We have something new for the 2025 NRL season. With last season's final table acting as a starting order, each week we will move teams up, down or nowhere at all, depending on their performances on the weekend.
This week the Bulldogs landed on a Roosters' shaped snake, while the Storm assumed top spot on the board after their narrow victory over the Panthers.
The results won't match the 2025 NRL competition ladder, but will give an alternative indication of how well each team is travelling.
Last year's finishing order: 1. Storm, 2. Panthers, 3. Roosters, 4. Sharks, 5. Cowboys, 6. Bulldogs, 7. Sea Eagles, 8. Knights, 9. Raiders, 10. Dolphins, 11. Dragons, 12. Broncos, 13. Warriors, 14. Titans, 15. Eels, 16. Rabbitohs, 17. Tigers
1.
Storm - ladder up 2
With positions in the Top 4 to be determined the Storm travelled to Parramatta to take on the charging Panthers. The home side enjoyed all the field position and a majority of possession early and cashed in with a try after 10 minutes. Minutes later, after a mountain of defence, Tyran Wishart kicked to Xavier Coates who looked to have knocked the ball on into Dylan Edwards, until the bunker cleared the four-pointer. Jonah Pezet then kicked a 40-20, but the Panthers' wall held. The Panthers were next to cross with a running play on the last tackle on about halfway. Down 12-4 at halftime, Coates was at it again grabbing an intercept before outpacing the defence to the corner. Minutes later Coates was outjumping Brian To'o to tap the ball back to Joe Chan to score the try. A Panthers try put them back in front before Marion Seve did brilliantly to get the ball down before crossing the sideline. With the scores locked at 18-18, Harry Grant stepped forward to win the game, having a Nathan Cleary field goal disallowed by running into Moses Leota, before fooling the Panthers defence from dummy-half to score the match winner in golden point extra time.
2.
Raiders - steady - bye
3.
Panthers - snake down 2
Penrith hosted the premiership favourites Storm in a finals preview clash on a soggy deck in Parramatta. With plenty of territory and ball early they piled on the pressure and Isaiah Papali'i managed to crack the defence after 10 minutes. The Storm replied and then with eight minutes remaining in the half, the Panthers ran the ball on the last tackle, kicked ahead for Dylan Edwards to regather before passing to Nathan Cleary who covered the last 15 metres before sliding to the line under three defenders. The Storm took the lead through two tries before the Panthers sent Scott Sorenson crashing through the Melbourne defence from 10 metres out. A Storm try with 14 minutes remaining tied the scores and a Cleary field goal with a minute remaining was disallowed because of a blocker penalty. Into golden point extra time Edwards dropped the ball on halfway and in the ensuing set Harry Grant fooled everyone from dummy-half to score the match winner.
4.
Broncos - ladder up 1
The Broncos travelled to Suncorp Stadium for their away game against the Dolphins, missing Adam Reynolds and Ezra Mam for a clash crucial to their hopes of a Top 4 finish. They conceded the first try, before Kotoni Staggs slipped through the Dolphins defence after 19 minutes. A penalty goal each was followed by another Dolphins try, before Reece Walsh set up a break on halfway and backed up on the inside to score in the shadows of halftime. The teams locked at 14-14 as they wandered off for oranges. The Broncos were caught napping at the start of the second half, before another Dolphins try extended the home side's lead to 28-14. The Broncos somehow managed to shake that off and find their second wind, scoring three tries in six minutes to wrestle back control of the derby. Kotoni Staggs finished off the scoring, crossing for his double in the 67th minute.
5.
Sharks - ladder up 1
The Sharks hosted the Titans looking for a big win to ensure their ongoing position in the Top 8. They got off to a flyer with Nicho Hynes finishing off his own kick and chase after just three minutes. They may have thought it was going to be an easy afternoon, but the Titans scored the next two tries to shake the hosts up. Jesse Colquhoun scored after 22 minutes and it was all Sharks after that, with Hynes crossing for his double three minutes later. The Sharks scored two more tries to go to the break with a 28-10 lead. A Ronaldo Mulitalo double started their second-half scoring, before three more tries, including a Sione Katoa double, topped off the drubbing. Coach Craig Fitzgibbon would not have been happy with the two late Titans tries, with for-and-against likely to have a say in final placings.
