Jamie Soward's Power Rankings: Brisbane Broncos plummet

Author: Jamie Soward NRL.com Expert
Timestamp: Mon 12 Mar 2018, 03:30 PM

Not surprisingly, it took just one round for the upsets to start. Some teams were unexpectedly hot, some were unexpectedly not. Check out where NRL.com expert Jamie Soward ranks your team ahead of round two.

1. Melbourne Storm (Last week: 1)

Just pure class to be able to slot Ryley Jacks in so smoothly, and Cam Munster showed he can play anywhere in that backline and what a talent he is. They are going to be hard to beat and they stay at number one this week.

2. St George Illawarra Dragons (7)

Big movers up the Power Rankings. It would've been hard for Ben Hunt to play against his old team but he showed he's the ultimate professional and showed that gamble is going to pay off. The Dragons seem like they've finally found a number seven.

Dragons halfback Ben Hunt. ©Nathan Hopkins/NRL Photos

3. North Queensland Cowboys (2)

A very tough win first off for last year's grand finalists. Johnathan Thurston coming back in showed his absolute class and was the difference in a tight game. He took over at times and his kicking game was second to none.

4. Penrith Panthers (5)

Up a spot from last week, the Panthers had a great win at home in front of a big fan base. The worrying thing is that they continue with these slow starts. Their second half performance was great but I don't know if you can build your season on being behind 10 or 12 every week.

5. Sydney Roosters (3)

Another team that misfired in round one. It's probably going to take some time but there's enough quality in there to be able to bounce back this week against the Bulldogs.

6. Parramatta Eels (6)

The Eels blew a 14-0 lead against Penrith but remain sixth in the Power Rankings. I'm sure Brad Arthur would want to bottle that first 20 minutes. They looked energetic and fluent and finished off sets, but the worrying sign was that when Penrith started throwing punches Parramatta struggled.

7. Cronulla Sharks (4)

The Sharks didn't get their last-play options right and really struggled to find any consistency finishing off sets, but they still showed enough that they're going to be a force in a tough first-up game away from home.

8. Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (10)

They were always in a very tight game, but you'd expect Daly Cherry-Evans to put his hand up and ice that game earlier on. Manly are going to be a hard-working team all year so they need to take their opportunities when they're presented.

Manly halfback Daly Cherry-Evans. ©Shane Myers/NRL Photos

9. New Zealand Warriors (15)

Showed some glimpses in a pretty impressive round one performance and join the Titans as the biggest movers in this week's Power Rankings. They basically have an international side and were able to put it together on the weekend.

10. Gold Coast Titans (16)

The Titans showed that they are going to be a team that's going to go out there and play football. They took their opportunities well against the Raiders and coming from behind the way they did shows great character early on in the season.

11. Newcastle Knights (13)

A great win for the Knights in front of a big home crowd. They really showed that it's going to be a hard place to win this year with those fans. Newcastle have the most loyal fans in the competition.

Tigers five-eighth Benji Marshall. ©Robb Cox/NRL Photos

12. Wests Tigers (14)

The Tigers fought hard and deserved to beat the Roosters, but they're still a work in progress. Does Ivan Cleary stick with Benji Marshall and bring Josh Reynolds off the bench? Maybe that's the blueprint for Luke Brooks.

13. Canterbury Bulldogs (11)

The Dogs showed some good signs against the premiers. Their attack has been re-developed and it'll just take some getting used to. I'm not sure that the can make the top eight but they'll still be hovering around that area.

14. Canberra Raiders (9)

The same story continues from last year with another tight loss. Ricky Stuart would've been very disappointed. Any time you get 18-0 up you should go on and do the job so that's a worrying sign for the Raiders.

15. South Sydney Rabbitohs (12)

The Rabbitohs were almost as disappointing as the Broncos given the hype about Greg Inglis coming back and Dane Gagai's first game. The Souths backline has more points in it, but maybe the occasion overawed some of those guys against a Warriors team that's not tipped not to do much this year.

Rabbitohs centre Dane Gagai. ©Grant Trouville/NRL Photos

16. Brisbane Broncos (8)

The most disappointing team of the first round. They were out-enthused, they didn't have any direction and looked lost at times on last-play options. They were short on enthusiasm all night and didn't look like a Wayne Bennett-coached side.