NRL Finals Race Heats Up: Round 22 Wrap-Up & Top 8 Battle

The race for the finals is on in the NRL. There are sides sitting in the top 8 right now who still need to keep the momentum, while the battle for a potential 4th spot is also still on.

Battle for 4th: Cronulla Sharks vs. South Sydney Rabbitohs

Starting with the 4th place battle, we had the Cronulla Sharks against the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Cronulla needing a win to stay in control of their top 4 spot, while the Bunnies were still chasing their own finals aspirations.

In the game, it was fairly closely contested for a good twenty minutes, with both sides scoring a converted try apiece. The Sharks broke through eventually though, putting on 3 tries in 14 minutes to take the lead out to 18-6 at half time.

With the Sharks in control of the game now, the Rabbitohs had no choice but to come out all guns blazing, and they managed to peg back the Sharks by scoring 5 minutes after the restart. Only a few minutes after, an error from the Bunnies gave Cronulla a chance to go forward with a set restart and they paid the price for it—conceding another try and giving themselves a lot of work to do.

The Sharks had control from there, running out deserved winners 32-16. This gives them a more comfortable platform within the top 4, but with the Dolphins racking up another win over the Dragons, it is only one win that separates them.

Try Scorers – Sharks:

• Briton Nikora 22′
• Siosifa Talakai 26′
• Blayke Brailey 36′
• Addin Fonua-Blake 49′
• Ronaldo Mulitalo 67′

Try Scorers – Rabbitohs:

• Latrell Siegwalt 6′
• Campbell Graham 45′
• Alex Johnston 74′

Dolphins Edge Past Dragons in Historic Finals Push

The Dolphins may have got the win, but it was hard-fought over the bottom-of-the-ladder St. George Illawarra Dragons. The Dolphins started strong, but the Dragons managed to take the lead at the 20-minute mark of the first half. The Dolphins were spurred on by this and put on two tries after going behind to take a lead into half time of 16-10.

The second half finished two converted tries apiece, and in the end, the Dolphins ended up being too strong in their march towards their first-ever finals campaign.

Newcastle Knights Put On a Clinic Against Broncos

The Newcastle Knights went up to Brisbane and put on a clinic against the reigning premiers, the Broncos. In a game that on paper should be close, the Knights just outclassed them and put 30 points on the Broncos at Suncorp. A huge win for Newcastle who have lost their last three and keep themselves mathematically in the hunt for 4th spot. They will need some favours from other teams while winning the rest of their games from here, but they can still do it while also strengthening their top 8 chances as well.

The game was not without some drama, as there were three sin bins—all in the first half. Deine Mariner was the first to depart 6 minutes in for a professional foul. Then Jermaine McEwen and Reece Walsh found themselves on the end of a sin bin 24 minutes in for a scuffle on the touchline. But Brisbane also kept making errors, and the error count at the end of the game was 15-8 (Broncos leading that count), while also having 8 more ineffective tackles, that count being 19-11. So, while Newcastle were the better side, it could have been closer. And with that, it means Brisbane are out of finals contention, and it sums up their year a little bit.

Sydney Roosters Demolish Cowboys in Historic Thrashing

The Sydney Roosters absolutely destroyed the Cowboys 82-12 in Townsville in a massacre. It wasn’t even close. It puts all the eventual finals sides on notice because while the Roosters have a top 4 spot almost sewn up, the Cowboys are also fighting for a spot in the top 8, making this demolition job even more impressive. The Cowboys’ points differential has taken a huge hit, but they can still salvage something and get into the finals and have a good run as they face the Tigers, Raiders, Titans, and Eels all in that time.

Heavyweights Keep Rolling: Panthers & Warriors

Penrith and the Warriors put 42 points on their respective opposition this week, keeping them in prime position to make a very good charge at the Premiership as they have all season.

Bulldogs Keep Finals Hopes Alive Against Storm

An important game for both teams was the Canterbury Bulldogs against the Melbourne Storm down at AAMI Park. Both sides who were expected to be in the finals hunt this year have been poor relative to their expectations, but the Bulldogs may be on the mend again, pulling out a very good win against the Storm to keep their finals hopes alive.

The first half was even, with the half-time score being 16-all. The Dogs had a man sent to the bin very late in the first half, which gave the Storm the chance in the second to grab a try early on, and that is exactly what they did. But it seems the complexion changed as soon as the Bulldogs were back to 13 men, as they responded almost immediately and then managed to score at will after that—with Stephen Crichton having a real impact on proceedings, scoring the last two tries of the game to bury the Storm’s finals aspirations, possibly almost for good this season.

Try Scorers – Storm:

• Moses Leo 5′, 39′
• Sualauvi Faalogo 20′
• Angus Hinchey 47′

Try Scorers – Bulldogs:

• Jaeman Salmon 15′, 30′
• Jethro Rinakama 24′
• Matt Burton 50′
• Josh Curran 61′
• Stephen Crichton 69′, 77′

The Final Stretch

With the home-and-away season drawing ever closer to its conclusion, the top 8 could still shape up differently. All of Newcastle, Souths, Bulldogs, Cowboys, and even Manly down in 10th are still a very realistic chance of both making finals or missing finals.