{"id":741370,"date":"2026-06-17T01:52:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T01:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/741370\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T01:52:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T01:52:12","slug":"raiders-rock-bottom-broncos-historic-low-and-sharks-stun-again-nrl-power-rankings-round-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/741370\/","title":{"rendered":"Raiders rock bottom, Broncos historic low and Sharks stun again: NRL Power Rankings, Round 15"},"content":{"rendered":"

Short NRL<\/a> rounds are usually a punish, but Round 15 did its very best.<\/p>\n

Two Saturday night thrillers, and a Sunday scorcher soothed the pain of missing games. The other two games were blowouts but you cop that.<\/p>\n

As always, the condensed rounds make it hard to rank. You can see teams rise, or fall despite not playing. It all evens out.<\/p>\n

Where did your team land on our NRL<\/a> Power Rankings<\/a> following Round 15?:<\/p>\n

1. Penrith Panthers (Last Week: 1)<\/p>\n

Through 12 games, the Panthers have dropped just the one game. They sit three wins clear of the second placed Warriors. Pretty dominant. They come off the bye last weekend.<\/p>\n

Nathan Cleary<\/a> leads the Dally M, Tom Jenkins is leading the try scorers list. Things are going pretty well for Penrith.<\/p>\n

Ivan Cleary<\/a> is not shy in resting his Origin stars. Even so, they’ll start big favourites against the Titans on Saturday.<\/p>\n

2. New Zealand Warriors (2)<\/p>\n

The Warriors fell just short of forcing Golden Point Extra<\/a> Time on Saturday night but will be a little unhappy with their inability to beat the undermanned Sharks.<\/p>\n

Te Maire Martin’s 28th minute try was the only four pointer scored although Taine Tuaupiki<\/a> threatened many times. Tanner Stowers-Smith<\/a> was huge in the middle, in his best game to date.<\/p>\n

They’re back at home on Sunday when the Cowboys are in town. Andrew Webster<\/a> has shown he’s willing to rest players backing up from Origin so we’ll see what side runs out.<\/p>\n

3. Manly Sea Eagles (3)<\/p>\n

If, in the pre-season, you’d have told me Manly would have eight wins at this stage, I’d have laughed at you. Through the opening month, they looked destined for a battle to avoid the wooden spoon.<\/p>\n

Kieran Foran’s arrival has absolutely shifted the fortunes for the Sea Eagles and they now look Finals bound.<\/p>\n

A bye last week has them well rested for the trip to Accor on Saturday night to clash with the Bulldogs.<\/p>\n

4. Sydney Roosters (4)<\/p>\n

Ok the Roosters got pumped this past weekend by the Dolphins<\/a> but show of hands … does anyone treat this result with any seriousness?<\/p>\n

Toby Rodwell<\/a> and Rex Bassingthwaighte<\/a> both crossed for tries on their NRL<\/a> debut. That’s all you can take out of this game, given the Origin outs.<\/p>\n

The Sharks are at Allianz on Sunday evening for what could be be the game of the round.<\/p>\n

5. Newcastle Knights (5)<\/p>\n

The Knights enjoyed a bye this past weekend and continue to sit pretty in the top eight, on eight wins.<\/p>\n

I think it’s fair to say they’ve blown away all expectations thus far in 2026. Dylan Brown<\/a> has been magnificent and has lifted all around him.<\/p>\n

Friday night will see Newcastle ran out in front of a packed house when they host the lowly Dragons.<\/p>\n

6. Cronulla Sharks (6)<\/p>\n

The Sharks escaped with a precious win in New Zealand<\/a> on the back of pure grit and determination. Also some magic from Braydon Trindall<\/a> and Will Kennedy.<\/p>\n

Jesse Ramien<\/a> crossed for his team’s only try. Cameron McInnes<\/a> ran for 120 metres and made 56 tackles in a huge effort.<\/p>\n

The Roosters await, prior to a bye. You feel like this is a luxury game for the Sharks, but one they’ll very much want to win all the same.<\/p>\n

7. The Dolphins (7)<\/p>\n

You can only beat who is in front of you, and the Dolphins<\/a> absolutely beat the undermanned Roosters 48 points to 10. The Phins were missing plenty too, to their credit.<\/p>\n

Isaiya Katoa<\/a> has another blistering night while Trai Fuller<\/a> crossed for a try and ran for over 300 metres. The entire Phins back seven was amazing.<\/p>\n

A Saturday afternoon trip to Campbelltown should produce plenty of points. Excited for that one!<\/p>\n

8. South Sydney Rabbitohs (8)<\/p>\n

The Bunnies did the job, and then some, over the Broncos on Friday night. The 48-6 win was a walk in the park to be honest.<\/p>\n

