NRL: Nathan Cleary has led the Penrith Panthers to a record first half over the Parramatta Eels in their round four clash.
A month of rugby league is behind us and some clear contenders are already emerging, while a few surprise packets have also put the competition on notice. Watch every game of every round of the Premiership Season LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo?With that in mind, it is time to look at where all 17 teams rank from best to worst after the opening four rounds.
WHAT'S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.After a sluggish start to 2025, the Panthers have clearly learned from their mistakes — although this also seems like a simple case of the new-look left edge benefiting from more time playing together. Whatever the explanation may be, this looks more like the Penrith side that won four-straight premierships. This Panthers team doesn’t seem to have any glaring flaws now that the left-edge defence has been tightened up, and the result has been four-straight wins to open the 2026 season with all of them coming in dominant fashion. To give you an idea of just how dominant they have been, the Panthers are just third team in Premiership history to win their first four games of the season by 20 ore more points. Their 140 points scored, meanwhile, are their most ever through four rounds while their +110 differential is the best by any team through four rounds since Melbourne in 2005. As for their 30 points conceded through four rounds? It is the equal second-lowest total by any team through four games in the NRL era.Last week was obviously not ideal, and is the real challenge for this Warriors team that has shown the kind of consistency and defensive grit to go on a deep finals run this year. They also have the points to blow teams off the park, as was the case in their first three games against the Raiders, Roosters and Knights. But when they were expected to breeze past a Tigers team without Jarome Luai they instead regressed back to the Warriors of old. Some of that can be put down to the return of halfback Luke Metcalf, who undeniably makes this Warriors team better but needs time to get back into rhythm and develop his combination with Tanah Boyd, who has been a revelation to open 2026.Another team who started the year off red-hot but has cooled off in recent weeks.Well, nothing against the Tigers or Knights, but the Storm have more of a track record so that has to mean something as does the way they disposed of Parramatta in Round 1. They also smoked the Dragons the following week, and while there were a few defensive lapses against Brisbane, the Broncos look to be finding their feet and so that was hardly a disastrous loss. The defeat to North Queensland was more concerning because as fullback Scott Drinkwater joked the week prior to Fox League, the Storm don’t lose back-to-back games under Craig Bellamy.With a bye already mixed in, the Tigers’ position on the ladder is somewhat inflated. But it is hard not to be excited about the direction Benji Marshall’s side is going in, especially when you consider the 20-16 loss to South Sydney is hardly anything to be too concerned about. After all, the Tigers of old wouldn’t have responded the way they did, especially without a senior playmaker like Jarome Luai, by making a statement on the road against the Warriors.Another team where you have to be impressed by how they responded to their first loss of the season. They slot in just under the Tigers as while Newcastle has three wins to its name, Benji Marshall’s side look the more likely to make a bigger push for the finals based on last year’s results whereas for the Knights a win this year would be escaping the bottom four. But you have to give the Knights credit for the way they have rallied without Kalyn Ponga and Dylan Brown, which says a lot about the immediate impact of coach Justin Holbrook.The first-up shut-out against Penrith was concerning and the 40 points conceded to Parramatta was then alarm bells. But being defending premiers, the Broncos will get a bit more leeway this early in the season, especially when you consider the talent of the roster and quality of coach in Michael Maguire. And they have proven they deserve that wiggle room given what they have produced in the last fortnight, first travelling down to Melbourne and upsetting the Storm before putting another tumultuous week behind them against the Dolphins.7. CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS Like the Broncos, the Bulldogs have some built-in credit based on what they did last season and it looks like it’ll be a case of much of the same in 2026. They have the defence to win the comp, but the attack and halves combination remains a work in progress. At this point, it appears that if the Bulldogs can keep their opposition to below 20 points they are a good chance of winning but anything beyond that and they may well be climbing an uphill battle.Their