In what has been a season thus far beset by poor crowds and confusion over some of the new rules, there will be no reason for small attendances this season if two of Sydney's most popular teams continue their resurrections.

The Eels need only one more win to match last season's tally of five wins while the Tigers have found some toughness up front to complement what has always been a talented backline.

1. Sea Eagles (last week 2): A 20-0 first-half shut-out of the Sharks, then a cruise to the finish. A total of 10 of their starting 13 racked up more than 100 metres in the cakewalk against Cronulla - winger Jorge Taufua was the pick of the bunch with 178 in his comeback game from injury.

2. Bulldogs (1): They nearly stumbled across the Tasman against the desperate Warriors and were possibly lucky to get the match-tying late penalty goal. But they were cool when it mattered at the end with Trent Hodkinson nailing the winning field goal.

3. Titans (5): Is it time to declare them legitimate finals contenders? They have traditionally struggled against their big brother Broncos but Friday's 12-8 win was built on a lot of grit despite an alarming missed tackle count of 35, seven more than Brisbane.

4. Storm (3): They went so close to another loss at home and the last-ditch try was spectacular but it doesn't hide the fact that teams are not as fearful when they head south of the border as they used to be.

5. Rabbitohs (9): They've shown enough in the past two weeks in beating St George Illawarra and Penrith that they've adapted to the new rules and their forwards are back to outmuscling their opponents.

6. Roosters (4): That's three losses in a row for the premiers and a grand total of 20 points in their last 240 minutes on the field. All the pre-season talk was about how the Roosters could become the first back-to-back champions in a united premiership since 1993 because they'd kept pretty much all of last year's roster. Perhaps those very same players aren't as hungry as they were in

7. Tigers (9): They're not just playing well, they're playing with freedom. The first half at Campbelltown on Saturday night was nothing to write home about but the Wests side thrilled the 372 fans with 40 minutes of skilful football which did not have the heart-in-mouth flavour which the more erratic Tigers teams of the last couple of years have possessed.

8. Eels (10): It may not last and they may not make the playoffs but it would take a mean-spirited NRL follower not to be pleased with Parramatta's rise from laughing stock to a team which other sides no longer chalk up as a mandatory two competition points.

9. Panthers (7): It was a wet and wild night out at Penrith last week and Panthers fans shouldn't be too concerned with the 18-2 loss to South Sydney but supercoach Cleary's troops need to show they can compete with the top teams at home against Gold Coast this Monday to re-establish their finals credentials.

10. Broncos (6): Is it worth giving Ben Barba a run from the interchange bench to give him a chance to play against tired opposition? The Cowboys did the same with Matt Bowen about 10 years ago and he regained his attacking spark when he reverted back to the starting line-up and then went on to represent Queensland in a similar super-sub role.

11. Dragons (11): Josh Dugan is getting back to his best - some of his runs against Melbourne were reminiscent of the form he displayed in the All Stars game and at Origin level a couple of years ago.

12. Knights (16): The win in Canberra last Saturday couldn't have supercoach Bennett's fingerprints over it any more. The Knights made only five errors for the match and only attempted five offloads. It worked. They ended up breaking Canberra's defensive line seven times and the final scoreline of 24-16 was not reflective of the Novocastrian dominance.

13. Cowboys (12): Let's face it - a lot of the North Queensland forwards are not aiming up. There are a few players with big reputations who are not delivering on the field. Only veteran prop Matt Scott made more than 100 running metres in the feeble loss to the Wests Tigers.

14. Raiders (14): The only reason they haven't fallen further in the rankings is the ineptitude displayed by the two teams below them. Making 11 handling errors and 43 missed tackles on a dry pitch on a Saturday afternoon is a recipe for disaster.

15. Warriors (15): The misconception is that teams usually win when a team changes coach mid-season. The actual success rate is below 50 per cent but teams definitely rally when a new mentor takes the helm. Supercoach McFadden's players lifted last week against the Dogs but his big test will be getting them to do it on a consistent basis. Few coaches at the Warriors have achieved that feat.

16. Sharks (16): Back at the bottom and stand-in supercoach Sharp has played the "that was embarrassing" card to try to fire the team up. Cronulla have two home games against the Roosters and Panthers to salvage their season. If they come up short in those two, they might as well write off 2014 before May.