Key match-ups that will shape the NRL top eight
These are the seven can’t-miss matches that will decide who finishes in the all-important top four. PAUL CRAWLEY analyses who will sneak into the NRL finals and which teams will miss out.
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Only three rounds of the NRL regular season remain and 12 teams are still a mathematical chance of making the top eight.
With the top-four fight as enthralling as the race for finals survival, here are 10 key clashes that will have a huge bearing on who lives and dies, kicking off with Friday night’s grudge match at Suncorp Stadium.
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ROUND 23: BRONCOS V RABBITOHS
Friday, Suncorp Stadium, 7.55pm
Don’t let anyone tell you this is not personal. The history between Wayne Bennett and Anthony Seibold is short but it is already simmering with bad blood. Both coaches will do everything in their power to make sure their players are fired up for this Suncorp Stadium Friday night blockbuster.
The Rabbitohs’ shock loss to the Bulldogs drops them to fifth on the ladder, and if they don’t win in Brisbane it will virtually end their top-four chances. Significantly, they will be without Sam Burgess.
For Seibold it’s not only about survival but saving face given the Broncos are a club who demand success and have only missed the play-offs twice since 1991. Seibold won’t want to be part of that unwanted history in his first season.
ROUND 23: TIGERS V KNIGHTS
Saturday, Campbelltown Stadium, 5.30pm
Could potentially end the season for two of the most success-starved clubs of recent years. The Knights and Tigers sit 10th and 11th respectively on the ladder on 20 competition points and both need to win all three games to reach the minimum top eight cut-off.
The Tigers have the longest finals drought of any club, dating back to 2011 under Tim Sheens, while the Knights last reached September under Bennett in 2013 and have claimed three wooden spoons since. The Tigers scored a shock 28-26 upset over the Knights in Newcastle in round 19. This is the Novocastrians’ chance for revenge.
ROUND 23: RAIDERS V SEA EAGLES
Sunday, GIO Stadium, 4.05pm
Who would have thought Canberra and Manly would be battling each other for a top-four finish at the start of the season? Now Des Hasler and Ricky Stuart will be fighting it out to be the Dally M coach of the year along with Brad Arthur.
Hasler and Stuart have been around long enough to know you have no chance of winning the title if you don’t finish in the four and the loser here could be out of that equation.
Both club have scored shock victories over Melbourne in recent weeks to announce themselves as genuine contenders. This game should be one of the highlights of the season between two of the most entertaining teams.
ROUND 24: SEA EAGLES V STORM
Saturday, August 31, Lottoland, 5.30pm
Poor Cameron Smith must be wondering what he has done to cause all this outrage in recent weeks. But it’s worth remembering the war against Melbourne ignited after an old Manly warhorse stirred the pot when Max Krilich declared Smith didn’t play in the spirit of the game in the countdown to their recent clash at AAMI Park. As if that won’t fuel some extra spark here.
Of course, Craig Bellamy didn’t take too kindly to Krilich’s comments, questioning if Hasler masterminded the attack. Then the Sea Eagles went out and beat the Storm on their home turf. Back in 2011, this corresponding match delivered one of the ugliest brawls of the modern game in the infamous “Battle of Brookvale”.
ROUND 25: RABBITOHS V ROOSTERS
Thursday, September 5, ANZ Stadium, 7.50pm
Rugby league’s oldest and most bitter rivalry never ceases to deliver more bad blood for the Book of Feuds. The Rabbitohs upstaged the reigning premiers in a fiery round-one contest where Cody Walker got under the skin of Cooper Cronk and Luke Keary fired up, claiming Walker lacked respect.
This time the Roosters will have the chance to ruin the Rabbitohs’ top-four aspirations. On current form you’d say Souths don’t stand a chance but they always deliver something special against the Roosters.
ROUND 25: PANTHERS V KNIGHTS
Sunday, September 8, Panthers Stadium, 4.05pm
Could be James Maloney’s last game for Penrith when he goes head-to-head with his old Sydney Roosters premiership-winning halves partner Mitchell Pearce. At the start of the season almost everyone considered the Panthers top-four certainties, while the Knights were expected to finish top eight at worst.
Maloney was the best player on the field in the Panthers’ 16-14 win over Newcastle in round two. Here Pearce will get the chance to return serve in the last club game these two will play against each other.
ROUND 25: TIGERS V SHARKS
Sunday, September 8, Leichhardt Oval, 2pm
Another final showdown between two of the game’s modern gladiators in Robbie Farah and Paul Gallen. Only one of these teams can squeeze into the top eight. Farah will be hoping to return from injury in this game and inspire the Tigers into their first finals series in eight long years in his last hurrah at Leichhardt. Gallen is on the record saying he doesn’t want to end his career without getting one last crack at September footy. He turned 38 last week and still managed to clock up 20 runs for 198m against the Dragons on Sunday, the most of any player on the field.