Just three weeks remain in the NRL regular season, and five points separates the fifth-placed Sharks from the twelfth-placed Sea Eagles!
There are several potentially vital games scheduled in Round 25, kicking off in Townsville will what promises to be a quality contest between the Cowboys and Sharks on Thursday night.
The Eels take on the Roosters, the last-placed Tigers will incredibly start favourites in their game, and sparks will almost certainly fly when the Knights take on Souths on Sunday!
Check out my complete NRL Round 25 Tips below.
We’re back to North Queensland on Thursday night for what promises to be a very intriguing fixture between the Cowboys and the Sharks.
The Cows’ resurgence has taken something of a hit recently, with a pair of losses to the Titans and Broncos leading up to last week’s bye.
They’ve dropped back out of the eight (ninth), but still obviously have claims on winning their way into the finals.
I personally thought that the Sharks were completely down and out, but their last two performances have been amongst their best of the season, and another victory this week really would by the rest of the league on notice.
I’m not sure the Sharks will win, but I think they’ll be right in it until the death.
A Top 4 finish is very much on the cards for the Warriors, and they’re offered another great opportunity to win when they host the Sea Eagles in Round 25.
Their rise to prominence this season has been nothing short of outstanding, and it’s owed largely to the incredible debut season of rookie coach Andrew Webster.
He’s really got this team humming, fighting for the jersey and realistically, I think they’ll be fighting for the Premiership in the final couple of weeks of the comp, as well.
The Sea Eagles are still a mathematical chance of making the finals, but they have to win all three remaining games and hope other results go their way as well.
They do have the means to do it, but as a Sea Eagles fan, I’m certainly not confident they will.
These are the sorts of games in which nothing is expected of them, and for that reason, I do think they’ll push the Wahs all the way.
The Eels and the Roosters are both firmly entrenched in the fight for one of the final Finals berths this season, and this could very well materialise as the match of the round as a result.
Two of the Eels’ last three games have resulted in some truly shocking losses, and even if they do somehow fall into the finals, they’re not going to progress very far.
The year is also done for halfback Mitchell Moses, who suffered a cheek fracture in last week’s loss to the Broncos.
The Roosters meanwhile are playing with a renewed confidence, and they will only be undone by leaving their run just a little too late, if they in fact are.
They’ve won three of their last four to sit eleventh and they’re another club that just need to keep winning, which I think they will do in Round 25.
Nine of the last eleven games between these two clubs have gone over the total match points line, and I thought the 43.5 on show at publish was a little low again.
Wests Tigers have opened $1.36 favourites head-to-head in Round 25. Wow. Underlines how well the Phins have been going…
The Tigers will almost certainly finish the season in last place, a loss this week would confirm that, but they have been competitive with a couple of Top 6 sides during the last fortnight.
The Phins meanwhile are winless since Round 19, and the end of their debut NRL campaign probably can’t arrive quickly enough.
They’re forced to deal with plenty more injuries this week, and I think the Tigers might record their biggest win of the season.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, betting suggests that the most one-sided match of the round comes up between the Titans and Panthers on the Goldie on Saturday.
The Titans can’t make the finals, and focus is already on Mad Monday and the arrival of Des Hasler in the offseason.
Prospects are bright on the Gold Coast, but they have been plenty of times throughout the Titans’ existence and little has been delivered.
The Panthers look to be on the short and narrow towards another deep finals runs and potentially, and third-consecutive Premiership.
The Dragons are another club that only has to suffer three more weeks of competition, and things could get ugly when they take on the Storm on Saturday night.
They’ve never looked good or comfortably, there has been plenty of off-field rubbish to deal with, and 2023 has ultimately been another one to forget for the Red V.
The Storm are chasing yet another Top 4 finish, and nothing short of dominant victories in matches like this one are acceptable for their cause.
Ryan Papenhuyzen looks a chance to play some sort of a role in this game, and the Storm will use this as another training run.
Another contender for match of the round comes up in the penultimate contest of the week, when the Knights take on the Bunnies in Newcastle.
Six weeks ago, the Knights looked to be on the straight and narrow to another early Mad Monday but boy, have they been good since Origin!
Their stars have switched on, combinations have gelled, and their exciting young cavalry have really started to figure it all out. All of that has made for a genuinely good footy side, but are they a Premiership threat?
The Bunnies meanwhile sit eighth, perilously close to dropping out of the race, and they simply need to win.
I’m holding firm with the Knights until they give me a reason not to!
The Raiders are offered a great opportunity at a potentially vital win when the take on the Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon.
Three losses from their last four matches has seen the Raiders fall away from finals safety, but they should still finish the regular season in the eight, particularly by winning games like this one.
The Dogs have been terrible all season, and is coach Cameron Ciraldo actually as good as we have been led to believe?
Hype surrounded his arrival at the Bulldogs, but is Cameron Ciraldo actually a good coach? @JharalYowYeh5 & @JaredTimms had their say on #NRL Unpopular Opinions! pic.twitter.com/9gxNOu9h7i
— Neds (@NedsAus) August 15, 2023
Also, what is this Tevita Pangai Junior to boxing news that’s broken this week?? Wowee, its been another eventful one for the Dogs, and it probably ends with another loss.