wins to start the year have been far from convincing, although you can say that for a lot of the teams below them in the power rankings. It is hard to get a good read on the Rabbitohs so far this year, and another string of injuries after a luckless run in 2025 hasn’t helped. Ultimately, they look like a middle-of-the-road team that might squeak into the finals but not much more. So, the eighth-placed ranking seems right at this stage in the season.Everything about the Rabbitohs applies to the Dolphins, from the battle with injuries to inconsistent form. The 38-10 win over Cronulla showed just how high a ceiling Kristian Woolf’s team has when they put it together, and their losses to the Rabbitohs and Broncos have hardly been disastrous. This is a team with plenty of strike in the backline and an emerging superstar at halfback in Isaiya Katoa. Ultimately, it is the forward pack, and whether they can stay healthy, which will determine just how far the Dolphins can go after threatening to make the finals last year.Their season started with a bang but then quickly started to fall away with back-to-back losses to the Panthers and Dolphins. It was the nature of those losses which would have been of greatest concern to coach Craig Fitzgibbon, who has been built Cronulla’s success in recent years on a hard edge in defence. Considering what Penrith has been doing to other teams in the competition so far you can somewhat overlook that result, but the way the Sharks folded against the Dolphins was concerning. It was good to see them really put the Titans to the sword, but again the biggest question remains their ability to match it with the top contenders in the competition.Cowboys coach Todd Payten looked to be heading in the same direction as Anthony Seibold but back-to-back wins suddenly have the North Queensland coach sitting a bit more comfortable. The 30-16 win over the Titans was largely expected, but to upset Melbourne 28-24 speaks volumes about a playing group that is still trying to rally around its under-fire coach. The blowout loss to the Tigers was obviously disappointing but Liechhardt Oval is a hard environment to win in, especially when Benji Marshall’s side is in a mood.Going back to the idea of credit, the Roosters have more of it than the Cowboys, but it is hard to get too excited about any of their two wins so far this year. The Rabbitohs made them work hard for the 26-18 win in Round 2, while they at least avoided disaster last week against a Manly team that looks an early wooden spoon candidate. But heavy losses to both the Warriors and Panthers proved that unless they get their defence in check, the attacking firepower they have at their disposal will matter little.The Eels look a few rungs below the Panthers and Storm based on their performances against those two teams, but you have to give them credit for the way they took it to the Broncos at Suncorp, especially given Brisbane got off to such a fast start. Still, considering the injuries that are piling up, it is hard to see the Eels finding the consistency they need to sneak into the top eight this year.So much of that defence falls on the fullback to communicate with the rest of the team and with Isaiah Iongi out for at least eight weeks, it is hard to see it getting much better.Last year’s minor premiers have just the one win to their name, and it came in unconvincing fashion against Manly. Otherwise, they were towelled up by the Warriors and lost close games at home against the Bulldogs and Sharks. They sit ahead of the Titans, Sea Eagles and Dragons because you have to give them some credit based on what they produced last year in the hope they can turn it around.It has been a rough start to 2026, but unlike the Sea Eagles and Dragons at least the Titans have a win to their name. They also put up a decent effort against the Dolphins in defeat and were hardly well off the pace in North Queensland, with errors ultimately their undoing.Along with Manly, the Dragons are the only other team to not record a win this season. They finish slightly ahead of the Sea Eagles in the power rankings though because at least they have shown signs. They showed plenty of heart in Vegas against the Bulldogs and even gave it to the Storm early on before Sua Fa’alogo’s freakish talent proved the difference. Close losses to Parramatta and the Gold Coast followed, so while the results on paper aren’t there and they very much look like a bottom-four team, they look closer to victory than Manly. If they aren’t able to beat either the Cowboys or Sea Eagles in the next two weeks, however, Shane Flanagan’s job may be in danger.What is there to say. Their coach has been sacked and outside of the first-up loss to Canberra, they largely haven’t looked close to winning.Otherwise, they can only lean on the fact that teams typically seem to perform well in their first game after sacking their coach.
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