We are officially a quarter of the way through the 2026 NRL season, and the run to the State of Origin window is underway.

There have been surprises a plenty - both positive and negative.

Two coaches being sacked by this stage of the season has been the biggest shock, but with only one winless team left and three wins separating 2nd and 16th place on the table, the season feels as wide open as any in recent times.

The Penrith Panthers might be back to their dominant ways, but with a shake up of the rugby league landscape, and all of last year's top four sitting outside the top eight, there are plenty of opportunities for the season to continue shaking out in the coming months.

Here is every team's grade for the opening quarter of the season.

Cronulla Sharks

Grade: C
Current record: 7th place, 3 wins, 3 losses, 1 bye, 8 points, + 6

The Sharks have undeniably had a disappointing start to the campaign despite holding an even record and sitting inside the top eight a quarter of the way through.

Their loss to the Sydney Roosters in Perth before the bye was bad though, and has been dealt with by Craig Fitzgibbon who made the surprise call to axe Sione Katoa this week.

The Sharks are comfortably one of the slowest teams in the competition though, and that's not something that's going to be an easy fix.

The game is getting faster and faster, and the Sharks just don't have the pace across the park to match it with other top teams.

Hard to see how Craig Fitzgibbon gets this side into premiership contention, although they will win more than enough games to make the top eight, as they always seem to do.

Best player: Blayke Brailey
Zero Tackle MVP leader: Braydon Trindall (=16th)
Prediction: 7th

1 COMMENT

  1. The Titans may be crawling rather than running, but at least they are heading in the right direction.

    I think you are harsh on the Cows as well, and have an unduly positive view of Newcastle. (Just because Brown was fit was no reason to bring him back and disrupt a team that was going OK. Poor selection by the coach).

    Other than that, not much to disagree with.