Just four rounds remain until the NRL finals and Round 23 will see two matches involving all of the top four teams in what could serve as a prelude of what to expect in September.
The Broncos versus Sharks and Storm versus Roosters matches will go a long way towards shaping the top four and deciding who finishes where at the end of 26 rounds.
The second Friday match sees the Sharks look to bounce back from their upset loss to the Canberra Raiders at home last week when they take on the Broncos in Brisbane for the first time in over three years.
That defeat has left them clinging onto their place in the top four by the skin of their teeth, with the resurgent Parramatta Eels, who play the last-placed Newcastle Knights earlier in the night, breathing down their necks.
The trip to Brisbane will also mark the first of two consecutive matches in Queensland, as the Sharks travel further north for a date with the Cowboys in Townsville next weekend.
The match will mark the 300th first grade game for Sharks captain Paul Gallen, coming at a ground where he has experienced so many highs and lows throughout his illustrious career.
From being booed relentlessly by the parochial Maroon crowd to becoming the first New South Wales captain to lift the Origin shield since Danny Buderus in 2005, Gallen has experienced it all at the cauldron.
(AAP Image/Action Photographics, Brett Crockford)
While the Sharks haven’t lost at Suncorp Stadium since 2011, this will be their first visit to the ground since mid-2014 when they came from 22-0 down in the second half to cause a boilover, winning 24-22.
The victory was one of very few highlights in what was a wretched season for the club, which was plagued all year by the supplements scandal and ended in Cronulla winning that year’s wooden spoon.
They had lost their previous five matches, the last three of them without scoring a single point. In fact, they went 324 minutes without scoring – you could have watched the 2009 film “Avatar” twice while waiting for them to score.
The Sharks had also enjoyed wins in the sunshine capital in 2012 and 2013, both times against the odds.
However, the Broncos have hit back in recent years by claiming two of the last three meetings, both times at Southern Cross Group Stadium, including a 26-18 in this year’s season opener.
If there was any doubting the premiership credentials of Wayne Bennett’s men, they were all but extinguished when they scored a record 54-0 win over the Gold Coast Titans last week.
They lost hooker Andrew McCullough for the rest of the season in their 28-14 loss to the Eels the previous week, so coach Wayne Bennett gambled by playing Dragons-bound Ben Hunt in the No.9.
It was their biggest win in over a decade and keeps them on track to finish with the double finals chance.
Another win over the Sharks could see them leapfrog the Roosters, who play ladder leaders the Melbourne Storm the following night, into second place on the ladder on for and against.
The match between the top two teams at AAMI Park shapes as a potential grand final preview.
Once again, defying fears of an on-field decline, the Storm have been the form team of the competition by a country mile. With a four-point buffer on the Roosters and a points differential of +178 (to the Roosters’ +65), they are poised to wrap up the minor premiership with three rounds to play.
It would be their third legitimate minor premiership and second consecutive after also topping the ladder at the end of last season.
Fullback Billy Slater has impressed in his return from shoulder surgery, also returning to the Queensland Origin side as they came from 1-0 down to claim their 11th series win in the past 12 years.
Captain Cameron Smith, meanwhile, continues to break records, notching up his 350th NRL game in the 40-6 win over the Sea Eagles a fortnight ago and remains on track to become the NRL’s all-time games leader in the first week of the finals.
It was feared that he could’ve missed up to six weeks after picking up a sternum injury in the club’s 20-14 win over the Canberra Raiders in Round 20, but somehow he was able to recover in time for that milestone game.
With the Storm all but certain to finish in the top two if they beat the Roosters on Saturday night, the Storm’s first qualifying final match stands to be a celebration of what Smith has achieved in the game.
The 34-year-old has led his club, state and country with diligence, leading the Storm to the 2012 premiership, the Maroons to six Origin series victories (2008, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017) and Australia to the 2013 Rugby League World Cup.
There is now talk that he could play on beyond this season, with the lure of potentially becoming the first man to ever play 400 NRL games.
(AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Five-eighth Cameron Munster has also shown why Storm fans should not fear a dramatic on-field decline when Slater and Smith eventually retire, filling in for the former while he was out injured for the past two seasons.
He also excelled on his State of Origin debut for Queensland, his club partnership with soon-to-be-departed Cooper Cronk proving a success on one of rugby league’s most demanding stages.
The Roosters, on the other hand, dropped off the pace in the chase for the minor premiership when they conceded 32 unanswered points, losing to Manly 36-18.
Coach Trent Robinson described his side’s second half capitulation as “weak”, and it’s proof that the Chooks still have a long way to go if they are to challenge for the premiership.
However, they will regain both co-captains, Boyd Cordner and Jake Friend, for the trip to Melbourne, where the Roosters haven’t won since 2014.
Interestingly, Cordner will face off against his Storm counterpart in Cameron Smith for the fourth time in his past five games and will look to square the personal ledger at two apiece (Smith leads 2-1).
It will, however, be his first club game in ten weeks, having not featured for the Roosters since their 18-16 win over the Broncos in Round 13. The club had their two byes in rounds 15 and 18, before Origins 2 and 3 respectively, during which Cordner battled a calf injury.
With the Broncos closing thanks to a superior for and against, a win will be crucial to the Roosters’ chances of a top-two finish, with which comes two home finals and the possibility they may not have to leave Sydney during September.
Otherwise, given the Storm and Broncos are likely to finish first and second, the Chooks may have to pack their bags and head to either Melbourne or Brisbane for their first finals match.
Two matches, each involving the top four teams, should make for a blockbuster Round 23 of the NRL. What will be more interesting is where the teams finish at the end of 26 rounds.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
The NRL's match officials announcement on Tuesday lunchtime is usually cause for little fanfare, but sparked debate this week with top ref Ashley Klein…
It had all been going so well. Canberra were by far the better side for ten minutes, with Jamal Fogarty giving the Brisbane back…
Like most clubs, the Brisbane Broncos have had their fair share of big boppers over the years, many of them legends of the game.…
Who are the hardest working big men in the NRL?
My American mate wants a Canberra Raiders jersey. If someone had told me a couple of months ago that I’d have friends in the…
Derbies are often rated on intensity rather than quality, and that was very much to the fore at Suncorp for the third Battle of…
