We are nearly a third through the regular season and we are starting to get a better understanding of who are the clear contenders for this year’s premiership.

Flying the flag for New South Wales are the Panthers, Eels and Rabbitohs, who all occupy the top three places on the ladder, followed by the Melbourne Storm which is continuing to adapt well to the post-Cameron Smith era.

Each of those four teams will start favourites over the weekend, with the Panthers taking their home game against the Sea Eagles to Bathurst, while the Eels, Rabbitohs and Storm will lock horns with the Bulldogs, Raiders and Sharks respectively.

We also have a south-east Queensland Derby to look forward to, with the Broncos looking to make amends after their horror loss to the Eels last week while the Titans have history at their mercy, with a fourth straight win over big brother at stake.

At the end of the round, the under-siege Wests Tigers will look to put a week from hell behind them when they make the trip to Wollongong for just the third time since 2000 to face the mid-table Dragons.

Here is your preview to Round 8.

Raiders versus Rabbitohs
Round 8 kicks off with the South Sydney Rabbitohs making the trip down the highway to face the Canberra Raiders, with a seventh straight win well in their sights.

The Bunnies were made to look second rate against the Titans last Friday night, trailing 24-10 at halftime, before some Benji Marshall magic saw them claim a thrilling 40-30 victory and rack up their sixth win in a row.

Marshall has proven to be the x-factor in the Rabbitohs’ line-up since being given an NRL lifeline by Wayne Bennett and his experience could prove to be vital should the men from Redfern advance to the grand final in October.

Next up for them are the Canberra Raiders, who will be reeling after giving up a 24-12 halftime lead to lose to the North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville, marking the second time this season the Green Machine had given up such a healthy lead to lose in such fashion.

They had also lost to the Warriors after leading 31-10 in the second half, while in the week prior to the loss to the Cowboys they suffered humiliation at the hands of the Parramatta Eels, losing 35-10 at home and gifting the westerners their first win in Canberra since 2006.

With their season quickly slipping away, coach Ricky Stuart will surely want to fire up his troops for the clash against the Rabbitohs, whom they beat in an epic preliminary final at home back in 2019.

This will also be the last time Stuart and Bennett go head-to-head as coaches, in the regular season at least, though should the Raiders pick up their form it’s likely the two sides could also face each other in September.

While the Raiders would love to hit back in front of their fans, I think the Bunnies will prove too strong on the road.

Prediction: Rabbitohs by 12 points.

Storm versus Sharks
The first Friday night clash sees the Cronulla Sharks make the trip south to Melbourne to face the Storm, still with their tails between their legs after becoming the first team to fall victim to the Bulldogs last week.

A shocking first half saw the Sharks trail 18-0 at halftime, and while they managed to fight back in the second half they would be left to rue their poor opening 40 minutes as they crashed to their fifth loss of the season.

It was also a second defeat from as many matches for caretaker coach Josh Hannay, who will have the rest of the season to keep the Sharks as competitive as possible and continue to lay the foundations for incoming coach Craig Fitzgibbon who will take the reins in 2022.

Things will not get any easier for Hannay or the Sharks when they face a Storm side which, despite being without injured fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen, still managed to register an easy win over the Warriors in the annual Anzac Night clash at AAMI Park last week.

In his absence, Reimis Smith and Josh Addo-Carr both scored doubles, while Cameron Munster booted five conversions, as the Storm continue to track well both in their premiership defence and in the post-Cameron Smith era.

Over the past few years, the Storm and Sharks have contested a number of notable matches, not least the 2016 grand final in which the Sharks won their first title in their 50th year in the competition with a closely contested 14-12 win.

But to the Sharks faithful, that seems like a lifetime ago, given the struggles their side are currently going through as well as the turmoil surrounding former coach John Morris’ treatment and sudden departure from Shark Park earlier this month.

At home, the Storm should show no mercy as they gear up for a second bout at the Rabbitohs next week.

Prediction: Storm by 20 points.

