The 2017 Events cycle team rankings have been released with a mixture of dominant teams on top, fresh faces in the top 4 and some big moves up and down the ladder.
Easts held the number 1 ranking in the Mixed division in 2016 however their main rival and fellow heavyweight the Murwillumbah Mavericks have taken the top ranking away from them after a dominant 10-2 victory at the 2016 State Cup.
Murwillumbah will be looking to keep the top spot come the 2017 State Cup and are sure to face an Easts team looking to reclaim their crown at some point in Port Macquarie.
Two teams who weren’t in the 2016 top 10, Lower Blue Mountains and Wagga Wagga, find themselves in 3rd and 4th respectively. This is the first time the Wagga Wagga Vipers have made the top 4 on the back of a strong State Cup, Jamie Soward made his anticipated return for the Vipers and showed why he is an NRL premiership winner.
Canterbury, Wests and Manly also return to the top 10 for 2017 at the expense of UNSW, Norths and Cronulla. Campbelltown just hang on to their place rounding out the rankings in 10th place.
The all-conquering Manly women’s team retain their top sport on the Women’s rankings for 2017 after a Vawdon Cup and State Cup double. Not to mention they dominated the championship winning Scorpions team at this year’s Elite-8s. After so much success Manly won’t be too keen on sharing the silverware any time soon.
Both Canterbury (2nd) and Wests (3rd) will be hot on their heels at both Vawdon Cup and State Cup this year. Canterbury will consider themselves unlucky taking Manly to drop off in both Grand Finals.
The 2016 surprise packet the Central Coast Dolphins find themselves in 4th for the first time in their history. With a young, enthusiastic group of girls they will be looking to shake things up at the top of the ladder this year.
Newcastle City, another young team with lots of potential move from 9th to 6th and after a strong learning curve in Vawdon Cup and State Cup in 2016, it’s easy to see them moving further up the ladder this season.
Rounding out the top 10 are the Northern Beaches girls, after winning the Division 1 Vawdon Cup in 2015 they made the jump to Premier League with mixed results. Expect the Renegades to be a big improver in 2017.
Penrith and Wests battled each other in both Vawdon Cup and State Cup Grand Finals last year. Wests victorious in the Vawdon Cup and Penrith gaining revenge at the State Cup sees Penrith claim top spot and Wests nipping at their heels.
While Wests move from 4th in 2016 to 2nd in 2017. Penrith rocketed up to 1st place from 7th in 2016.
The highly underrated Doyalson Dragons move from 6th to 3rd after a State Cup where they pushed eventual champions Penrith to a drop off in the semi-final.
Following on from their women’s team’s success, the Manly Men’s have cracked the top 4 for the first time. With a wealth of potential in their squad Manly will be pushing for silverware in 2017.
Parramatta dropped from 1st place to 5th. The Eels will be looking to make up for an underwhelming 2016 and with the talent their team possesses don’t be surprised to see them feature come the pointy end of the season.
Canterbury (3rd to 6th), Wollongong (5th to 9th) and Bankstown (8th to 10th) will also be looking to make up for lost ground. While Easts move up from 10th to 7th and Hornsby re-enter the top 10 in 8th place.
