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It’s become known as the swingers’ club, a place where NRL teams can find themselves in more positions than the karma sutra. It’s the NRL ladder and what can happen in just one round of football is mind-boggling.
Named Destiny Round by the NRL, it looks set to shape the future of the eight clubs fighting for the final four places in the finals series.
Six NRL clubs could find themselves sitting as high as fifth on the ladder by Sunday afternoon, while there are eight clubs that could drop to tenth or worse with losses this weekend.
Rarely has winning or losing a regular season round had such an impact on so many teams in the NRL.
Of the eight clubs in the finals dogfight, only South Sydney cannot step into the top eight this weekend with their best case scenario a rise to ninth with a win over Penrith on Saturday.
The stakes are the highest they have been all season, but the coaches and players are doing their best to avoid the hype only pre-finals anticipation can produce.
Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens says his side’s Friday night blockbuster against Parramatta – a clash between the two sides on the best winning streaks in the NRL at the moment – is no more important than his side’s six previous wins.
“It’s no bigger a game than we’ve been playing over the past six weeks,” said Sheens.
“We’ve got three games (still) to play, not one. If it was the last game of the season and win or lose we made the semis I would agree (it’s the biggest game of the year.)
“The fans get all hyped up and the media get all hyped up, we don’t get all hyped up.”
Skipper Robbie Farah said he wanted to avoid too much emphasis on the game and putting any extra pressure on his side as they seek to end a finals drought that stretches back to the premiership win in 2005.
“I don’t want to place that pressure on us,” he said.
“It’s an important game and a pretty big one in terms of what we do this year but we’re not going to be slitting our throats if we lose.
“A hiccup is not going to cost us a semi-final spot, but it does make it tougher.”
A loss however could see the Tigers fall from fifth to tenth on the NRL table in one weekend, a fate Penrith tasted just last week.
The Panthers’ deplorable second half to Brisbane, conceding 40-0, saw them plunge on the ladder, Saturday’s clash with South Sydney on Saturday now looming as crucial.
A loss for the Bunnies on Saturday is expected to be a terminal blow.
Penrith meanwhile could jump back to fifth place with a strong win, while the Tigers, Manly, Newcastle, Brisbane and Parramatta could also climb into the same position if results fall their way.
The Tigers and Sea Eagles could fall as low as 10th with losses, while the Knights and Broncos could plummet to 11th and the Eels and Panthers may end up 12th.
North Queensland, 11th, can only jump to sixth with a win over seventh placed Newcastle on Saturday.
It is arguably the most exciting round of rugby league this year, however the players have done little to sell it.
St George Illawarra fullback Darius Boyd delivered a disgraceful 43 second interview on Tuesday while the two hottest players in the game – Benji Marshall and Jarryd Hayne – were off limits all week.
Thankfully, you can always rely on Wendell Sailor.
Sailor spoke for over 10 minutes to promote his clash with former Broncos teammates, and wasn’t afraid to offer some advice to the media shy stars of today.
“Just to own the camera a little bit,” said Sailor.
“I’m going to take (Boyd) under my wing and mentor him a bit about how to control the media because if you don’t control the media, the media will control you.”
Current position, best rank, worst rank
1. St George Ill 1st 1st
2. Bulldogs 2nd 2nd
3. Gold Coast 3rd 3rd
4. Melbourne 4th 4th
5. Wests Tigers 5th 10th
6. Manly 5th 10th
7. Newcastle 5th 11th
8. Brisbane 5th 11th
9. Parramatta 5th 12th
10. Penrith 5th 12th
11. North Qld 6th 12th
12. South Sydney 9th 12th
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