NRL Power Rankings – Round 2
After a cracking opening round to the 2006 NRL season the second instalment was just as good with records
broken, extra time played and a few heart stopping finishes that would have had rugby league fans on the
edges of their seats.
Penrith and St George-Illawarra played out the first golden point game of the season with the Panthers
sneaking home by a single point thanks to a Preston Campbell field goal.
That wasn’t the only close finish of the second round with the Cowboys and Storm holding off late comebacks
from the Sea Eagles and the Roosters, while the Broncos just did enough to sneak past the Sharks after
trailing by 12 points at half time.
Newcastle and Canberra set a new standard for points scoring as they combined for 102 points in eighty
minutes, while Canterbury also racked up some hefty numbers in their 47-12 thrashing of the Tigers.
| Power Rankings through Round 2 |
| Current | Team | Last Week |
| 1 | Newcastle Knights | 2 |
|
The Knights backed up their impressive first round victory over Parramatta with a 70-32 demolition of Canberra
last Sunday afternoon. The massive win has sky rocketed Newcastle into premiership favouritism and as long as
star halfback Andrew Johns can stay on the park the Novocastrians will continue to be the bookies number one
choice. |
| 2 | North Queensland Cowboys | 1 |
|
North Queensland may not have been as impressive in their second outing of the season as they were in their
first, but they did just enough to overcome a spirited comeback from Manly to sneak home 20-16 and stay
unbeaten so far this season. |
| 3 | Melbourne Storm | 4 |
|
There may have been some doubts over the ability of Cooper Cronk to handle the halfback role for the Storm,
but the young Melbourne pivot has shown all and sundry that he is up to the job by leading the Victorians to
an unexpected 2-0 record courtesy of impressive away wins over the Warriors and Roosters. |
| 4 | Penrith Panthers | 5 |
|
Penrith have five eighth Preston Campbell to thank for the second road win of the season as the little maestro
struck the game winning field goal in golden point extra time to defeat the Dragons and keep the Panthers
undefeated through two rounds of the NRL. |
| 5 | Canterbury Bulldogs | 9 |
|
After a disappointing first round loss the Bulldogs showed their true colours with a 47-12 annihilation of the
defending champion Wests Tigers. Winger Hazem El Masri was the star for Canterbury racking up 34 points thanks
to four tries and nine goals. |
| 6 | Parramatta Eels | 14 |
|
It was hardly a dominant display from the Eels, but no-one was complaining after the game when they completed
a smash and grab visit to New Zealand which saw them defeat the controversy laden Warriors 22-14. |
| 7 | Sydney Roosters | 3 |
|
A dismal first 60 minutes from the Roosters had coach Ricky Stuart tearing his hair out as his team fell
behind 22-0, but a spirited display in the final 20 minutes saw the Sydney based side come within a whisker of
scoring an improbable victory after they scored three unanswered tries to fall just of the Storm at 22-18. |
| 8 | Brisbane Broncos | 15 |
|
Brisbane may have got their first win of the season with a 16-12 win over the Sharks, but they would not have
gained many admirers with their grinding style that is in complete contrast to Broncos teams of years gone
by. |
| 9 | Wests Tigers | 7 |
|
The Tigers injury woes got no better after their 35 point loss to the Bulldogs with hooker Robbie Farah
breaking his hand and to make matters worse Bryce Gibbs was suspended for one week after dropping an elbow on
Canterbury prop Mark O’Meley. |
| 10 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 10 |
|
South Sydney may have had the bye, but last Sunday afternoon they were creating all of the headlines when the
Russell Crowe takeover bid was approved after a vote from the club’s members. Hopefully this means that the
Rabbitohs can now finally get things going in the right direction for this season and beyond. |
| 11 | St George-Illawarra Dragons | 11 |
|
After all the talk of slow starts in the preseason St George-Illawarra have begun the year poorly yet again.
The Dragons fans may have been upset at their close loss to the Tigers in round one, but it got much worse for
them as they saw their team go down in extra time to the Panthers for their second heart breaker in two
weeks. |
| 12 | Manly Sea Eagles | 13 |
|
Manly would have been forgiven for throwing in the towel when down 20-4 and playing with a man in the sin bin
against North Queensland in the hostile atmosphere of Townsville, but the Sea Eagles showed that they are no
easy beats fighting back to within four points and could have claimed the win in the final seconds if not for
a poor bounce from a Brett Stewart chip kick. |
| 13 | New Zealand Warriors | 12 |
|
The Warriors poor start off the field looks to have transferred over to their on field play with the Kiwi side
making it two losses from two starts and when you combine this with the four competition points already
deducted for their salary cap breach the NRL ladder does not make for pretty reading for the New Zealand
organisation. |
| 14 | Cronulla Sharks | 8 |
|
Cronulla coach Stuart Raper would have had plenty to say to his charges after their dismal capitulation to the
Broncos last Saturday night. The Sharks led 12-0 and bombed a couple of tries that would have sealed the
match, but in the end it was their handling that really let them down as they only managed to complete 20/42
sets of six. |
| 15 | Canberra Raiders | 6 |
|
The Raiders and Knights may have combined for the highest scoring first grade match in NRL history, but when
you are on the wrong side of a 38 point thumping in front of your home crowd that stat means very little to
you. |
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