6.
Bulldogs - snake down 2
The Bulldogs took to Allianz Stadium to face the Roosters and initially struggled with the big forward pack making charges through the middle. Still, the 'Dogs were able to score the first try through some sublime passing from Stephen Crichton to his winger Enari Tuala. They conceded the next two tries with Daniel Tupou out-leaping Tualu to score in the corner before Josh Curran dropped a ball on his own line for the Roosters' second try. After the break it was all Roosters as the fabled Bulldogs defence crumbled, with Coates grabbing a hat trick as he completely outclassed his opposite. Matt Burton raced away for an intercept try in the 62nd minute, but the game was well and truly lost by that stage.
7.
Roosters - ladder up 1
The Roosters hosted the Bulldogs in what promised to be a vital clash. The Chooks started a big pack and set about overpowering the Bulldogs up the middle of the park. Despite the early forward dominance, they conceded the opening try and were back-pedalling under the booming kicks of Matt Burton. They struck back in the 15th minute through a pin-point Sam Walker kick to Daniel Tupou in the corner. A penalty goal and an opportunistic try to Naufahu Whyte just before halftime saw them jog off for oranges 14-6 up. Whyte was in again after the break, bulldozing his way to the line through three smaller Bulldogs defenders. Two more tries to Tupou gave him his hat trick as the Roosters scored a commanding victory, continuing their charge towards the finals.
8.
Tigers - ladder up 1
Wests Tigers hosted the Sea Eagles at Allianz Stadium and were shocked at the end of the very first set when Tolutau Koula cut through to score the opening try. The Tigers levelled the scores with an Adam Doueihi charge from close range after 10 minutes. Seven minutes from halftime, some slick passing left Jeral Skelton with plenty to do, but he beat three defenders to the corner for the Tigers to go to the break ahead 12-6 following Doueihi's sideline conversion. After halftime, some solid goal line defence was followed by brilliant tries to Sunia Turva and Taylan May to seal the match. A late Manly consolation try finished the scoring.
9.
Warriors - ladder up 3
The battling Warriors hosted the red-hot Dragons with their season in an alarming downward spiral. The Dragons crossed for the first two tries, but lost three forwards to the HIA. With repeat sets and pressing the Dragons line, the ball was spread to Roger Tuivasa-Sheck who managed to drop a shoulder into a defender and unload the ball to Chanel Harris-Tavita for the Warriors first try. After the break Adam Pompey crossed for a double to give the Warriors a hard-fought and desperately needed victory.
10.
Eels - snake down 3
The Eels visited the Rabbitohs and conceded the first try in the 14th minute. They struck back with tries to Isaiah Iongi and Zac Lomax before conceding another to go to the break with a narrow 12-10 lead. Despite the two sides having little but pride to play for, the second half became a real battle. The Eels defence cracked allowing the Rabbitohs to take the lead through two Tallis Duncan tries. They managed to make the finish interesting when Lomax crossed for his double with nine minutes remaining, but were unable to run down the Bunnies.
11.
Rabbitohs - ladder up 3
The Rabbitohs hosted the Eels at Allianz Stadium after an improved performance last week against the Titans. The bad news, Latrell Mitchell was a late injury withdrawal, but the good news was Cody Walker's return. The Eels opened the scoring with a penalty goal, before Jye Gray put Tyrone Munro over in the corner after 14 minutes. The Eels scored the next two tries before Peter Mamouzelos crossed to draw the Rabbitohs within two points at the break. The very versatile, hard-running Tallis Duncan turned things in Souths' favour, scoring two second-half tries. A Zac Lomax try with nine minutes remaining brought the scores to 20-16 and had Rabbitohs' fans very nervous, but they were able to hang on for a solid victory, pushing them further away from the wooden spoon.