Broncos versus Titans
For the second time this season we have a south-east Queensland Derby on a Friday night and history will be at the Titans’ mercy as they shoot for four straight wins against their bigger brothers from up the M1.

After being blanked by the Sea Eagles in Round 6, the Titans blew their biggest chance to record its biggest win for a very long time when they threw away a healthy 24-10 halftime lead against the Rabbitohs to lose by 40-30.

Despite the second half capitulation, David Fifita helped himself to another hat-trick of tries, proving his worth to the Titans in the process, and now he gets the chance to make another statement against his old club this Friday night.

A week after threatening a major upset against the Penrith Panthers at home, for the Broncos it was a case of same old story as they wilted under the Darwin heat, losing to the Parramatta Eels by 46-6 at TIO Stadium last Friday night.

The nightmare started for the Broncos with a knock-on at kick-off, setting the tone for a very dirty night for the men from Red Hill and further highlighting the task Kevin Walters has at hand in attempting to restore the club’s former glory.

Naturally, they will want to show their fans exactly what they stand for and a win against the Titans would be the perfect way to bounce back after yet another humiliating defeat.

However, I can’t see the Titans dropping this one.

Prediction: Titans by 10 points.

Panthers versus Sea Eagles
An eighth straight win is at the mercy of the Penrith Panthers when they take their home game against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles to the other side of the Blue Mountains – in Bathurst.

While the scoreline suggested otherwise, the mountain men were made to work hard for victory against the Knights last Thursday night, with the visitors keeping them at arm’s length until two tries in the final fifteen minutes saw the Panthers home by 24-6.

Now they get to flex their muscle against the Sea Eagles, who will have a lot to prove after being humiliated 46-6 in the teams’ most recent meeting at Brookvale Oval at the start of the month.

Since then, Des Hasler’s side have won three matches in a row, in particular winning their past two matches by 36-0 (vs the Titans) and 40-6 (vs the Wests Tigers) to move up to 11th on the ladder but still with a dismal points differential of -51.

Their past two wins have been attributed to the return of Tom Trbojevic, who had missed the start of the season after suffering an off-field injury during the summer which earned the ire of the playing group.

Suddenly, the Sea Eagles have the chance to square their season ledger but will be at long odds to do that, with the Panthers to start hot favourites in their first match at their secondary home, Carrington Park, since 2019.

Prediction: Panthers by 24 points.

Bulldogs versus Eels
While both sides may be on opposite ends of the ladder, any match between the Bulldogs and Eels is still worth compelling viewing.

The Dogs will go into this match with a much-needed boost of confidence after beating the Sharks by 18-12 at Kogarah Oval to register their first win of the season, and also their first under coach Trent Barrett.

But it was not enough for them to move off the bottom of the ladder, with their points differential still at -146 as opposed to the Broncos’ -107.

Their percentage could cop another hit when they face the Eels, who after suffering a shock 26-12 loss to the Dragons in Round 5 have hit back with big wins over the Raiders and Broncos, both away from home, in the past fortnight.

Last week, Brad Arthur’s men ran riot in the Top End, casting the Broncos aside 46-6 after forcing an error from the opposition from the kick-off and scoring their first try, from Maika Sivo, from the subsequent opportunity they were given.

Another two tries to the Fijian winger saw him take his season try tally to seven.

This has seen them move up to second on the ladder, behind only the Penrith Panthers, as they continue their quest to end a 35-year premiership drought dating back to 1986.

While the Bulldogs would love nothing more than to spring an upset against their western Sydney rivals, it’s the blue and gold who should reign supreme this Saturday night at Stadium Australia.

Prediction: Eels by 22 points.

Knights versus Roosters
The third match on Saturday sees the Sydney Roosters make the trip up the F3 to face the Newcastle Knights, who despite being ravaged by injury appear to be punching well above their weight.

The Chooks retained the Anzac Day Cup with a strong win over the Dragons last Sunday, masterminded by a man-of-the-match performance from Sam Walker who was playing only his fourth game.

