We're two-thirds of the way through the 2019 NRL season so things are starting to get serious.

The cream of the crop has already risen to the top while two hands remain on the wooden spoon. That leaves 11 teams jostling for position to earn a spot inside the Top 8 by end of Round 25.

Here we take a look at the season so far for each club, hand out a grade for the first two terms of the season, and have a crack at picking where they will land.

Broncos|Bulldogs|Cowboys|Dragons|Eels|Knights|Panthers| Rabbitohs

Raiders|Roosters|Sea Eagles|Sharks|Storm|Titans| Warriors|Wests Tigers

1st - Melbourne Storm (14-2)

Attack: 25.9 points scored per game (1st)

Defence: 12.4 points conceded per game (1st)

The Storm remains the benchmark of the competition after sailing through the State of Origin period unbeaten. While they do now have a future immortal to lead them around at this time of year, Melbourne has still had to deal with a regularly changing 17 which trips most teams up.

Not this group. Craig Bellamy has them playing winning footy and knows how to sustain this level through to September better than anybody.

Morals for the Minor Premiership and the Stats Insider Model's favourite for the big one, the Storm look the most likely to be at ANZ Stadium on October 7.

Term 2 Grade: A

Run Home: @ Titans, Sea Eagles, @ Broncos, @ Rabbitohs (Central Coast), Raiders, Titans, @ Sea Eagles, Cowboys

Predicted Finish: 1st

Premiership Probability: 34.8%

2nd - South Sydney Rabbitohs (11-5)

There is no doubt that the wheels are starting to wobble in Redfern.

The Rabbitohs have lost four of their last five games, Sam Burgess is battling complications of his shoulder surgery, Thomas Burgess is out with an ankle injury, and George Burgess won't return to the field until the first week of the finals.

It's not an ideal position, however, Souths showed enough in the early rounds to suggest a change in form is imminent as the side returns to full-strength. Key contributors in Damien Cook and Cameron Murray are back from Origin duty and refocused. Meanwhile, Ethan Lowe is now an Origin rep and set to thrive on his outstanding debut for the rest of the year.

There is the Wayne Bennett factor too.

While the Souths attack has been clunky and largely ineffective over the last five weeks, the continuity that will come with Origin stars returning and Braidon Burns getting his legs under him should get them back on track.

Expect the Rabbitohs to peak heading into the finals.

Term 2 Grade: B-

Run Home: @ Cowboys, Dragons, @ Sharks, Storm, Bulldogs, @ Broncos, @ Warriors, Roosters

Predicted Finish: 3rd

Premiership Probability: 12.3%

3rd - Canberra Raiders (10-6)

The Raiders are the surprise packet of the 2019 NRL season. For those paying attention, anyway.

Caught below the Storm, Roosters and Rabbitohs but ahead of the ten teams trying to fit into four finals spots, the Raiders are going somewhat unnoticed at the moment.

Known for their ability to find the line, the Raiders are finding 21.1 points per game to rank fifth in attack. Where they are really making their mark this season is in defence. After conceding 22.5 points per game and more leads than the Green Machine faithful care to recall in 2018, the Raiders are only leaking 14.7 points per game in 2019 - the second-fewest in the NRL.

Defence wins premierships.

While the Raiders are still outsiders to win it, that defence will see them go closer than most tipped in February. 

Term 2 Grade: B+

Run Home: Tigers, @ Panthers, @ Warriors, Roosters, @ Storm, Sea Eagles, @ Sharks, Warriors

Predicted Finish: 4th

Premiership Probability: 7.2%

4th - Sydney Roosters (10-6)

The Roosters did enough in 2019 to be given the benefit of the doubt here.

With the same number of wins and losses as this time last year, it's safe to assume Trent Robinson knows what he's doing and can be trusted to have this team peaking at the right time.

He dealt with new faces in key playmaking positions last season. This year, the Roosters have been juggling injuries, suspensions and State of Origin selections. Still, they sit fourth on the ladder and have the highest ceiling of any team in the competition.

Sydney's defensive numbers conceding 17.3 points per game don't stand up to the NRL-best 15 points per game they conceded in 2018. We can anticipate an improvement there, though. As first-choice players return and cohesion builds, the Roosters defence will improve and so will their position on the ladder.

