Run home for NRL finals contenders

Alex Mitchell | August 13, 2023

The race for the NRL’s top four continues to sizzle, with the Warriors, Melbourne and Cronulla all posting big wins in round 24.

With Penrith and Brisbane, on 36 competition points each, all but assured of top-two finishes, only two other outfits can earn a double chance come the finals.

The Warriors (34) look best placed to do so with all their remaining games to come against bottom-nine teams.

While Melbourne (32) effectively ended Canberra’s top-four chances with a 48-2 smashing on Sunday, the Storm will need to be wary of the Sharks after they revived their season in the past fortnight with back-to-back wins.

The sixth-ranked Raiders (30) are now fighting for their finals life, with three teams – Newcastle (29), South Sydney (28) and North Queensland (28) – within a win of Canberra, who also have a dreadful -120 points differential that will cruel them in any tiebreaker.

The Raiders probably need to beat Canterbury next weekend to have a chance of clinging on, with tough fixtures against Brisbane and Cronulla to close the year.

Parramatta (28) and the Sydney Roosters (28) are a further win back and meet each other next weekend in a virtual early final, with the losers’ season likely over.

The Roosters will enter the match as favourites and likely have more of a chance to still make the eight, with a final-round clash against South Sydney potentially a crunch encounter both might need to win to make it.

Parramatta’s major challenge will be turning around the form shown in losing by 30 and 44 points in the past three weeks, with a huge match against Penrith in round 26 preceding a last-round bye.

Souths take on Newcastle in an eighth-versus-seventh clash next Sunday that will significantly dent the losers’ chances, but the Rabbitohs still have two guaranteed points to come in the form of a round-26 bye.

Gold Coast (22) and the Dolphins (22) were eliminated from the finals race with their respective losses this weekend, with 12th-ranked Manly (25) at long odds to close their own three-point gap to eighth.

RUN HOME FOR THE NRL FINALS CONTENDERS:

1. PENRITH (38 points, +289) versus Titans (away), Eels (home), Cowboys (h)

2. BRISBANE (38, +213) v bye, Raiders (a), Storm (h)

3. WARRIORS (34, +129) v Sea Eagles (h), Dragons (h), Dolphins (a)

4. MELBOURNE (32, +127) v Dragons (a), Titans (h), Broncos (a)

5. CRONULLA (30, +110) v Cowboys (a), Knights (a), Raiders (h)

6. CANBERRA (30, -120) v Bulldogs (h), Broncos (h), Sharks (a)

7. NEWCASTLE (29, +110) v Rabbitohs (h), Sharks (h), Dragons (a)

8. SOUTH SYDNEY (28, +92) v Knights (a), bye, Roosters (h)

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9. NORTH QUEENSLAND (28, +32) v Sharks (h), Dolphins (a), Panthers (a)

10. PARRAMATTA (26, +21) v Roosters (h), Panthers (a), bye