The SENZ League team of play-by-play caller Sam Hewat, plus experts Blake Ayshford and Anthony Gelling, have done the math following Round 5 of the NRL season.
Here's how they saw each matchup:
Storm def. Broncos 34-32
The Storm returned from last week’s bye with their full complement of Jahrome Hughes, Cam Munster, Harry Grant, and Ryan Papenhuyzen - it was the first time that spine had ever played against the Broncos together.
Despite a see-saw match, the difference in the end really was the Broncos losing Adam Reynolds in the 41st minute, as they lacked a game manager in the closing moments of the game.
Blake Ayshford: Storm (2) Broncos (1)
Anthony Gelling: Storm (2) Broncos (1)
Sam Hewat: Storm (2) Broncos (1)
Bulldogs def. Roosters 30-26
A game that can only be described as carnage! Injuries, HIAs, send offs, and sin bins - all in torrential rain and conditions that made a decent game of football an impossibility.
The Bulldogs snuck home despite the Roosters scoring four of their tries with twelve men on the pitch, and their last with just 11. Plenty to like for the Bulldogs but still hard to give out maximum power-rankings points given the state of the game.
Blake Ayshford: Bulldogs (1) Roosters (0)
Anthony Gelling: Bulldogs (1) Roosters (0)
Sam Hewat: Bulldogs (2) Roosters (0)
Knights def. Dragons 30-10
Another wild game of rugby league with the Newcastle pitch looking more like the Rotorua lakes.
Both teams struggled to hold onto the ball, with 30 errors across the match (18 from the Dragons), and in the end it was Kalyn Ponga who steered the Knights to victory.
They’re a team that still looks threatening despite losing so many in the off-season, but they’ll need to string consecutive wins together to climb both the NRL ladder on our power rankings.
Blake Ayshford: Knights (1) Dragons (0)
Anthony Gelling: Knights (1) Dragons (0)
Sam Hewat: Knights (1) Dragons (0)
Warriors def. Rabbitohs 34-4
Undoubtedly the performance of the round from the One NZ Warriors who absolutely destroyed a Souths team seriously struggling in 2024.
The storylines out of the match were the brain explosions of Latrell Mitchell, as well as Jason Demetriou’s perilous position as coach, but for Warriors fans the story was just how good the depth of the squad is in 2024.
Missing five of their regular starters (Metcalf, Watene-Zelezniak, Kapewell, Niukore, and Walker) they put on a performance against a side that has averaged 40 points on them over the past five matches.
The Warriors now sit atop the NRL for defensive stats averaging just 14.4 points-against per game.
Blake Ayshford: Warriors (3) Rabbitohs (0)
Anthony Gelling: Warriors (3) Rabbitohs (0)
Sam Hewat: Warriors (3) Rabbitohs (0)
Sea Eagles def. Panthers 32-18
The Panthers managed to garner victory last week despite missing star halfback Nathan Cleary, however this time it was a task too tall. Daly Cherry-Evans became the highest-capped player in Sea Eagles club history, and the team put on a performance to celebrate their marquee man.
It’s not often teams put 30+ points on the Panthers, and force 32 missed tackles, but Manly went about their work effectively and DCE led from the front.
A solid result for the Sea Eagles, however 41 missed tackles of their own and a few blown opportunities mean they’ve still got plenty to work on.
Blake Ayshford: Sea Eagles (2) Panthers (0)
Anthony Gelling: Sea Eagles (3) Panthers (0)
Sam Hewat: Sea Eagles (2) Panthers (0)
Dolphins def. Tigers 26-16
The Tigers came back down to earth after back-to-back wins in Rounds 3 & 4.
The loss of Lachlan Galvin (two-week suspension) proved to disrupt the fluidity on attack, but it was really their inability to reel the Dolphins in when they had them on the ropes. Despite a spirited comeback to start the second half, they gave up crucial errors that allowed the Dolphins to run away with.
While it was a good win for the Dolphins, it could have come at a high cost, with Felise Kaufusi, Tom Flegler and Herbie Farnworth all unable to finish the game.
Blake Ayshford: Dolphins (2) Tigers(0)
Anthony Gelling: Dolphins (2) Tigers(0)
Sam Hewat: Dolphins (2) Tigers (0)
Cowboys def. Titans 35-22
The Titans attack finally came to play in 2024, with the Gold Coast side scoring more than 14 points for the first time this season.
Unfortunately, it all came in the second half when the Cowboys had already piled on the points, and as has been custom with the Titans, they couldn’t stop the leaks on defense, allowing six tries and a field goal.
The Cowboys are in a holding pattern at the moment. They’ve won 4 from 5 to start the year, but mostly against weaker opposition. They have three tough matches ahead (Eels, Sharks, Panthers) which will go a long way in showing the competition just where they sit in 2024.
Blake Ayshford: Cowboys (1) Titans (0)
Anthony Gelling: Cowboys (2) Titans (0)
Sam Hewat: Cowboys (2) Titans (0)
Raiders def. Eels 41-8
Arguably the second-best performance of the round, outside of the Warriors, as the Raiders decimated the Eels in Canberra to bounce back from their two consecutive losses in weeks prior.
Ricky Stuart’s men nearly did everything right as they tore through the Eels defense and let stars like Matt Timoko and Xavier Savage shine.
There’s a real “Warriors 2023” vibe about the Raiders who are (so far) well exceeding the pre-season expectations. Like the Warriors last year though, they will need to beat the teams above them, not below them, to find themselves inside the top 8 come seasons end.
Blake Ayshford: Raiders (3) Eels (0)
Anthony Gelling: Raiders (3) Eels (0)
Sam Hewat: Raiders (3) Eels (0)
SENZ League Rankings after Round 5:
- Panthers (1st previous week)
- Warriors (2)
- Storm (5)
- Sea Eagles (7)
- Broncos (4)
- Cowboys (8)
- Raiders (11)
- Sharks (6)
- Roosters (3)
- Dolphins (12)
- Eels (9)
- Tigers (10)
- Bulldogs (13)
- Knights (15)
- Dragons (16)
- Rabbitohs (14)
- 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.