Term 2 Grade: B

Run Home: Knights, @ Bulldogs, Titans, @ Raiders, Warriors, @ Dragons, Panthers, @ Rabbitohs

Predicted Finish: 2nd

Premiership Probability: 23.8%

5th - Manly Sea Eagles (9-7)

Des Hasler has worked wonders for this Sea Eagles side.

He's taken a group that finished 15th in 2018, switched their focus to the effort areas, and the results now speak for themselves. To have the Sea Eagles this far up the ladder with Daly Cherry-Evans and Tom Trbojevic missing most of the season so far is incredible.

Manly played with the worst defence in the NRL conceding 25.9 points per game in 2018. They've shaved 7.9 points off that number in 2019.

They've looked one dimensional in attack at times this year and have relied heavily on the likes of Marty Taupau and Addin Fonua-Blake to lay a platform and create opportunities in the middle. However, with Cherry-Evans and Trbojevic back we should start to see some improvement in the Sea Eagles attack.

This is a finals side.

Term 2 Grade: A-

Run Home: Eels, @ Storm, Knights, @ Warriors, Tigers, @ Raiders, Storm, @ Eels

Predicted Finish: 5th

Premiership Probability: 4.2%

6th - Parramatta Eels (9-7)

The resurgence of the back-three got the Eels of to a strong start in 2019. Most weren't convinced it would stick, but now 17 rounds in and 6th on the ladder, the expectation is for the Eels to play finals footy.

Blake Ferguson and Maika Sivo have turned this team around. Running for 165 metres and 143 metres respectively, the duo have filled the void left by Semi Radradra in 2018. Running for just 1,479 metres per game in last year (10th), the Eels have pushed it up to 1,611 metres per game in 2019 (6th). They're giving Mitchell Moses a base to work from and his individual performance has improved as a result.

The Eels are still left lacking for depth and an elite forward, but Brad Arthur is doing a good job with what he's got. While not premiership contenders or even certainties for the Top 8, the improvement after finishing 16th last year is encouraging.

Term 2 Grade: B+

Run Home: @ Sea Eagles, Warriors, @ Dragons, Knights, @ Titans, Bulldogs, @ Broncos, Sea Eagles

Predicted Finish: 6th

Premiership Probability: 3.7%

7th - Newcastle Knights (8-8)

Surprise, surprise, the Kalyn Ponga switch to five-eighth didn't work. While the experiment played a significant role in Newcastle's terrible start to the season, a six-game winning streak put them back on track. 

The last month feels like a fairer reflection of where this side is at, though.

Particularly the loss to the Bulldogs in which they turned up believing the game was already won.

To put it simply, the Knights are little better than average. Their 8-8 record for 7th on the ladder sums up their season perfectly despite the up and down path they've taken to get here. It sounds harsh, but it's worth remembering 'average' is a lot better than the historically 'terrible' tag that has been attached to them over the last four years. 

David Klemmer has been brilliant individually to average 176 metres per game - second amongst forwards in the NRL. However, he's not been able to lift the club out of 16th in the running metres ranks. Like last year and the two prior, the Knights run for the fewest metres in the competition (1,518m per game).

Term 2 Grade: B

Run Home: @ Roosters, Tigers, @ Sea Eagles, @ Eels, Cowboys, @ Tigers, Titans, @ Panthers

Predicted Finish: 8th

Premiership Probability: 3.2%

8th - Penrith Panthers (8-8)

Starting the season with a 2-6 record, the Panthers have clawed their way to 8-8 for 8th on the ladder two-thirds of the way through. 

It's been an impressive fight-back for a side that had the red pen put through them after Round 10.

The six-game winning streak looks mighty fine on the ladder, but it reads similar to that of the Knights earlier in the year. It should be taken with a few grains of salt given who they played and when.

The Panthers attack is still one of the worst in the competition (14.9ppg). Jarome luai has done a superb job of at least threatening the line and creating chances recently and Penrith is unbeaten when he starts at five-eighth (4-0). He's set to lose his spot in the starting side upon Nathan Cleary's return, though.

