NRL Round 12 Review
NRL Rugby League in Round 12 - has been reviewed by 'The Grubber!' - He is the NRL News man with all the info and low down on how your team is tracking.
Checkout the latest NRL POWER RANKINGS after Round 12:
NRL Round 12 Power Rankings:
1.Melbourne: Did well to back up from gruelling encounter with Manly to defeat a gallant Homebush Rabbitohs side. Still the team to beat in this competition and are dangerous from anywhere on the park. Power score: 9/10, Odds of Manu Vatuvei being named against them this weekend: 30-1.
2. Parramatta: Out powered, outplayed and out enthused the hapless Tigers. Halves seem to be getting the job done behind a powerful forward pack. Looking like a serious contender. Power score: 8.5/10, Odds of Mark Riddell being able to parlay recent success of Eels into "third party" fast food endorsement deal: 3-1.
3. North Queensland: Impressive comeback in victory against Cronulla. Showed patience and composure that will serve them well in September. Important victory during disruptive Origin period. Power score: 8.5/10, Odds that Thurston's street brawling opponent from Saturday night made reference to last year's scandal which derailed Cowboy's season: 2-1.
4. Manly: Poor choices in defence and wasteful offensive execution contributed to sub-par performance against Penrith. Will surely come back strongly after the bye this weekend. Power score: 8/10, Odds that opposition teams will now be studying (and planning) the Nick Youngquest backline movement before taking on the Sea Eagles: 2-1.
5. Wests Tigers: Suffered a set-back against Parramatta and may have begun to believe their own hype. Despite the hammering, this may be the loss they needed at this stage of the season. Power score: 7.5/10, Odds of Tigers ever having another player picked for Origin: slim, for some reason.
6. Cronulla: Bounced back from poor performance against Roosters to give a solid account against North Queensland. Will now need to manage unusually high number of Origin stars (2). Power score: 7/10, "Over-Under" on "Number of Interceptions thrown by Kimmorley in Origin II": 5.
7. Penrith: Got the job done against Manly behind a powerful forward pack and control of the ruck area. Time will tell whether they have more of these performances in them. Power score: 6.5/10, Number of metres Panthers players crawled off the mark against Manly: 230 (go ahead, ask Middleton).
8. Canterbury: Got squared up for ludicrous SBW send-off against Newcastle and showed commitment that has been lacking in recent times. May still be suffering from front-office issues. Power score: 6.5/10, Odds that the Hughes family will continue to support the incestuous "family club": 100-1.
9. Gold Coast: Demonstrated superb execution against Canberra to race away to early lead. Will surely start to suffer from massive forwards injury toll though. Power score: 6/10, Odds of some NRL player (other than Chris Walker) getting busted in a Gold Coast nightclub before the end of the year: 4-1.
10. Brisbane: Simply didn't turn up against Jersey Flegg Dragons side and may now officially be suffering from "Premier's Curse". Fortunate to have Bye this weekend in order to regroup. Power score: 5.5/10, Odds that Wayne Bennett will blame poor form of Broncos side on recent distraction of player movements: 2-1.
11. Newcastle: Luke Walsh may have proved correct Brian Smith's statement that Jarrod Mullen is not even the best half at the Knights (but evidently he is somehow the best half in NSW. Weird). Power score: 5/10, Odds that either Johns brother would ever concede that NSW side should not entirely consist of Newcastle players: 1000-1.
12. St George-Illawarra: Shocked the monkey with massive upset win over a partially Lockyer-less Broncos side. Soward may have found a home where surnames are not as important as form. Power score: 5/10, Odds that militant Dragons fans will be sporting witty "Soward is a Coward" signs following eventual and inevitable poor performance from their new signing: 2-1.
13. New Zealand: Were always going to struggle one man down. Have now signed Brisbane cyborg Brent Tate for next year so perhaps better things ahead for them with their inconsistent backline. Power score: 4.5/10, Odds that Tate will eventually wield a cast on his arm (David Barnhill style) to complement his bionic neck brace: 2-1.
14. South Sydney: Were reasonable in defeat against non-testicle grabbing Storm outfit. Cannot be too far away from a good performance, or another wooden spoon. Power score: 4/10, Odds of Russell Crowe remaining interested in team beyond '07: 10-1.
15. Roosters: Started well, but didn't quite do enough to beat determined Newcastle side. Forwards starting to show some positive signs. Power score: 4/10, Previous number of occasions where a team running last has had three players picked for NSW Origin: Zero (probably, I mean I didn't check).
16. Canberra: Hot and cold side that never fails to deliver inconsistency. Had no luck against Gold Coast however and will be out for revenge this weekend against Parramatta side which flogged them earlier this year. Power score: 3.5/10, Odds of sacked Raider Steve Irwin being awarded Order of Australia medal in manner of late Crocodile Hunter: 10,000-1.
BY THE GRUBBER!
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