Power Rankings - Round 10

1. North Queensland Cowboys
It was a bittersweet performance from Michael Morgan against the Broncos last weekend. He may have won the game for the side and played himself into the origin side, but he also played himself into the origin side. Not seeing the bitter part of it? Ask the Cowboys. Not only are they going to be without Johnathan Thurston against the Titans, but they'll also be without Michael Morgan. Both halves. *Poof*. Gone. Luckily, this year they've played themselves to the right end of the ladder before the origin period.

2. St. George Illawarra Dragons
The Dragons attack definitely clicked into gear last weekend, as they took out a strong win over the Canberra Raiders. Trent Merrin got the call up to the origin side on the back of his impressive performances all season - and Josh Dugan will start at fullback for the Blues. The Dragons get a well deserved week off in round 11, although they probably would have been happy to play while they're on a hot streak of attacking prowess.

3. Brisbane Broncos
The origin period is notoriously harsh on the Broncos, and this year is no different. The Queensland side has picked the eyes out of the Broncos, leaving the kids behind to take on the Knights. At least this year the spine remains mostly intact - and if we're being honest, the Broncos side is still probably comparable to the Knights side on paper.

4. Melbourne Storm
The Storm got a dry run for the origin period early in the season, playing without Billy Slater for an extended period. Cameron Munster filled that spot admirably, but will it be as easy to replace Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk? Don't think so. Luckily, they're perched on top of the premiership ladder - and have got themselves there without a great deal of fuss.

5. Sydney Roosters
Yeah, the Roosters have won in the last couple of weeks - but let's be honest. Neither the Tigers, nor the Bulldogs, are in particularly scintillating form. They've got the bye this weekend, but will be crippled by origin duties over the next few weeks, and probably didn't do quite enough early in the season to set them up for the representative period.

6. Penrith Panthers
How much better can Matt Moylan get? Seriously, how he missed out on origin is absolutely beyond me. The bloke is playing better than Lego, setting up tries left and right, and yet can't get a look in. Oh well, looks like he'll just have to continue carrying the Panthers to victories over the representative period instead.

7. Canberra Raiders
Despite their loss to the Dragons last weekend, the Raiders still look like a threat in 2015. Their attack has been spectacular so far this season, and the fact that they remain relatively unscathed by origin selection should see them gain a bit of momentum leading into the back end of the season. They'll come up against the Bulldogs this weekend, and I'd expect them to pick up the win.

8. South Sydney Rabbitohs
The Loss of Adam Reynolds cannot be overstated for the Rabbitohs. While they hung with the Storm for the majority of the match last weekend, it was obvious that something was missing. At times it was like trying to eat soup with a fork - they knew the basic technique, but lacked the ability to actually get things done.

9. Gold Coast Titans
Almost ran out of troops against the Sharks, getting themselves down to a one man interchange bench, before getting pipped at the post by a field goal. They'll appreciate the week's break - but really, what they'll really appreciate is if they can get to round 14 without any... issues.

10. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
It's rare for a one man team to be reliant on a prop - but that's exactly what the Bulldogs look to be at the moment. When James Graham went off the field things started to slide for the Bulldogs. They're lucky he's never vacationed in Queensland, or the Maroons would have had him jumping on a plane. With a few blokes on origin duty, the Bulldogs will probably struggle to make any inroads into the competition in the next few weeks.

11. Warriors
The Warriors will have a rest this week due to origin, and that's about the only result of theirs I've been comfortable tipping so far this season. The Eels were far from brilliant last weekend, but the Warriors still only just managed a win. They also lost hooker Thomas Leuluai for the season, and will struggle to replace his impact.

12. Wests Tigers
If I were a betting man (which I am), I would suggest the Tigers are about to start a bit of a slide. They've been clinging to "acceptable" by the skin of their teeth for about 7 weeks now, but acceptable doesn't win premierships. Things would have been different if Pat Richards had stuck that intercept, but it wasn't to be.

13. Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Valentine Holmes pulled his side out of the fire against the Titans, snapping a late field goal to win the game. The Sharks will think themselves lucky to have Luke Lewis running out for them in the next couple of weeks, as he was controversially snubbed from origin.

14. Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Boys - the game plan against the Panthers is really simple. Really simple. Tackle. Matt. Moylan. Seriously, belt him hard, belt him early, belt him late, just... tackle him. If you stand off him for half a second, he'll cause you headaches, and the Sea Eagles found this out the hard way. Perhaps I'm being harsh, the Sea Eagles have improved from where they were early in the season, but they're still not troubling the scorekeeper.

15. Newcastle Knights
It was ugly... really, really ugly - but it was a win! The Knights look to have solved their fullback issues after Kurt Gidley moves on. Dane Gagai looked absolutely fabulous at the back, and Sione Mata'utia was more than capable in the centre role. So much for the "experts" that thought both men were playing out of position.

16. Parramatta Eels
S.O.S. Jarryd Hayne. The Eels will take on the Rabbitohs on Friday night, but it'd be a brave man who tipped them, even given the Rabbitohs recent struggles.