Alex Johnston<\/a> crossed for four tries, Keaon Koloamatangi<\/a> ran for over 200 metres and Cody Walker<\/a> was magnificent. A perfect night for Souths fans.<\/p>\n

A bye this weekend will see them retain their spot in the top eight, with high hopes of a deep Finals run to come.<\/p>\n

9. North Queensland Cowboys (9)<\/p>\n

The Cowboys, incredibly, had their first bye of the year this past weekend. Eight wins through 14 games is a massive pass mark.<\/p>\n

Scott Drinkwater<\/a> has been an attacking master, Jaxon Purdue<\/a> and Tom Chester<\/a> have been revelations in the centres. Jake Clifford<\/a> has stood up in Tom Dearden’s absence.<\/p>\n

They’ll hope to be well rested as a tough trip to Auckland awaits on Sunday afternoon. Should be a lot of fun.<\/p>\n

10. Melbourne Storm (10)<\/p>\n

The Storm sit 11th on six wins. They do have two byes up their sleeve but I am astonished they’re in the spot they currently find themselves.<\/p>\n

Their form has been good, win four wins across the opening five games. Perhaps the signs are good for a late Finals charge after all.<\/p>\n

A Sunday afternoon home game should see their Origin stars back up. Canberra await, but look a shell of their former selves.<\/p>\n

11. Wests Tigers (11)<\/p>\n

The Wests Tigers<\/a> farewelled Leichhardt Oval (for now) with a brilliant win against the Titans on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Jarome Luai’s hattrick confirmed victory for his side as they romped home to win 36 points to 28. Terrell May<\/a> continues to provide Origin worthy efforts in the middle.<\/p>\n

Campbelltown is the setting for this Saturday’s clash with the Dolphins<\/a>. The Tigers may need another 36 points to win this one.<\/p>\n

12. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (12)<\/p>\n

The Bulldogs currently sit 12th with just the five wins. Not even the biggest fan of the blue and whites can proclaim to be happy with that.<\/p>\n

There is too much talent in this side to be three wins outside the eight. A big back end to the season is needed, to say the least.<\/p>\n

The Dogs return from the bye to host Manly on Saturday night. Should be a massive crowd on hand for what is always a fun game for us neutrals.<\/p>\n

13. Parramatta Eels (16)<\/p>\n

The Eels kept their season alive with a brilliant 15-12 win over the Raiders on Saturday night.<\/p>\n

Isaiah Iongi<\/a> was brilliant again for the home side. His two try assists were the difference. Both back-rower, Kelma Tuilagi<\/a> and Kitione Kautoga<\/a> crossed for tries on the night.<\/p>\n

They enjoy their second bye of the season this weekend. They should see Mitch Moses<\/a> return post Origin Two. They need to be almost flawless from now to play Finals footy.<\/p>\n

14. Gold Coast Titans (14)<\/p>\n

The Titans seemingly had the Tigers beaten on Sunday afternoon, yet let it slip late. Story of their season unfortunately.<\/p>\n

Keano Kini<\/a> couldn’t have done more with his 334 run metres, four line breaks and three try assists. I can’t help but feel like letting Phillip Sami<\/a> go is a mistake.<\/p>\n

They host the Panthers on Saturday evening. It’s probably perfect timing giving Penrith often rest stars post Origin games.<\/p>\n

15. Canberra Raiders (13)<\/p>\n

The Raiders season probably ended on Saturday night as they dropped yet another game, this time to the Eels.<\/p>\n

Yes they were missing their Origin stars but this was a game they needed to win. Five wins through 14 games has last year’s Minor Premiers very much on the brink.<\/p>\n

A loss to the Storm on Sunday afternoon, in Melbourne, could draw the curtains on their 2026 campaign.<\/p>\n

16. Brisbane Broncos (15)<\/p>\n

Brisbane are a better side than many that sit above them … on paper. Right now, they are lucky the Dragons exist.<\/p>\n

They were throttled 48 points to 6 by the Bunnies on Friday night. Ok they were missing Origin stars but the Bunnies had Latrell Mitchell<\/a> and Cameron Murray<\/a> watching on also.<\/p>\n

A bye this weekend needs to be the catalyst to a flawless second half of the season or their title defence will be a massive failure.<\/p>\n

17. St George Illawarra Dragons (17)<\/p>\n

The Dragons are, easily, the worst side in the competition right now. One win as we approach Origin Two is unforgivable in the modern era.<\/p>\n

It’s obviously all about 2027 now, but that cannot be the attitude in the remaining games.<\/p>\n

A Friday night in Newcastle looks a tough assignment but they need to start rewarding their fans, who have copped plenty this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Short NRL rounds are usually a punish, but Round 15 did its very best. Two Saturday night thrillers,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":741371,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-741370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/741370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=741370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/741370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/741371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=741370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=741370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=741370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}