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NRL News Review Round 7

Roosters - Got their first win, and must be hoping for confidence from it. A grinding win full of enthusiasm. Not sure if they have turned the corner just yet.

Dragons - In a hole still, too many injuries and Richie Rich has compounded things with his Mundine like spray.

Wests Tigers - Back on track, a very impressive performance over the Bulldogs. Week off help cleared their heads. Look good. Back to 6 points after horror start.

Bulldogs - Totally inconsistent, only limped home against Parra the week before and failed to improve. Players look to be clocking off and relying on others to perform. SBW not his brilliant best and Ogre was quiet against his arch enemy Bryce Gibbs.

Broncos - Another case of the dropsies. A really poor effort from Brisbane - need a quality halfback urgently as only getting punch from Lockyer and Hunt - need direction and confidence.

Melbourne - Their first impressive win, the machine rolls on. Slater was explosive in some of his tries and showed his pure speed on several occasions to burn the Broncos. Too good.

Panthers - Worst game by any team this year. Simply woeful. Hard to imagine them playing this bad again. No effort and butterfingers disease. Matt Elliott must have concerns after this performance. Maybe it's not a harmonious camp at the Panthers right now?

Canberra - Surprised all, and jagged a nice away win. A team that plays for each other and put in a massive effort this week. Costigan was back and tough in the forwards and Carney again carved up the opposition. Could be a nice springboard for them - getting the away win.

Cowboys - Reinvigorated! Back to their old selves and dynamic in attack and defence. Frustrated Manly and had the game sown up with 20 mins to go. Confirmed they can win without Webb and O'Donnell.

Manly - Stiffled in attack as they have been for most of this year, defence was good considering the skill of North Queensland. Probably only a speed hump for the Manly boys, Ox needs more game time and will improve combinations in the weeks ahead.

Rabbits - Were set to win another game, but snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. An old Rabbit habit. Hopefully Taylor will nip that in the bud. A mediocre performance from the Bunnies and the Warriors probably deserved to win. Passion of Kidwell was missed in this game.

Warriors - Getting an away win is huge for these guys. They will really take confidence from this win. A gritty fight back after many, many video ref knock backs. The Warriors should have have 20+ points on the board had in not been for mystifying Video Calls. Witt played a great game and the forwards as always - dominated. Look the goods this year.

Eels - Smacked badly, hard to read too much into it - as the Eels had 8 players infected by a virus and lost several players to injury and virus hours before kick off. Will dent their confidence and injuries from this game will be a worry. Moi Moi hurting the knee may see him out for a few weeks. Finch was below par this week and needs to find form fast for himself and the team.

Titans - Preston had the game of his life and his team-mates followed. A dynamic attacking force and limited errors saw the Gold Coast rack up near 65% possession in period 1. A fluid effort that saw Rogers find form, with Webster and Petersen cementing their spots in the side.

Cronulla - Have been impressive in defence all year, but dropped their bundle last night. Went missing and got touched up by a young Knights side. Inconsistency hurting them, as is their ability to win away from home. Jury still out on this Ricky Stuart coached side

Knights - A gutsy win and showed they can do the job without Johns. Brian Smith seems to be fitting in well and the youngsters are gunning for spots. As Smith said, I think they are a few weeks off their very best - but should be winning the close ones in the weeks ahead. Watch this space.