NRL Minor Premiership Up for Grabs with Two Rounds Remaining

With only two weeks to go until finals, the NRL minor premiership could end up in 3 teams’ hands. The Warriors, Panthers, and Roosters are all fighting it out for top spot, while the rest of the eight takes shape with Manly and the Bulldogs giving themselves a chance to grab eighth spot.

Tigers Upset Roosters in Final-Minute Thriller

Going into the round, the Sydney Roosters looked locked in to end the round top of the ladder, but in the last game of the weekend, the Wests Tigers had other plans, putting on an incredible display.

The Roosters scored early, 2 minutes in, through Billy Smith. The Tigers battled back to score their first in the 19th minute, and then went on to score two more tries within 7 minutes. They missed the conversions, meaning the Roosters managed to get one back and convert right before half-time, evening the scores up at half-time.

The Tigers responded and came out of the gates in the second half well, scoring two more tries and converting this time, netting them a 24-12 lead with 20 minutes to go. Only a few minutes later, the Roosters replied and while they scored a try of their own, missed the conversion—a crucial one in the grand scheme of things. Then with 8 minutes to go in the game, Sam Walker provides a converted try to get the Roosters within 2 points. But only a minute later, the Tigers gave away a penalty which Walker decided to convert for 2 points and even the scores once more.

With two minutes remaining, the Tigers did an excellent job making their way up the field to get in position for a field goal, which was swiftly done by Jock Madden, giving the Tigers the lead for what was the final time and coming out winning in a huge game which now sends the Roosters down to third heading into the final rounds.

Minor Premiership Contenders & Top-Four Race

The other sides fighting for the minor premiership in the Warriors and Panthers got their jobs done, with Penrith beating a struggling Melbourne Storm side and the Warriors convincingly beating up on the Rabbitohs. While Cronulla finally did what they needed to do in beating Gold Coast 30-22, relying on a second-half comeback to seal the deal from being 16-8 down at the break—responding well after a couple of tough weeks. Meanwhile, the Dolphins are making their case for a fourth-place finish after beating the Eels, who stayed in it up until half-time, before the Dolphins smashed through the second half putting 18 on the Eels to win that one 34-16.

Bulldogs Power On as Broncos Survive Shootout

The Bulldogs set out to get a comfortable win and did so, beating the Dragons 44-14, and it was all but over at half-time as they were 24-0 up. While the Dragons scored some points of their own, the Dogs just had too much firepower and stormed over the line, though there were 2 sin bins for them and one for the Dragons just before the full-time whistle.

The Brisbane Broncos finally got themselves a win in a shootout over the Canberra Raiders. Both sides were trading scores back and forth, and even though the Broncos had Patrick Carrigan sent to the bin halfway through the first half, they rallied and put a couple of scores on during that period. While it was close, the result came down to one crucial try, with Brisbane scoring one more than Canberra to get over the line 34-30.

Sea Eagles Stun Knights in Newcastle

Quite possibly the biggest surprise was how great Manly looked against the Knights up in Newcastle. A side that had not scored a single point the week before against the Dolphins went up to Newcastle and put 44 points on the finals-contending Knights.

The Sea Eagles were fantastic throughout the game, and even when they were under pressure and conceded 3 tries to the Knights, they were still the more physical of the two teams. It showed as they fought back into the game, and after Dom Young went to the bin for a hip drop tackle, Manly were on top for the rest of the game and scored two converted tries to lead at half-time 24-18 after being down 18-6.

The second half was pure Manly dominance as they shut down most of what Newcastle were trying to do and won the physical battle comfortably. Newcastle did not look up for it and tried playing out of situations which can be fine normally, but nothing was allowed from the Manly defence while they piled on 20 points in the second half to run out 44-24 winners and keep their very slim hope of finals alive, with results needing to go their way. The Knights however, while guaranteed finals, needed to win to all but secure a home final, but just failed to be involved in the game. Now they require a win against the Warriors in New Zealand or need the Bunnies to drop at least 1 of their 2 remaining games.