The players at greatest risk of missing NRL finals if they get it wrong this weekend

These are the NRL stars who risk missing a chance to play in the finals if they put a foot wrong in the final round of the regular season.

Some of the game’s biggest names at some of the game’s biggest clubs are among nearly 80 players who are walking a judicial tightrope on the eve of the finals.

The Australian can reveal the Panthers, Eels and Roosters have seven players on their books who have already been charged at least twice by the match review committee this season.

South Sydney and the Gold Coast — locked in a titanic battle with Canberra and Cronulla for eighth spot in the finals — aren’t far behind with six players apiece having multiple strikes against their name.

The race to the 2021 NRL Telstra Finals Series is on and every game matters. Watch Live & Ad-Break Free on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-days free >

NRL 2021 RD23 Penrith Panthers v South Sydney Rabbitohs – Stephen Crichton, Try Celebration

It means those players head into round 25 — the final round of the regular season — with their hopes of playing finals football on a precipice. Once players have been charged twice during the season, they are no longer eligible to receive fines for trivial offences.

In other words, even the most innocuous of charges will result in penalty points and a potential suspension given they are also carrying loading from prior offences into round 25.

The remarkable number of players with multiple charges beside their name no doubt owes much to the blitz on high contact this year, which has resulted in grade one offences skyrocketing.

It also means some of the game’s biggest stars are at risk of being rubbed out of the opening weekend of the finals should they transgress again.

Penrith players Steve Crichton, Api Koroisau, Jarome Luai, Kurt Capewell, Liam Martin, Moses Leota and Dylan Edwards are among those who need to be on their best behaviour this weekend.

At the Roosters, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, SioSiua Taukeiaho, Sitili Tupouniua and Egan Butcher are treading a fine line. South Sydney have a handful of players who have already been charged multiple time, most notably Jaydn Su’A, Dane Gagai and Cody Walker.

Parramatta have as much to lose as anybody given Nathan Brown, Dylan Brown and Waqa Blake are among those who have been charged twice apiece.

Penrith and Souths have the luxury of being able to rest players and the expectation is that those sides will take advantage of their lofty positions on the ladder to give some of their stars the chance to have a spell before the finals.

(L-R) Keaon Koloamatangi and Cody Walker of the Rabbitohs risk missing finals action if they get it wrong in round 25. Picture: Handout/NRL Photos via Getty Images

The same goes for Melbourne — they have Cameron Munster, Felise Kaufusi and Nelson Asofa-Solomona with two fines this year. Not only would they be taking them out of the firing line, but in many cases they would be giving them a buffer given players receive a bonus of an extra fine once they hit the play-offs.

However the likes of Parramatta, the Sydney Rooster and Newcastle are jostling for positions in the top eight and need to ensure they field a reasonably strong outfit. In the case of the Titans, their finals hopes are contingent on results this weekend.

They can ill afford to be without David Fifita or Mo Fotuaika, their highest-profile players with two charges apiece to their name.

The Sharks and Raiders are among the best placed — Jordan Rapana is the only Canberra player with multiple charges while Jesse Ramien and Briton Nikora are the Sharks’ worst offenders.

The Titans must weigh up the risks of playing David Fifita in their crucial clash with the Warriors. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

The resting of players its set to decimate the final round of the competition as clubs nurse their stars through the final round in preparation for the finals. Parramatta and Penrith are expected to name shadow sides. The Storm are also likely to rest a handful of stars.

NRL head of football Graham Annesley on Monday defended the policy, which some would argue severely impacts on the integrity of the competition.

“I think this is a question that comes up every year in the last round of the competition,” Annesley said.

“Obviously there are teams at the top of the ladder or teams in the eight where their position may not change depending on what happens in the last game of the competition.

“Of course, teams have the opportunity to rest players with niggling injuries and we don’t have any problem with that. The one thing I know about most teams in our competition is they don’t like losing and they don’t like forfeiting games … or literally giving games up before they even start.

“That is not how our clubs operate. The are absolutely determined to win every time they run on the field. I think you will always find there will be a large core of regular first-graders who play in every game they are fit to play in.”

Originally published as The players at greatest risk of missing NRL finals if they get it wrong this weekend