What a finish to the regular season coming up. Four teams all vying for a spot in the top eight, but only three can progress.
The Cowboys, Panthers, Sea Eagles and Dragons have had vastly different seasons. Their is no clear cut team deserving to miss September football. Each have had solid periods and conversely more lacklustre weeks.
It is going to come down to three games. Just who can get it together when everything is on the line.
It all start on Thursday night. If the Cowboys can beat the Broncos they will book their September berth. The most consistent of the four teams over the course of the season, the Cowboys have been ravaged by injury over year, and particular in the last month.
While injury will blunt what might have been a premiership charge, the Cowboys have always been valiant and full of effort. This is a game that these sides have easily got up for in the last few seasons.
The Broncos must be hurting after a big loss and that could affect them in plenty of ways. The Cowboys hold their destiny in their own hands and playing at home will go down swinging.
Should the Cowboys win it will put massive ramifications on the Sea Eagles versus Panthers game on Saturday night at Lottoland. The loser of that clash would then have to hope that the Dragons go down on Sunday to the Bulldogs.
If the Cowboys lose they would have to hope that either the Dragons lose, or the Panthers win and dent the Sea Eagles for and against in the process.
The Panthers weren’t at their best on Sunday. The seven-game streak had to end at some point, and their scrappy performance on Sunday afternoon kept the Dragons’ season alive.
Errors and penalties at crucial times cruelled their chances, nothing personified their afternoon more than Dallin Watene-Zelezniak being stripped of the ball and conceding a try when they should have been starting their set on the 40m line.
The Panthers have been widely criticised for only beating teams in the bottom eight in their resurgent run. In this competition you don’t ever win seven in a row or 11 of 13 if you aren’t a good team. They have played some teams with their seasons on the line over that period and always had the play at the death.
They will have an idea going into Saturday about what a win will mean for them. But with the Sea Eagles looking seriously shaky over the past six weeks, they will fancy their chances.
The Sea Eagles brought their season back from the brink on Sunday afternoon. Down by 7 with seven minutes to go some brilliance by Tom Trobjevic and Daly Cherry-Evans got them out of jail.
(AAP Image/Paul Miller)
It continues a very unconvincing run for them. First it was the 52-22 loss to the Dragons. Since then they have been dominated by the Storm, pipped by the Tigers and embarrassed by the Bulldogs. In among that they came back to shock the Roosters.
The Sea Eagles are the worst defensive team of the four teams chasing a spot. It has been particularly evident of late. Mid season they looked a chance of being top four. This has evaporated quickly. They have lost touch with games and important ones at that.
As with all these teams it comes down to one game. They are at home with everything to play for, the motivation should be easy. If the Cowboys win they simply must win, if they lose, they wait on the Bulldogs. Even if the Cowboys lose, if the Panthers beat them, for and against would come into play and may bundle them out.
The Dragons game is simple. At least one team will still be on 30 points come kick-off on Sunday. The Dragons with a superior for and against will need a win to make the eight
The Dragons started the game full of promise, even leading the competition at one stage. They have slid down the table since mid season with some pretty ordinary football.
To their credit, they have been gritty and courageous on their day. The last ten minutes or so of their match against the Panthers was text book in terms of closing out a match. They will fancy their chances against the Bulldogs.
The verdict?
The Cowboys have been valiant and will be again on Thursday. The Broncos though owe the Cowboys a few heart breakers and will be fired up after the loss to the Eels. Brisbane will get home in Townsville, but not by much.
It will set up plenty of intrigue for the game on Saturday. The Panthers have lose Dylan Edwards but a loss is sometimes better than a win. For all their work at the back end of the season, a finals berth off two straight losses isn’t what you want.
They will expose the Sea Eagles defence again and continue a good run against the Eagles in the process. They loss will push the Eagles back down past the Cowboys in the process.
The Dragons will be stunned early by the Bulldogs. The Dogs look like a team with nothing to lose and that can be better than playing for everything. The Dragons will get home, but not by much, off the back of a Widdop master class, relegating the Sea Eagles to ninth.
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.
Wayne Bennett might be rumoured with a move elsewhere for 2025, but his Dolphins are far from done in 2024 after another stunning boilover…
The Cowboys desperately tried to kick a two-point field goal with seconds left, but should they have received a penalty earlier that would've seen…
Jack Bostock protested his innocence after being penalised for interfering with Kyle Feldt with replays showing Feldt throwing the ball behind him.
Trai Fuller is having a night to forget. After conceding a 40/20, he dropped a regulation take, and Jeremiah Nanai swooped in for the…
The bounce of the ball favoured the Cowboys after what should have been a regulation take turned into a 40/20.
Penrith have won plenty of games under Ivan Cleary, but few can have seen them have to grit it out as much as this…