Walker has adjusted well into the Roosters’ line-up after being thrown into the hot seat following the season-ending injury suffered by Luke Keary in Round 3, and he has attributed his good form to plying his trade from the former Clive Churchill Medallist.

The win also came despite acting captain James Tedesco sitting out the second half after falling foul of Dragons winger Jordan Pereira, who escaped being sent off for his troubles but still copped a lengthy suspension from the tribunal.

On the other hand, the Knights may be struggling with injuries to key players but otherwise did well to keep the Panthers at arm’s length for most of their clash at BlueBet Stadium last Thursday night.

Starford To’a scored their only try in the first half, at the end of which they trailed by only 10-6, and managed to keep the mountain men on a leash before coughing up two late tries to lose by 24-6.

They will need more than just Kalyn Ponga to fire if they are to cause an upset against the Chooks on Saturday night, and I just cannot see that happening.

Prediction: Roosters by 14 points.

Warriors versus Cowboys
Buoyed by three straight wins after a poor start to the season, the Cowboys could suddenly square their season ledger at 4-4 when they travel to the Central Coast to face the New Zealand Warriors this Sunday.

Last week the northerners had to come from behind to edge out the Canberra Raiders by 26-24 at home, though there was some controversy surrounding the match-winning try when replays suggested that Justin O’Neill was offside before he scored that try.

That saw the scores locked at 24-all, before Valentine Holmes broke the deadlock with a penalty goal ten minutes from time to give the Cowboys their third straight win and hopes of a much improved season in 2021.

Next in the firing line are the New Zealand Warriors, who crashed to a disappointing 42-20 loss to the Melbourne Storm in the annual Anzac Night clash at AAMI Park last Sunday.

They had trailed 26-4 at halftime but to their credit managed to “tie” the second half (which was 16-all), thanks to two tries from Ken Maumalo, who ended up with a hat-trick.

A major subplot is that Todd Payten will coach against the club he led on a caretaker basis last year, after the Warriors gave Stephen Kearney his marching orders after Round 6 last season.

He had the chance to assume the job full-time but decided to pursue the Cowboys’ role, with a view of taking them back into the finals for the first time since their miraculous run to the 2017 grand final.

While the Cowboys will start favourites on Sunday, the Warriors will have reason to believe they can spring an upset of sorts, as they did beat the northerners by 37-26 on the Central Coast in the corresponding match last year.

However, I believe the Cows’ current form (albeit with two of their three wins being against teams unlikely to make the finals) will be too hard to ignore here.

Prediction: Cowboys by six points.

Dragons versus Wests Tigers
The final match of Round 8 sees the under-siege Wests Tigers make the trip south to Wollongong for just the second time since 2008 when they face the mid-table Dragons on Sunday afternoon.

All the spotlight has been on the Tigers following their humiliating 40-6 loss to the Sea Eagles at Bankwest Stadium last Sunday, which saw them crash to a 1-6 record with their only win being against the Newcastle Knights in Round 3.

The club has gone on the front foot saying that there is no crisis within the club, though it has been suggested that Michael Maguire could be moved on as coach if the club’s on-field results do not improve in the short term.

There will be no respite when they face a Dragons side that could get captain Ben Hunt back after missing the past month due to a broken leg suffered in their Round 3 win over the Sea Eagles at home.

After impressive wins over the Knights and Eels on the road, the Dragons have lost their past two, and if that wasn’t enough, they’ll also be without both wingers in Mikaele Ravalawa and Jordan Pereira after both copped suspensions from their Anzac Day loss to the Chooks.

The Red V were first to score but otherwise produced their worst performance of the year to see their season record drop to 4-3, and while they will start warm favourites against the Tigers they will be aware of a side that will have a point to prove after a poor start to 2021.

Additionally, history is against the Dragons, who have not beaten the Tigers in Wollongong since 2000 and have lost three of their past four games against their fellow joint-venture rivals, including by 24-14 in the corresponding game at home in Round 1 last season.

But the return of Ben Hunt should see them claim the points and get their season back on track.

Prediction: Dragons by eight points.