In a dramatic finish to the NRC home-and-away season, Melbourne Rising defeated the Sydney Stars by eight points to leap from sixth on the table to third and qualify for the semi-finals.
However, the 18-10 victory saw Sydney stay just close enough to Melbourne to win a bonus point, and in doing so were able to move ahead of the NSW Country Eagles on the table, and finish in fourth.
The Stars now face an almighty task as they’re up against undefeated Brisbane City in the semi-final, while Melbourne will play the University of Canberra Vikings.
Final Score:
Melbourne Rising 18
Sydney Stars 10
A win against the Sydney Stars will secure Melbourne Rising a semi-final position for the second year in a row. Join The Roar from 1:30pm (AEDT) for live scores.
After ensuring their fate is in their own hands with a huge win over the New South Wales Country Eagles last week, Rising are one win away from a top-four spot.
Despite Ben Meehan only being able to convert one of Melbourne’s four tries last week, they managed to hold off the Eagles for nine minutes to secure a seven-point win.
Sixth on the table and tied on points with fifth-placed Perth Spirit, a win will see Melbourne make the semi-finals.
After a strong start to the 2015 NRC season, the Sydney Stars seemingly crashed. However, they will still make the finals if they win today, or if they lose but score a bonus point.
A win to the Eagles yesterday saw them overtake the Stars into third position on the ladder, but they are even on points with the Stars and only three points ahead of Melbourne Rising.
That means that both teams can overtake them today depending on how the results go. A win to Melbourne by eight points or less would see both sides qualify for the semi-finals.
The Stars had a bye last week, and would have had a big think about their embarrassing 58-nil loss to premiership favourites Brisbane City the week before.
They’ve tasted victory in just one of their last four matches after starting the season with three consecutive wins.
When Melbourne travelled to Sydney last season, they had no problems dismantling the Stars in an impressive 45 – 13 win.
Prediction
Stars by 3
Will it be Melbourne Rising or the Sydney Stars – or both – who cement their semi-final place? Join The Roar from 1:30pm (AEDT) for live scores to find out.
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