NRL Teams Rated : 2018 Also Rans

A close and skillful season has concluded. With the salary cap, the teams are not that far part except for a few at the bottom that struggle to compete. So how did the teams go?

16th: 14 points, Paramatta (Sydney). The Eels got the wooden spoon in 2012 and 2013, now they can add 2018. Not a bad team on paper but unfortunately they were playing on grass. They had the second worst points differential so their position as a bottom feeder was merited.

15th: 16 points, Manly-Warringah (Sydney). The third worst points differential meant a side that had some star quality but too often didn't play that way. The coach walked at the end of this frustrating season. The fans increasingly stayed away as the season progressed. They actually made the playoffs in 2017.

14th: 18 points, Gold Coast (Queensland). I expected them to be around here and they delivered on that. However, they did on occasion deliver some good performances, but in a tight competition that isn't enough. Too rarely they were titans.

13th: 18 points, North Queensland (Queensland). This side totally under performed. They have been in the finals every season since 2010, winning the grand final in 2015 and a grand finalist last year. Yet for 2018, they never looked likely.

12th: 18 points, Canterbury-Bankstown (Sydney). Quite an ordinary team that performed to expectation. The new coach is so passionate about the club, but without the team to back that up, it won't happen.

11th: 20 points, Newcastle (NSW): What's the team with the worst points differential and wooden spoon winner for the past three seasons doing this high? They win the overachiever award, by some margin.

10th: 22 points, Canberra (NSW/ACT) The only side with a positive points differential not to make the top 8 playoffs. Yet with just 10 wins they were well off a finals berth. The talent was there, the coach is very passionate but too often they managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

9th: Wests (Sydney). Points differential had this team on 12th but they managed to end much higher. Not a bad side but did better than they were worth. They certainly didn't deserve a finals spot.

	Rk	Team	Pts	W	L	Diff
	9	Wests Tigers	26	12	12	-83
	10	Canberra Raiders	22	10	14	23
	11	Newcastle Knights	20	9	15	-193
	12	Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs	18	8	16	-46
	13	North Queensland Cowboys	18	8	16	-72
	14	Gold Coast Titans	18	8	16	-110
	15	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	16	7	17	-122
	16	Parramatta Eels	14	6	18	-176