Confidence is high and what looked like a dead season has come back to life. However, it's unlikely that the Panthers keep anything close to this pace over the final third of the season. Remaining inside the Top 8 still feels like a stretch. 

Term 2 Grade: C

Run Home: Dragons, Raiders, @ Bulldogs (Bankwest Stadium), Sharks, @ Broncos, @ Cowboys, @ Roosters, Knights

Predicted Finish: 9th

Premiership Probability: 3.3%

9th - Cronulla Sharks (7-9)

When the Sharks sat 6th on the ladder with a 7-5 record after 13 rounds despite so much talent spending time in the casualty ward, the general consensus was the injured stars would return and turn the team into a premiership contender. 

Four losses later, and the Sharks are struggling to stay afloat.

All of the blame has been heaped on Shaun Johnson, but we know that isn't justified. 

Their pack has fallen off a cliff.

Andrew Fifita's absence has played a role, but not more than the poor form of Matt Prior and Aaron Woods. Without the platform - and everybody knows this from his time at the Warriors - Johnson isn't going to play his best footy. More importantly, the combinations with Chad Townsend and Matt Moylan won't develop into what they must if this team is to become a contender. 

The Sharks are a work in progress.

Term 2 Grade: C

Run Home: @ Warriors (Wellington), Cowboys, Rabbitohs, @ Panthers, Dragons, Warriors, Raiders, @ Tigers

Predicted Finish: 7th

Premiership Probability: 3.3%

10th - North Queensland Cowboys (7-9)

Already playing with one of the worst outside back groups in the NRL, the Cowboys have been forced into shuffling their back five around almost every week.

If not for Jason Taumalolo and the work the Cowboys pack do through the middle, this team would be contending for the wooden spoon.

It looked like they might at one stage. 

The Cowboys lost four of their first five games before scrambling to 6-5 over their last 11 to be in with a sniff of the Top 8. On the back of Taumalolo's NRL-leading 212 running metres per game, North Queensland get up the field well enough to be a chance most weeks. A terrible attack scoring 16.6 points per game has been their most notable handbrake. 

For what Paul Green has available, this is about what most expected heading into the season. Perhaps Michael Morgan has underperformed leaving one or two wins on the table. The 15-12 win over the Roosters in Round 16 is just enough to give the Cowboys a pass mark at this stage.

Term 2 Grade: C

Run Home: Rabbitohs, @ Sharks, @ Tigers, Broncos, @ Knights, Panthers, Bulldogs, @ Storm

Predicted Finish: 11th

Premiership Probability: 0.8%

11th - Wests Tigers (7-9)

Consider everything you know about the Tigers over the last few years and package it into a nice little box labelled '2019'.

It has been a classic Tigers season up to this point.

Consistency eludes them like a three-game winning streak, the attack isn't adding strings to its bow, and some of the performances leave the Tigers faithful scratching their heads.

In a marriage with mediocrity, Michael Maguire hasn't been able to force the divorce and more than likely won't before the season ends. Only four teams score fewer than Wests 17.6 points per game while only three concede more than their 21.4 points per game.

Ivan Cleary had the team focused on a scrambling defence which allowed the Tigers to overachieve last season. However, they've not been able to keep that up.

With five of their last eight games away from home, the Tigers will need to recapture that defensive intensity if they're to play finals football in 2019. 

Term 2 Grade: C

Run Home: @ Raiders, @ Knights, Cowboys, @ Bulldogs, @ Sea Eagles, Knights, @ Dragons, Sharks

Predicted Finish: 10th

Premiership Probability: 0.5%

12th - New Zealand Warriors (6-1-9)

Who would have thought forcing out one of the best halves in the competition would turn the Warriors from a finals side that won 15 games in 2018 into one that will be lucky to win 10 in 2019?

The Warriors earned this grade in November last year but it's taken until now to unequivocally apply it. 

Despite the forward pack improving and providing the halves with a decent platform, Blake Green has disappointed while Kodi Nikorima hasn't been their knight in shining armour.

The Warriors are joint with the Storm for the most line breaks in the competition with 69. However, unlike the Storm who also leads the NRL in points scored with 25.9 per game, the Warriors are way down in 9th with 18.7 points per game. This side has all the attacking talent anybody can ask for, but don't have the halves to set it free right now.

