Power Rankings - Round 4

1. South Sydney Rabbitohs (equal)
Despite the loss last week, the Rabbitohs still manage to cling to the top spot for the fourth week in a row. Greg Inglis was bettered twice by big John Folau, but that won't happen too many times this season. I think the Rabbitohs suffered a little bit from their own hype, and may have underestimated the Eels slightly. They'll have learnt from the loss, and will have the monkey off their back with regard to when they were going to drop a game.

2. Newcastle Knights (up 1)
Four on the trot, and the Knights are looking strong. NRL fans are divided into two distinct groups at the moment - those who think the Knights are playing above themselves, and those who think there's still improvement to come. I'm firmly in the latter category. Although the Knights have been winning, there are definite improvements to be made. Chris Houston had his best game in years, and Jarrod Mullen looks to be finding some consistency.

3. Sydney Roosters (down 1)
The Roosters drop a place this week, but that's purely based on the fact that the Knights keep winning. The boys from the east still look every bit the premiership contenders they were talked up as in the pre-season. Their forwards keep performing, and providing a platform from which their halves are dominating. Watch out Sharks this week, I smell a big score!

4. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (up 1)
The Bulldogs started slowly against the Tigers, conceding an 18 point deficit, before they decided enough was enough. They came back at the Tigers with 18 second half points to force the game into extra time, before Moses Mybe landed his side the win. Fans' hearts won't stand up to too many of those types of results, but I think the Bulldogs were just looking to add some excitement to the match up.

5. Penrith Panthers (down 1)
The Panthers won't be panicking just yet, despite losing for the second time in a row. The losses of James Segeyaro and Jamie Soward proved costly, and poor Peter Wallace got absolutely bashed by Beau Scott every time he touched the ball. The Panthers back three were impressive, but the Penrith side really never looked like snatching the game after being blown away early.

6. Wests Tigers (up 1)
The Tigers started strongly against the Bulldogs, but then just went to sleep and let the Bulldogs right back into the game - eventually paying the ultimate price for it. Both Luke Brooks and James Tedesco were impressive, with Brooks especially putting on a real display of his running game. If the Tigers can play for the full 80 minutes, they'll do a lot of damage this season.

7. Brisbane Broncos (up 1)
The Broncos season has been the polar opposite to the Raiders - an early hammering, followed by several weeks of solid performances. They're sitting at 3-1, and should improve that record further when they take on the Titans in the other Queensland derby this weekend. The Broncos pack is working well together, and Thaiday is finally warming up after a slow start.

8. Parramatta Eels (up 2)
What a difference a week makes! After struggling hard in the back end of Round 3, the Eels came out and shocked the Rabbitohs into submission. Not content to just make up the numbers against the heavily favoured Rabbitohs, the Eels came out and bashed and intimidated their way to victory. Chris Sandow is looking like a world beater at the moment, and has consistent performers all around him to support.

9. Melbourne Storm (down 3)
The Storm will be sticking voodoo pins into an effigy of Johnathan Thurston after he stole the win from them on the weekend. The Storm had done all the hard work early, but forgot an NRL game goes for 80 minutes, and let the Cowboys back into the game. They'll host the Warriors this weekend, in a game that could be a blowout either way. Their big drop this week is more due to the good performances of some sides below them, than it is a fault of their own.

10. Warriors (up 1)
Flip a coin - which Warriors' side will turn up? Last week the coin must have landed on its edge. In the first half we saw the dud Warriors side, who looked absolutely hapless. In the second half though, the Warriors came out and looked like they had purpose. If it wasn't for a terrible first half, they've have come away with the goods. Instead, they're left pondering what could have been.

11. St. George Illawarra Dragons (up 3)
At this stage of the season, it's pretty much impossible to judge form. Teams can yo-yo their way up and down the power rankings based on a single result. It's just too early to apply the word form to a handful of performances. That's exactly what has happened to the Dragons. No, I'm not looking at

12. Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles (down 3)
I don't expect these guys to sit this low on the board for long, but based on performances so far it's hard to have the Sea Eagles any higher. Injuries to key men have been unkind to the Manly side - they've got plenty of strikepower but just can't seem to keep a consistent team on the park. Injuries to Jamie Lyon, Josh Starling and Feleti Mateo, as well as a late injury to Daly Cherry-Evans

13. Canberra Raiders (down 1)
After a promising opening round, the Raiders have been on a slippery slope for the past few weeks. Losses to the Warriors, Dragons and Roosters have left them in a dire position on the ladder. Luckily, the Raiders are up against the injury crippled Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles this week - surely they'll be able to scrape a win...

14. North Queensland Cowboys (up 2)
Well, the Cowboys have finally opened their account for 2015, but is it too little too late? It was an exciting victory, don't get me wrong, but their poor performances in the first few rounds may hurt them in the back end of the season. Jason Taumalolo was back to his devastating best, and Johnathan Thurston helped his side put on some attacking brilliance that we all knew they were capable of.

15. Gold Coast Titans (equal)
Luck played a big hand in the Titans' first win of the season, but the win will be worth much more to the Titans than just the two points. The Gold Coast side has been down on confidence (and competition points) in the first few rounds of the season, and both of those issues can be remedied off the back of that win. Wins are easier when it's 19 v 17...

16. Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (down 3)
The Sharks' problems in the halves run deep at the moment. They seem to be running through the list of potential options, and crossing them all off one-by-one. The Ben Barba experiment failed miserably, and stopgap solution Wade Graham also failed on the weekend. If he hadn't thrown that pass, which was intercepted by the opposition and scored from, then the Sharks would have won, and perhaps would not be sitting on the bottom of the Power Rankings this week. Good luck to Jack Bird this week - hope you can avoid the curse.