The SENZ League team of play-by-play caller Sam Hewat, plus experts Blake Ayshford and Anthony Gelling, have done the math following Round 4 of the NRL season.
Here's how they saw each matchup:
Panthers def. Roosters 22-16
No Nathan Clearly, no problem! The Panthers were a class above the Roosters despite many picking the Tricolours to upset Penrith at home.
Defensively, Penrith were near-perfect, only allowing the Roosters to bring the scoreline close in the final ten minutes with two late tries. Penrith are still looking the team to beat in 2024 and it may even be a case of picking the team that meets them in the Grand Final.
Blake Ayshford: Panthers (4) Roosters (0)
Anthony Gelling: Panthers (3) Roosters (0)
Sam Hewat: Panthers (3) Roosters (0)
Rabbitohs def. Bulldogs 20-16
Jason Demetriou can breathe a sigh of relief following his side’s first win of the season against the Bulldogs on Friday night.
The Rabbits completed at 94%, but still lacked some polish on attack, while the Bulldogs (with a whopping 48 sets) made 12 errors and couldn’t string enough momentum together to score more points - a late try to Bulldogs winger Connor Tracey made the game seem closer than it was.
Blake Ayshford: Rabbitohs (1) Bulldogs (1)
Anthony Gelling: Rabbitohs (2) Bulldogs (0)
Sam Hewat: Rabbitohs (2) Bulldogs (0)
Broncos def. Cowboys 38-12
Another upset of the round (per the bookies) with the Broncos dismantling the Cowboys in Brisbane on Friday evening.
An Adam Reynolds masterclass proved how integral he is to the Brisbane side, and his sky-high bombs proved a challenge too tall for the Cowboys backs who struggled in the rain.
The Cowboys were previously undefeated, but the confidence would have taken a massive hit with a loss that big.
Blake Ayshford: Broncos (3) Cowboys (0)
Anthony Gelling: Broncos (3) Cowboys (0)
Sam Hewat: Broncos (3) Cowboys (0)
Dragons def. Sea Eagles 20-12
One of the toughest watches of the round with 30 errors across the game (15 per side).
The Sea Eagles were one of the teams to watch through the first three rounds, but an uncharacteristic performance from Manly fullback Tom Trbojevic (five errors), and an inability to hold onto the ball, meant their trademark speed out wide was never able to get going.
The Dragons will be overjoyed with the upset, but their performance was far from perfect as well - they still need to prove they are not a team that will find themselves in the bottom four.
Blake Ayshford: Dragons (1) Sea Eagles (0)
Anthony Gelling: Dragons (2) Sea Eagles (0)
Sam Hewat: Dragons (1) Sea Eagles (0)
Dolphins def. Titans 30-14
The Titans are in real trouble to start 2024.
Not only have they lost a big name for the season in Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, but they find themselves at the very bottom of the NRL ladder and the only winless team through four rounds. What’s more concerning, is the Titans of old would have lost games, but still found a way to score points.
In 2024, it seems those points have dried up, and with no improvement on defense, that’s a recipe for disaster.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins sit atop the NRL ladder now with two free points from their early bye. It was a convincing win, but they’ll need to be a lot more ruthless with teams more efficient on attack.
Blake Ayshford: Dolphins (2) Titans (0)
Anthony Gelling: Dolphins (2) Titans (0)
Sam Hewat: Dolphins (2) Titans (0)
Warriors def. Knights 20-12
Ironically, despite the Warriors not being inside the NRL’s top eight, there is a case to be made that alongside Penrith, the Warriors are the most consistent team to start 2024.
Yes, they’ve dropped two games, but in both matches they were in commanding positions to win (and perhaps should have). They haven’t been blown off the park, but they also haven’t blown teams off the park themselves.
The Knights were kept in the game by Kalyn Ponga, but the reality is they lack punch in the last 20m and need more from some of their bigger name players.
Blake Ayshford: Warriors (2) Knights (0)
Anthony Gelling: Warriors (2) Knights (0)
Sam Hewat: Warriors (2) Knights (0)
Sharks def. Raiders 36-22
How the Raiders found a way to lose this is beyond anyone.
Up 18-0 through the first 20 minutes, it had all the makings of a cricket score against a Cronulla team reeling from a loss to the Tigers the week before. But the Sharks came out of the depths with a monumental comeback that included six tries.
Hard not to give some credit to Canberra for scoring 22 points, but the Sharks will be moving up the power rankings with a win.
Blake Ayshford: Sharks (2) Raiders (0)
Anthony Gelling: Sharks (2) Raiders (1)
Sam Hewat: Sharks (2) Raiders (1)
Tigers def. Eels 17-16
On paper, it was an unbelievable performance from the Tigers.
Facing an Eels team at CommBank, with plenty of fire power on attack, as well as suffering a yellow card to halfback Lachlan Galvin, they held on and nailed a field goal in the final minute to secure back-to-back wins.
However, plenty of missed tackles from both teams, as well as errors across the park mean it wasn’t quite as glamorous as perhaps first thought. The Tigers are much better than they were in 2023. They might not make the top eight, but they certainly won’t be battling for the wooden spoon.
Blake Ayshford: Tigers (2) Eels (1)
Anthony Gelling: Tigers (3) Eels (1)
Sam Hewat: Tigers (2) Eels (1)
SENZ League Rankings after Round 4:
- Panthers (1st previous week)
- Warriors (6)
- Roosters (2)
- Broncos (11)
- Storm (5)
- Sharks (9)
- Sea Eagles (3)
- Cowboys (4)
- Eels (7)
- Tigers (12)
- Raiders (8)
- Dolphins (14)
- Bulldogs (10)
- Rabbitohs (15)
- Knights (13)
- Dragons (16)
- Titans (17)
HOW IT WORKS
Each week, our NRL experts award points to each team for their performance over the weekend while also taking into account difficulty of opposition, playing at home/away, injuries etc. Points are generally awarded in the following manner:
0 points: Poor performance in a losing effort.
1 point: Good performance in a losing effort, or disappointing effort in winning effort.
2 points: Good performance in a winning effort.
3 points: Strong and dominant performance in a winning effort.
4 points: Exceptional performance in a winning effort.
At the end of each round, the points are tallied and teams are adjusted up and down accordingly. For teams on a bye, they will receive one point from each expert.