Term 2 Grade: D

Run Home: Sharks (Wellington), @ Eels, Raiders, Sea Eagles, @ Roosters, @ Sharks, Rabbitohs, @ Raiders

Predicted Finish: 13th

Premiership Probability: 1.1%

13th - Brisbane Broncos (6-1-9)

Unless the Broncos pull off a miracle and win seven of their eight remaining games, they will be the biggest disappointments this season. 

Considered a top-four side and genuine contenders alongside the Roosters, Storm and Rabbitohs before the season kicked off, the Broncos have spent a single week inside the Top 8. 

The spine has been a shambles all year, the pack shows their potential frustratingly frequently before laying an egg the following week, and an already young side has been forced to go younger due to injury while using the most players in the NRL (30).

It's not been an easy ride for Anthony Seibold in his first season at the club, but he's made a few things difficult for himself. He's done enough for people to question his five-year deal and too much smoke circulates the club for there not to be fire when it comes to relationships.

The Broncos are undoubtedly talented. That's why they've been handed a bad grade. 

Term 2 Grade: F

Run Home: Bulldogs, @ Titans, Storm, @ Cowboys, Panthers, Rabbitohs, Eels, @ Bulldogs

Predicted Finish: 12th

Premiership Probability: 1.1%

14th - St George-Illawarra Dragons (6-10)

Jack de Belin's court case and all of the news around it looks to have had an impact on the Dragons in 2019. They've never looked comfortable and it shows in their results. Only three of the Red V's six wins have come by more than two points. Two of which came against the Bulldogs.

The Ben Hunt and Corey Norman halves combination has potential and is capable of leading a side through the finals. However, the pack has been largely ineffective while Paul McGregor's juggling of the backline and desperation to crowbar players into the 17 has been unnecessarily disruptive. 

No coach is prepared to deal with what Mary has had thrown at him before the season kicked off, but he looks to have run his course with the Dragons. There aren't enough positive signs to suggest de Belin's return would change the path they're headed.

Term 2 Grade: C-

Run Home: @ Panthers, @ Rabbitohs, Eels, Titans, @ Sharks, Roosters, Tigers, @ Titans

Predicted Finish: 14th

Premiership Probability: 0.5%

15th - Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (5-11)

Preseason Wooden Spoon favourites, the Bulldogs have arguably exceeded expectations so far this year.  

They compete every week with the worst list in the NRL. The Knights found out exactly what happens when you don't respect them in Round 16. Unlike a handful of other coaches that stick with a losing formula, Dean Pay is trying to find a winning one.

He's addressed the leaky middle defence that plagued the Dogs earlier in the season. Last week, he had his middles playing wider from the ruck in an attempt to open up the attack and improve on their NRL-worst 13.1 points per game.

There is still a lot of work to do for this side to challenge for the Top 8, but Pay is building something at the club. The players look like they want to play for him. That's arguably the most important box he could tick given the state of the club when he walked in.

Term 2 Grade: C+

Run Home: @ Broncos, Roosters, Panthers, Tigers, @ Rabbitohs, @ Eels, @ Cowboys, Broncos

Predicted Finish: 15th

Premiership Probability: 0.1%

16th - Gold Coast Titans (4-12)

Big-money signings in Tyrone Peachey and Shannon Boyd arrived on the Gold Coast and were expected to lift the Titans into the Top 8. At the very least, they would be in the conversation for most of the season.

In reality, they're 16th on the ladder and don't look like moving.

They've just sacked their coach, too.

The Titans season is all but over 17 rounds in.

Garth Brennan has been handed a few bad hands, but he made too many of them worse to put the Titans in a position to be competitive. His handling of AJ Brimson and desperation to play Michael Gordon at fullback was a head-scratcher. Playing Peachey in the backrow and watching the opposition run through him for weeks before taking him away from the edge is another dagger.

This list is too good to be running last.

Term 2 Grade: F

Run Home: Storm, Broncos, @ Roosters, @ Dragons, Eels, @ Storm, @ Knights, Dragons

Predicted Finish: 16th

Premiership Probability: 0.1%

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