, that price tag may seem cheap.
7. Knights (9): Tyrone Roberts may sound like he should be a West Indies fast bowler but supercoach Bennett will find it hard to punt him after his starring performance in Monday's whipping of the Cowboys. Kurt Gidley has to come back into the starting side - the captain can't come off the bench. Remember that experiment at Origin level with NSW a few years ago?
8. Cowboys (5): Unless the Queensland government upgrades Townsville's stadium capacity by around 90,000, the NRL grand final will never be held on the Cowboys' fortress. Until they find an antidote to their travel bug which flared again on Newcastle on Monday night, they'll never be genuine title contenders.
9. Titans (10): Just like Richie Fa'aoso blindsiding Ashley Harrison with a shoulder charge, nobody saw this one coming. Gold Coast's soft underbelly is gone. Well done, supercoach Cartwright. Every year there's a team that sprints out of the blocks before vanishing - flash in the pan or real deal?
10. Tigers (11): supercoach Potter is facing injury woes in the front row and on the wings. It's much easier to manufacture wingers than props - Rabbitohs recruit Eddy Pettybourne can dominate up front but he needs to show the consistency that hasn't been his hallmark.
11. Broncos (7): Holding the opposition to one try and only eight points is good as long as you bother the scorers yourself. Brisbane lack creativity. They lack an identity. They will never replace Darren Lockyer but they need to come up with a proven way of winning consistently because at the moment you don't know what to expect from this team week to week.
12. Raiders (15): Beating the Dragons is great for the Green Machine's confidence and all is forgiven with Blake Ferguson back in first grade but there's still a lot to improve upon if the Raiders are going to be legitimate finals contenders. On a side note, Jarrod Croker would have to be one of the NRL's most under-rated players.
13. Panthers (13): Teams often reflect the personality of who's at the helm and the 2013 Penrith side has shown the grit over the first three rounds that was the trademark of supercoach Cleary in his playing days. He weren't dat stylish but Cleary was effective and this motley crew of Panthers has a steelier edge than recent seasons.
14. Eels (12): Jarryd Hayne polarises fans, that's OK. Some supporters love emotional players who can be spectacular or spectacular failures. But if he's going to be a long-term captain, he needs to learn the gentle art of persuasion with referees. Supercoach Stuart is hoping Hayne's Leichhardt nightmare will be a learning experience, not a sign of things to come.
15. Dragons (14): If games were won for effort, St George Illawarra wouldn't be winless. If coaches were re-signed solely for their dedication, supercoach Price wouldn't be nervous. They will get better but they won't get great this season. Signing Josh Dugan would help but it wouldn't solve all their problems ... and there's a fair chance it would create a few too.
16. Warriors (16) The 17 players who lined up on Sunday at Cronulla looked like they had never met. There was no cohesion and the rare flickers of individual brilliance, such as a couple of 40-20 kicks, were quickly brought undone by the most basic of errors. How long before supercoach Elliott is re-enacting his famous tie-choking antics?
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