There are just six weeks remaining in the NRL Premiership regular season and boy, are things heating up!
The Panthers continue to lead the way, but the Broncos are hot on their tail, and there are seven clubs fighting it out for positions six through eight.
The action kicks off at The Gabba on Thursday night when the Broncos and Roosters renew their rivalry, and another seven games will be contested throughout the following days as the Warriors enjoyed a deserved week off.
Check out my complete NRL Round 22 Tips below.
Round 22 kicks off in Brisbane on Thursday night when the Broncos take on the Roosters at The Gabba.
In terms of ladder positioning, these two clubs have gone in opposite directions this season: the Broncos have turned into a genuine Premiership threat and sit second, while the Roosters have a genuine fight on their hands in their bid for a spot in the eight.
That being said, the Roosters did return one of their better performances of the season to easily saw off the Titans on the Gold Coast last week, who themselves beat the Broncos in Round 17.
That makes for a slightly better contest here, but I’m still expecting the Broncos to do it pretty comfortably.
The most skewed market of the week, understandably, has materialised in Friday’s first-up clash between the Tigers and the Rabbitohs.
After showing some promise through Magic Round and into the Origin period, the Tigers have been absolutely awful, and the end of the season genuinely cannot arrive quickly enough.
Their best chance of one final win for the year looked like last week’s match against the Dragons, but they couldn’t get the job done there either.
The Bunnies also lost in Round 21 and incredibly dropped out of the eight in the process, but with the likes of Latrell returning this week, now is their time to gain a bit of confidence and begin their preparations for finals.
The Storm will be eager to bounce back from a shock loss when the take on the Eels in Friday night’s primetime clash.
In my opinion, the Storm looked to be about the safest head-to-head bet in Round 21 but I, like most people, were absolutely stunned to see them go down to the Knights.
They haven’t been their usual ‘scary’ selves in 2023, but they’ve still been good enough to sit in the Top 4 for almost all of it.
The Eels sit eighth on the ladder after 21 rounds of footy, but became the next club to feel the wrath of an in-form Cowboys outfit last week.
It’s hard to imagine the Storm losing two games in a row at any stage, and I’m keen on them bouncing back here.
Given the Knights’ performance and win over the Storm last week, their Round 22 clash with the Raiders in the nation’s capital looms as one of the most intriguing ones of the week!
The Raiders really have been one of 2023’s biggest revelations, but they suffered an agonizingly close defeat to the Warriors in New Zealand last week.
That being said, I have no doubt that a return home and their hunger will find them a very difficult prospect for the Knights in Round 22.
There’s no doubt in my mind that the Knights managed their best performance of the season last week, and to their credit, they’ve been a lot better during the last month of footy.
I think the Raiders will win, but a total match points line of 44.5 (at publish) looks a little small to me!
I’m pretty confident in the Sea Eagles when they take on the Dragons in Wollongong on Saturday.
Not only are the Sea Eagles just a better side than the Dragons this year, but it’s also DCE’s 300th NRL game!
He’s been one of the best servants that the club has ever had, and just the second (officially) to reach the 300 club after Cliffy Lyons.
Not to mention, he has just captained Queensland to another Origin series win, and there’s every chance he’s picked at 7 for the Kangaroos come season’s end. What. A. Man.
Things have been bad at the Dragons all year, and it’s tough imagining a return to winning form this week.
The Panthers look to be on the short and narrow towards another minor Premiership, and they can take another big step at the expense of the Sharks in Round 22.
This rivalry resulted in a ripper Preliminary Final in 2022 and the Panthers have well and truly held that form this season, but the Sharks have proven to be a bit of a myth throughout the last couple of months, and they are still yet to beat a Top 8 side in 2023.
Their form, and more so their leaky defence was underlined by a disappointing loss to Manly at Cronulla last week, and things obviously don’t get any easier here.
The Sharks can be competitive, at least for part of this clash, and I thought that the 16.5-point line was a little harsh on them.
The Bulldogs and Dolphins are both desperate for a confidence boosting win, and both will be confident in their chances on Sunday afternoon.
The Dogs just have not been able to put it all together this year, and sit second-last after thirteen ‘L’s next to their name.
The ‘Phins obviously flew the gates – that was well documented, but they’ve steadily dropped to where more pundits thought they’d be at this point of the year.
They were on the bye last week, and there were plenty of things to like about their Round 20 performance against the Panthers prior to that.
All of that points to one logical outcome.
It’s a Queensland Derby when the Titans take on the Cowboys in the final game of Round 22.
Both clubs have spent time in the Top 8 this season, but its certainly been a tale of two cities recently as the Titans have descended the ladder, and the Cowboys have kicked into gear in utterly incredible fashion.
I thought they’d miss the finals this season, but after another vital win over the Eels in Round 21, they’re now seventh, and pending other results, they could be even higher on Sunday night!
I also tipped the Titans to sneak into the 8 at the beginning of the season, and that’s now looking less and less likely….. bring on Des Hasler!
The Cows should just win again, and win well!