12.
Dragons - snake down 2
On the back of upset victories against the Raiders and Sharks, the Dragons flew to New Zealand to take on the Warriors. They scored the first try after 10 minutes through Mathew Feagai as the Warriors handed them plenty of possession. Then in the 15th minute Jack De Bellin and Hamish Stewart met head-to-head at the back of a tackle on James Fisher-Harris. Both knocked out cold they were both ruled out of the game, as Feagai crossed for his double in the 21st minute. The Dragons also lost Hame Sele to HIA as they struggled to stay in the game. Fatigue eventually as responsible as the Warriors were for the result.
13.
Dolphins - snake down 2
The Dolphins hosted the Broncos for the Battle of Brisbane with last week's drubbing by the Roosters still stinging. With the Broncos missing both starting halves and the Dolphins' finals hopes hanging by a thread, this was a game that they simply had to win. They started strongly, defending their line well before Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow cut through for the first try after 14 minutes. They allowed the Broncos to strike back before Jake Averillo scored, this time on the right-hand side. Another Broncos try saw the scores locked at 14-14 at halftime. Straight after the break Trai Fuller cut through the Broncos line on halfway to run away for a try, which was followed seven minutes later by a Jeremy Marshall-King four-pointer. From there the Dolphins clocked off, allowing the Broncos to score three tries in six minutes, before Kotoni Staggs finished off the scoring with a try in the 67th minute.
14.
Cowboys - ladder up 1
The Cowboys welcomed the Knights to Townsville with both teams left with only pride and their coaches' stress levels to play for. The Cowboys opened the scoring after just three minutes with Scott Drinkwater slicing through the Knights' defence after receiving an inside pass supporting the play he instigated. Tom Dearden was next to score some 26 minutes later. Before halftime Braidon Burns latched onto a Dane Gagai pass and ran 80 metres for another try. The home side went to the break 20-0 up and wrapped up the two points with second half tries to Jaxon Purdue, Jeremiah Nanai and Drinkwater's double.
15.
Sea Eagles - snake down 2
The Tigers hosted Manly at Allianz Stadium and it was all Tolutau Koula for the first try at the end of the very first set of six tackles. Koula received the ball 40 metres out and cut through some feeble Tigers defence before leaving fullback Jahream Bula on his haunches with a brutal side step to score. It was all Tigers from that point on as the Sea Eagles struggled for cohesion in both attack and defence. They lost Reuben Garrick to a shoulder injury in the first half. After the break Garrick's replacement Tommy Talua was dragged down short of the line and was pinged for a double movement. Instead of having a simple conversion to level the scores, Manly let the Tigers march downfield and score another try. The Sea Eagles hardly threatened the Tigers again, until a very late consolation try to Matthew Lodge.
16.
Titans - steady
The Titans ventured down to Sharks Stadium to face Cronulla, hoping to make a move away from the dreaded wooden spoon. After conceding the first try in the third minute, the Titans knuckled down to score the next two, with Jaylan De Groot scything through the Sharks defence and Beau Fermor crossing two minutes later. They would then allow the Sharks to score nine consecutive tries, before picking up a couple of consolation four-pointers as the clock ran down. It was another very disappointing effort for the Gold Coast.
17.
Knights - steady
Newcastle headed to Townsville to face the Cowboys with an unfamiliar lineup. They conceded a try to the Cowboys after just three minutes before Jack Cogger made a break with debutant fullback Connor Votano in support. Cogger mistimed the pass, and Votano couldn't gather it in. Jacob Saifiti then had two chances near the Cowboys' line, but failed to trouble the scoreboard. Down 20-0 at the break, the Knights conceded another three tries in the second half. Votano dropped another opportunity for a try on debut, while Dominic Young crossed for the Knights' only points.