It’s getting to that point in the season where some teams start to turn up their toes.
As the losses pile up and their record plummets like the temperature around this time of year, they realise that the modest dream of just making the playoffs is probably going to be a bridge too far.
George Illawarra, South Sydney, Wests Tigers and definitely Gold Coast are heading nowhere fast after losses on the weekend and Newcastle need a helluva lot more than their stirring second-half comeback to beat Manly to save their season.
They all, of course, still have a mathematical possibility. Everyone does at this time of year but a realistic one? For some that’s unlikely.
But the reality is that the stragglers don’t have the depth to sustain consistent output over the course of 24 matches.
In their favour is that the top eight is more congested than the streets around Accor Stadium after the Easter Monday blockbuster.
A staggering 12 of the 17 teams have a losing record. In the words of the Otara Millionaires Club, how bizarre.
There’s a paltry four competition points separating the fifth-placed Sharks and the 15th-placed Knights.
The Cowboys are sixth on the NRL ladder with the help of two byes but they actually have the 11th-best record
There is a clear top four in the NRL, seven or eight teams who should be in the playoff mix and then another five or six who are in the playoff equation but are only just making up the numbers for now.
Here’s how the teams stack up after Round 14.
1. Bulldogs (1): Wasn’t that a great game on the Isn’t About Time We Became A Republic public holiday on Monday.
Two old rivals belting the royal tripe out of each other in front of a huge crowd. Fit for a king, or a true head of state actually born in Australia.
Canterbury were tested and ultimately came out on top. And after getting Lachlan Galvin his first taste of life as a Bulldog, how they integrate him into the line-up over the next few weeks will be a huge factor in their premiership push.
Lachie Galvin. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
2. Storm (2): That was their most Melbourne-like performance in a while on Friday night at AAMI Park.
The Cowboys were never in the contest and the Storm clicked like the Bellamy machine of old to rack up 38 points on an outclassed opponent.
3. Raiders (3): Slow starts are only a problem if you can’t chase them down and the Raiders have now reeled in opponents three weeks in a row to head into their first bye of the season in a great position with an 11-3 record.
Hudson Young has always been a dynamic edge forward on the left for Canberra, but this year he has entered the conversation as one of the top 10 players in the NRL, if not higher.
4. Warriors (4): That was a strong win on the road at Shark Park against a team that had claims of finishing in the top four. They have now been obliterated
The Warriors dominated through the middle and looked far too slick out wide. Teenage forward Leka Halasima would have to be odds-on favourite to win Rookie of the Year (sneaking in for qualification after playing just four matches last season) with another bar-storming display, including a crucial second-half try.
5. Roosters (6): They go up a spot because the Sharks faltered. Their prospects are also on the up with Sam Walker making a successful return from his ACL tear in the NSW Cup on the weekend.
6. Sharks (5): They are starting to go backwards after a promising mid-season resurgence which culminated in a win over Melbourne two weeks ago.
They have now been badly beaten by a depleted Roosters line-up and on home turf by the Warriors.
7. Dolphins (12): They rise three spots after following up an impressive win over the Bulldogs with a 50-point pummeling of the Dragons.
They’ve been a hard team to track all year due to their wild fluctuations between their best and worst, but when they do even out that wide variation they’ll be a playoff team either this year or next.
Haumole Olakau’atu. (Photo by Scott Gardiner/Getty Images)
8. Sea Eagles (7): Their meltdown in Newcastle should not come as a surprise.
They have been hot and cold week to week all season and now they’re doing it at 40-minute intervals.
To cough up a 16-0 lead to a team that has struggled to score points all year is unacceptable.
9. Cowboys (10): They are simply not in Melbourne’s class and they made an improbable task an impossible one with dumb footy in several key moments.
With four Origin players out and two more set to be suspended they are in for a tough outing this weekend against the upstart Dolphins.
10. Broncos (11): They did only beat Gold Coast so they only get a minor bump up the rankings following their five-game losing streak.
The return of Reece Walsh seemed to reinvigorate them but they are a long way shy of expectations with a 6-7 record.
11. Panthers (13): They have finally won back-to-back matches at the midpoint of the season – it is a stark contrast for a team that has been clinical in the way it has racked up wins over the past five years.
Although they are firmly back in the playoff mix they are still a long way off the pace being set by the top four teams.
Dylan Edwards passes. (Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images)
12. Rabbitohs (9): They don’t have the pack or the all-around class to match up with the top guns, which has been evident in their losses to the Warriors and Raiders over the past two weeks.
Cody Walker has been a strong player for Souths over the past decade but he is showing signs of wear and tear with hamstring, calf and groin injuries reducing his availability significantly this year.
13. Eels (14): Competing hard each round and building for the future but it will be a good season for them if they can avoid the bottom rungs of the ladder.
And the way they are going they’re probably going to settle into somewhere in the 12 to 15 ballpark. They get a bump up despite their loss to the Dogs as the final scoreline did not indicate the closeness of the contest and St George Illawarra were diabolical.
14. Dragons (12): They were exceedingly disappointing against the Dolphins and were lucky the final wasn’t even more embarrassing after giving up 50 points with still 20 minutes on the clock.
Training around Wollongong way won’t be a pleasant place for the players this week but at least they don’t have to wait long for a shot at redemption with a trip to Shark Park for the local derby on Thursday.
If that doesn’t fire them up then nothing will.
15. Tigers (11): They looked over-roared/overawed at times in their loss to their big brother Panthers but the biggest concern should be their continuation of unforced errors and dopey penalties at key moments in matches.
Benji Marshall needs to stamp that out because it’s becoming a worrying trend which is contributing to their recent mid-season slump.
16. Knights (17): Adam O’Brien must have read How to Win Friends and Influence People in reverse because the last thing you should do to Knights fans who are renowned for being the most loyal in the NRL is to criticise them for booing the team off the field at half-time when they were down 16-0 to Manly.
The fact that they ended up winning by four in extra time is probably as much due to the embarrassment meted out by the Knights faithful as it was to do with anything O’Brien did tactically against Manly.
17. Titans (16): The club is doing itself a disservice by being so vehement in its public stance that Des Hasler will remain as coach next season even though Gold Coast can cut him at the end of this year without financial repercussions.
The results are getting even worse and there is little hope for optimism for long-suffering Titans fans.
Paul Suttorhttps://https://ift.tt/YGczAR4 Power Rankings: Round 14 – Just five teams boast winning records as stragglers start to circle the drain
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