South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett has dismissed the notion that the NRL premiership is a three-horse race and that the Rabbitohs, Sydney Roosters and Melbourne are the only sides in contention.
The cardinal and myrtle sit at 7-1 after their equal-club record 38-6 rout of Brisbane on Thursday night as the Bennett v Anthony Seibold grudge match failed to live up to the hype.
After three rounds, the Rabbitohs, Storm and Roosters appear to be head and shoulders above everyone else.
"I think it's too early to say that," Bennett said.
"We're only through a third of the season this weekend.
"Some teams just take a little bit longer. The Storm and the Roosters have had long-term coaches, established teams, they just pick up where they left off and get on with it.
"Other teams have to rebuild and reshape themselves.
"The premiers aren't around yet.
"I wouldn't be writing anyone off. The teams down the bottom you could write off, the Parramatta's and the Canberra's and St George, they're all in the mix too."
The Rabbitohs provisionally moved to top spot on 14 points with a victory which equalled the club's biggest ever win over the Broncos.
But the Roosters and Storm can draw level in their respective games against the Wests Tigers and Cronulla over the next two days.
Souths have looked scratchy since their upset golden-point loss to Manly a month ago but found their level against the Broncos on Thursday night.
They had scores of standout performers including Cody Walker, who effectively broke the Broncos' back with two first-half tries and a try assist, and Tom Burgess who ran for 199 metres.
Skipper Sam Burgess was also exceptional, making 155 metres, scoring a try before receiving a standing ovation from the crowd of 13,643 as he came off with 10 minutes on the clock.
They proved their potential with a round-one win over premiers the Roosters but won't get a chance to test their mettle against the Storm until round 21.
Bennett said his side still had several gear changes left in them and risked being left in the dust if they continued to make simple errors coming out of their own end, which they did on several occasions against the Broncos.
"The scoreboard says we played pretty good but I think there's a lot more improvement in us," Bennett said.
"We put ourselves under some pressure and I think the good teams will hurt us if we do that."
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