We’ve arrived at the penultimate weekend of the NRL regular season and while the top eight is locked in, there’s still plenty of movement that can be made as clubs scramble for a home final.
The action is underway on Thursday night when the Tigers host the Sea Eagles, but things really start heating up on Friday when the Warriors and Panthers do battle in New Zealand.
The game of the round looks likely to take place on Saturday night when the Roosters and Broncos trade blows in what is a typically bitter affair.
The season is all but over for the Tigers and Sea Eagles, and there is little more than pride on the line when the two clubs square off on Thursday night.
The Tigers were the one team that looked like fighting into the eight ahead of Round 23, but their loss to the Dragons and the Broncos’ win over the Rabbitohs has confirmed this season’s finals-bound contingent. It’s tough predicting how they will see out the final two weeks of their season, but they could be vulnerable.
In a performance that really summed up their season, Manly blew a massive lead over the inconsistent Titans at Brookvale Oval last weekend and subsequently failed to consolidate their position above the dreaded spoon. With the Broncos away looming as their final task, this is clearly their opportunity to win.
The Sea Eagles are extremely difficult to trust in betting, but they tend to play better as outsiders and I am will to give them one final go here.
Focus shifts across the Tasman on Friday evening when the Warriors and Panther square off in a match that could have big implications on the final make-up of the eight. This is an intriguing fixture as you have arguably the top eight’s most inconsistent club hosting the out of sorts Panthers, who have nose-dived since the bizarre decision to part with coach Anthony Griffin despite sitting in the top four.
The Warriors are unlucky not to be carrying winning form into this match after a single-point loss to the Bulldogs in Round 23 and they subsequently remain eighth in overall standings, but all but assured a finals berth.
The Panthers were lucky to scrape away with a late win over the Titans two weeks ago, but were thoroughly outplayed by the Knights in Penrith last weekend and face a far more difficult task in New Zealand.
The line is only set at 3.5 points currently and the Warriors will surely be good enough to cover that in front of their own fans.
The last-placed Cowboys host the fifteenth-placed Eels in a match that will almost certainly determine who will finish 2018 with the spoon.
The Cowboys have been reasonably competitive since the Origin break, but it’s all been too little, too late and they enter this game off the back of another loss to the Sharks. That followed a smart win over old enemy the Broncos in Round 22 and a similar performance to that would find them extremely tough to beat on Friday night.
The Eels are clearly ready for the season to end but they have also not been awful in recent weeks; flogging the Dragons two weeks ago before pushing the Storm all the way most recently. They will take plenty of confidence into this game and will be relishing their opportunity to sour JT’s final campaign further.
This is the last time that JT will play in front of the Townsville faithful and the Cowboys will surely get over the line.
We are set for another exciting game when the Raiders host the Rabbitohs in chilly Canberra on Saturday afternoon.
It was too late for their finals chances, but the Raiders produced arguably their best performance of the season to defeat the Roosters in Round 23 and they will take plenty of confidence into this match with the similarly-formed Rabbitohs.
Souths have lost their two most-recent games but both against top-eight opposition, and they will be confident of returning to winning form against a side of the Raiders’ calibre. Wins here and over the Tigers next week would see their campaign back on track and would confirm a top four finish.
Souths can re-assert themselves as a legitimate premiership chance by doing what the Roosters couldn’t do last week.
The mismatch of the round looks certain to take place when the Storm travel north to face the Titans on the Gold Coast.
Surprisingly, the Titans do carry winning form into this game after a big second-half performance to finish over the top of the Sea Eagles last weekend, but Manly are probably the only team that you can afford a slow start against in 2018 and they’ll be punished if they are slow from the blocks this week.
The Storm did enough to weather a spirited Eels fight last weekend and they subsequently enter Round 24 on top of the ladder on for-and-against, though still sharing the lead with the Roosters and Rabbits. They will be without the suspended Will Chambers and injured captain Cameron Smith for this game but will still start clear and justifiable favourites.
The Storm should prove far too strong for the Titans, particularly at this point of the season.
The match of the round comes way of Saturday night’s blockbuster between the Roosters and Broncos on Sydney. This is interestingly one of only two games between top eight sides in Round 24 and this rivalry always produces plenty of first rate football.
It wasn’t happy hunting for the Roosters last weekend and they enter this off the back of a loss to the Raiders. Plenty of mistakes and an inability to string together a consistent run of plays led to their downfall and they will need to stem those mistakes to overcome a better side in the form of the Broncos.
The Broncos allowed Souths to fight back into their Round 23 clash but to the delight of fans, they pulled away again in the second half and comfortably iced the game. That was probably their first real performance that suggested they are a live chance of a run through the finals and ultimately that will be consolidated if they can beat the Roosters.
The line seems reasonably long given the recent form of these clubs and I am confident that the Broncos can go close.
Cronulla will be offered another terrific opportunity to keep the pressure on the top four when they host Newcastle on Sunday afternoon.
The Sharks are a club with terrific timing and have found form for a successful finals campaign again in 2018. Impressive wins over the Broncos, Storm and Cowboys recently have clearly buoyed the team and they will be bullish of their chances against the inconsistent Knights.
The Knights have not been in the finals picture for more than a month but have continued to cause headaches for some of the league’s better teams, and they produced another strong 80 minutes to comfortably defeat the Panthers in Penrith last weekend. This will be a real test but with nothing to play for, it’s tough imagining them notching two-in-a-row.
The Sharks can keep their campaign rolling with another comfortable win.
The final game of the round will see the Dragons and Bulldogs renew their historic rivalry in Kogarah. Regardless of form, this is always a great game but it should be particularly exciting given the recent performances produced by the two clubs.
The Dragons finally returned to winning form with a decent display to end the Tigers season last weekend and they should take plenty of confidence from the win. Their early season form has boded well recently and they remain fourth overall despite their recent dip.
For a team that has never looked like making the finals in 2018, the Dogs have actually been quite good recently and they dished off another loss to a top eight side when they pipped the Warriors by a point in Round 23.
The Bulldogs have not been respected in head-to-head betting here and I am confident that they can win. They are certainly worth consideration at their current price.